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May 29, 2003
Cars.
Just when I'm trying to sort out my money situation (and can see light in a year or so!) , Camille decides to have a little laugh at me...
First, a little light that says that something is going pear-shaped in the engine lights up. At the moment she's running as well as usual, so I can't find anything obvious, but it will need to be looked at.
And just to let me know that I need to get that looked at, she decided to indicate left at just the wrong times. Like when I wasn't going left. In other words, it looks like the stick for he indicators is going a bit dicky...
Ah well, at least the prices for parts are not too bad for a 206!
Between that and someone who lives at number 15 on a street that doesn't have a number 15... and when I call the phone was put down before I could say anything... I could just ignore him and not go to see him tomorrow (if he doesn't live on the left side of the road I might not anyway!), but that wouldn't be very professional... ah well!
Posted by Badgers at 07:23 PM | Comments (0)
May 27, 2003
Like A Bull In A China Shop - Hey Wait A Minute...!
Yes, that IS a bull in a china shop! This is a CCTV image of the bull in GB Antiques and Furnishings in Lancaster, England over the Bank Holiday.
The bull, which was shot after being trapped in one of the showrooms, had escaped while being taken to the local auction, and managed to cause thousands of pounds of damage, and also knocked over a woman, leaving her with a bruised shoulder. Luckily only a few people were in the showrooms at the time as it had only just opened, but it could have been more serious had the bull run into the crowd that would have been in there a few hours later.
The story can be found here.
Posted by Badgers at 05:45 PM | Comments (0)
Ambulance Driver To Be Banned From Driving For Speeding
Now, while this is totally stupid, it is quite serious... y'see, Mike Ferguson was driving a liver from Leeds to Cambridge for an urgent transplant operation when he was clocked as sppeding in two counties. Cambridgshire is not taking action, but Lincolnshire has summoned him to court for doing 104mph in their area on 16 January while on the A1. They say that the CPS don't feel that it was a medical emergency, and will let the court decide.
True, it wasn't a heart, and the recipient wasn't in Lincolnshire. And the car (even with it's lights, etc) doesn't really count as an ambulance. But doesn't this sound just a tad like the dreaded 'more than my job's worth' attitude that councils, etc, have tried to rid themselves of? I just hope no-one in Lincoln Hospital is waiting for a heart - it'd have to come second class in the post, just in case the ambulnce driver was slammed in prison for a crime he wasn't actually committing...
Expect me to update this one in the near future.
A BBC report on the story can be found here...
Posted by Badgers at 05:35 PM | Comments (0)
May 26, 2003
Bank Holidays Are So Stressful
I had a Plan for today. Drop Mum off at the Great Harwood Show to do her Pets as Therapy thing, come back and set up my Amiga 1200 on the TV downstairs and play a few games (probably Turrican 2!!!) and then pick her up about 4 o'clock.
Of course, not all of this went according to plan.
After dropping her off I came back to Burnley and popped into Marks & Spencers to pick up something quick for dinner, where I met a girl I hadn't seen for a while - we said 'hi!' quickly as the que was pretty long (not as pretty as she is though! *^_^*). Ah well. Nice to see her again, anyhoo.
So, I came back, got the A1200 down, then realised that Nintendo stuff can go through the composite video slot too... so down came the N64 and SNES as well!!! And also my other A1200 as the first only clicked when it was powered up - only a flicker briefly from the CAPS light. I think that one is for spares! Anyway, Turrican II looked really good in widescreen, and it sounded even better with surround sound speakers!!! Sadly my original Project X (a classic 'evil' side scrolling shooter from Team 17) didn't want to work, though whether it was the computer, the discs or it wasn't 1200 compatable I don't know... still, if I can find the special edition it will work!
The N64 really didn't impress me though - sure, Lylat Wars and 007:Goldeneye are great games, but the screen looked even murker and blurred than they do on my portable TV... thank god they got that sorted out for the Gamecube... well, pretty much anyway! This is in total contrast to the SNES - pretty much pixel sharp, and sounding wonderful! I had a go at a few old classics, and realised why I liked Castlevania IV so much, that Super Probotector (ie Super Contra) is one evil mother of a game - hard doesn't cut it! I also found that my saved games were still there form years ago on Mario World and All Stars.
I then went back upstairs as Mum was due to call to be collected about then. So out came my Oric Atmos and two of my all time faveourite games, Defence Force and Zorgons Revenge!
Of course, by 6.30, I was getting worried - no calls from mum, no messages left (I had got all the phones so they would ring), so I rushed over to great Harwood to see where she was. Guess what? She wasn't there! No, she had tried to ring, but 'hadn't got through' as I was on the computer. Wrong computer, mum, and anyway, I have broadband - so the phone is free on another line! Anyway - I called from Great Harwood to find that she had been given a lift home, but that they had gotten lost on the way back here.
I am so glad I'm at work with all this stress behind me from tomorrow... well, apart from one little bit of stress, but I can't help that... yet!
Posted by Badgers at 07:57 PM | Comments (2)
Open All Hours goes all Top Gun on me
Remember how I mentioned getting these things down quickly - here's one I just woke up from - it will give you an idea of how my dreams work. It 's also an updated version of a dream I used to have years ago...
It starts off like Open All Hours (the classic Ronnie Barker sitcom) and quickly develops into something else as Arkright realises that something is wrong in the town, and only h-h-h-he can s-s-s-top it. So he gets in a fighter with others and sets of to destroy the evil... here things go a little dream-like (!) but this was a little different to the older dream - then it was real planes, but here it was a mish-mash of planes in computer games, from well-rendered fighters (like you'd expect today) to wobbly graphics which, while good, seem to be made of voxels like those seen in Commanche 1-2 first two Delta Force PC games from Novalogic (technical, my dreams are!)
Anyway, they set off and fly round destroying barrels in a complex and then the desert (the desert is where it goes all blocky and sprite-y). Then comes the f-f-final mission, as they roar down the main street of the town, but the other pilots are being confused as they can see and hear people (friends and fellow sitcom stars!) singing a nice sing-song, um, song... This bit is a little different as it used to be a little longer - Arkright used to succomb before Granville shakes him out of his reverie - here though Granville (played by me) just keeps saying -"Dont listen! Don't listen!". The plane is now firing snowballs as it is a cold winter's day, and they hit the people Arkright can see, stopping the singing - he goes high, then destroys the last barrel at the end of the street with a flurry of snowballs! Then its the end sequence - again a little different to the original dream - a much older Ronnie Barker plays Arkright, and is walking down the street beside me. Ahead are the people he could see singing - they are all Ronnie as different characters he had played - Fletcher (Porridge), Clarence (from, um, Clarence), a few assorted characters from The Two Ronnies... He was saying goodbye to them, and me... and I had a goodbye to say too (and this is odd, but while it was not actually in this dream, it was another old dream I used to have)... a lamb I had been looking after and almost made a pet out of was growing into a sheep as I watched... it ran down the street happily with the characters and I ran with it, patting it until it became a fully grown sheep and then ran into the distance. I was happy for it, and Ronnie, but crying... and that's how I just woke up!
I don't usually wake up crying, though I did recently after a dream where Akumi (my tarantula) had stopped moving, and I was holding the spider willing her to wake up - then mum came in, took it off me and tried rescucitating it, squeezing her to make her breathe, and crushing her just as she started to move again - that dream I woke up crying and angry from...
Now some analysis of this dream... I'll just check the news first though... good - I had a feeling it meant that Ronnie had died... nothing I can spot though, thankfully.
So, where did all that come from, then? Well, I did play PC games yesterday with Nick (but no planes apart from the jets I was jumping over in Vice City), and certainly no voxel-based stuff! I haven't seen any Ronnie Barker for a week or two (I caught an Open All Hours the Saturday before last on UK Gold). Seen lots of lambs frolicking though, but this isn't really something that's on my mind (though other friends may have differing feelings in that direction!) as its too late in the year to have the full 'ahhh!' factor. Perhaps its the fact that I'm transporting mum and a chair to the Great Harwood Show today? And my mind is thinking it's like the Great Lancashire Show with sheep and other farm animals? More interesting to me is the rerun/remake of the first dream - why pop into my head? Am I worried about something being remade? A classic movie? The fact that the new Dragnet is coming to ITV1 this week? It looked odd to see it now, especially in it's updated form...
Ah well - dreams don't have to make sense! Thats the good thing about them!
Hmm. Sometimes working out where things come from isn't as easy as you might think...
Posted by Badgers at 06:23 AM | Comments (0)
Open All Hours goes all Top Gun on me
Remember how I mentioned getting these things down quickly - here's one I just woke up from - it will give you an idea of how my dreams work. It 's also an updated version of a dream I used to have years ago...
It starts off like Open All Hours (the classic Ronnie Barker sitcom) and quickly develops into something else as Arkright realises that something is wrong in the town, and only h-h-h-he can s-s-s-top it. So he gets in a fighter with others and sets of to destroy the evil... here things go a little dream-like (!) but this was a little different to the older dream - then it was real planes, but here it was a mish-mash of planes in computer games, from well-rendered fighters (like you'd expect today) to wobbly graphics which, while good, seem to be made of voxels like those seen in Commanche 1-2 first two Delta Force PC games from Novalogic (technical, my dreams are!)
Anyway, they set off and fly round destroying barrels in a complex and then the desert (the desert is where it goes all blocky and sprite-y). Then comes the f-f-final mission, as they roar down the main street of the town, but the other pilots are being confused as they can see and hear people (friends and fellow sitcom stars!) singing a nice sing-song, um, song... This bit is a little different as it used to be a little longer - Arkright used to succomb before Granville shakes him out of his reverie - here though Granville (played by me) just keeps saying -"Dont listen! Don't listen!". The plane is now firing snowballs as it is a cold winter's day, and they hit the people Arkright can see, stopping the singing - he goes high, then destroys the last barrel at the end of the street with a flurry of snowballs! Then its the end sequence - again a little different to the original dream - a much older Ronnie Barker plays Arkright, and is walking down the street beside me. Ahead are the people he could see singing - they are all Ronnie as different characters he had played - Fletcher (Porridge), Clarence (from, um, Clarence), a few assorted characters from The Two Ronnies... He was saying goodbye to them, and me... and I had a goodbye to say too (and this is odd, but while it was not actually in this dream, it was another old dream I used to have)... a lamb I had been looking after and almost made a pet out of was growing into a sheep as I watched... it ran down the street happily with the characters and I ran with it, patting it until it became a fully grown sheep and then ran into the distance. I was happy for it, and Ronnie, but crying... and that's how I just woke up!
I don't usually wake up crying, though I did recently after a dream where Akumi (my tarantula) had stopped moving, and I was holding the spider willing her to wake up - then mum came in, took it off me and tried rescucitating it, squeezing her to make her breathe, and crushing her just as she started to move again - that dream I woke up crying and angry from...
Now some analysis of this dream... I'll just check the news first though... good - I had a feeling it meant that Ronnie had died... nothing I can spot though, thankfully.
So, where did all that come from, then? Well, I did play PC games yesterday with Nick (but no planes apart from the jets I was jumping over in Vice City), and certainly no voxel-based stuff! I haven't seen any Ronnie Barker for a week or two (I caught an Open All Hours the Saturday before last on UK Gold). Seen lots of lambs frolicking though, but this isn't really something that's on my mind (though other friends may have differing feelings in that direction!) as its too late in the year to have the full 'ahhh!' factor. Perhaps its the fact that I'm transporting mum and a chair to the Great Harwood Show today? And my mind is thinking it's like the Great Lancashire Show with sheep and other farm animals? More interesting to me is the rerun/remake of the first dream - why pop into my head? Am I worried about something being remade? A classic movie? The fact that the new Dragnet is coming to ITV1 this week? It looked odd to see it now, especially in it's updated form...
Ah well - dreams don't have to make sense! Thats the good thing about them!
Hmm. Sometimes working out where things come from isn't as easy as you might think...
Posted by Badgers at 06:23 AM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2003
Nil Points?
Okay, I don't think our song was that bad (for a change), but nil points? Political voting has struck, but so did the curse of being out of tune...
Ah well - at least it'll be hot next year in Turkey - heck , it might be worth having a holiday next year... I may need to, if Romantic Night is accepted as the UK entry!!!
Jamius was hoping to run a Freelancer server last night, but despite hanging around online till after the Eurovision on nothing happened. That's the curse (lots of these around at the moment) of having the PC in the bedroom...
Posted by Badgers at 05:51 AM | Comments (0)
Austria? AUSTRIA?!?
Well, last night the UK had its worst ever performance at the Eurovision, but I don't think it was entirely Jemini's fault. Without a doubt, they became the latest victim of the war in Iraq... though singing in tune might have helped!
Big congrats to Turkey though - while the voting was as mad as ever (Cyprus voting top marks to Greece and Turkey, and this vice versa), Every Way That I Can by Sertab Erener is a very catchy song. Not good, you notice, but catchy. Belgum came second with Sanomi by Urban Trad, and Ne Ver, Ne Bojsia (Don't Believe, Don't Be Afraid) by tATu came third. Obviously the people of Europe loved it, thought the anti-Russian feeling in the audience was a little, well, obvious! That may have been due to Latvia's past, or possibly the (shock!) revelation that the girls are not actually lesbians...
But the biggest shock was the success of Austria's Alf Poier who came in 6th with Weil Der Mensch Zählt (Man Is The Measure Of All Things). A curious mix of traditional Austrian leiderhosen folk and rock. The first time I heard it, I laughed more than I did at Weird Al's Ebay song... but it even got votes from the UK. Probably out of sympathy, but I think it got it's place as a protest vote! Just like voting for the Green Party in the Election is usually throwing your vote away, people voted for Alf instead of Jemini! And for Norway too! Jostein Hasselgard came 4th with I'm Not Afraid to Move On... what's up with that?
Don't worry - next year I'll be trying to get Romantic Night put to music in time for Song For Europe... it will have a good chance, especially if we can pull together an I.T. costume for the singer...! I think Robbie Williams could pull it off as a power ballad (I'll slip in some sweary words for the album version!)
In fact, maybe that is what we need - a proper singer rather than a group put together specially - remember when unknowns like Cliff Richard and ABBA used to be entered? Perhaps if Will or Gareth or David had been singing...
For more information visit the BBC Eurovision site here!
Posted by Badgers at 05:41 AM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2003
Not a dream...
...I think this part of Badgers will more likely become a nightmare!
I'm sure people probably won't believe that I can dream with full opening and closing titles, and dreams that go on over a series of nights like a, well, tv series, but it happens. As do those that are basically the day I am about to wake up to (and often a little too accurate!). As a recent 'blog entry mentioned, I often use dreams for ideas - some I.T. stories have come from that, and the dream mentioned in that entry (the one with the reflection in the window) is going to appear in the summer as a short story.
I like analysing where the elements that form the dreams come from, so I'll probably try to get the dream online ASAP, and follow it up later in the expanded entry bit with a look at what I thing was actually going on. I believe that dreams are simply your brain pulling things together, often the stuff that you have seen or have been thinkng about (possibly without thinking), but not in a metaphysical way. It means that it might get rather Jungian round here, though, but it's a risk I'm willing to take...
If you have any dreams that seem interesting, post them to the Dream Forum at the message boards and share them with others!
Posted by Badgers at 04:48 PM | Comments (0)
Do You Speak Micra?
I've been meaning to do this one for a while... of all the car ads, this really gets on my nerves, and not just because I hate the Nissan Micra.
Anyway - this morning The Guardian came with a little book called 'In A Word', which is a neat little guide to curious phrases such as 'mad as a hatter or 'take a rain check'. Then I noticed it was sponsored by Nissan - and part way through has an 'advertisement feature' - a curious phrase itself - on the new Micra. 'Spafe' = spontaneous and yet safe. Okay. 'Smoosive' (OMGWTF?) = smooth and responsive. Then comes the one which actually cracks me up everytime I see it on a billboard while driving... 'simpology'. This apparently means simplicity and technology. Now, being a long-term reader of 2000AD and Judge Dredd, the mere sight of the word 'simp' brings to me a thought that I'm sure Nissan never considered...
Of course, I have a word that fits the new Micra well - 'bugly' - it comes from bug and ugly. I'm not quite sure what they were thinking (probably the same stuff that conjoured up the name 'Nissan' after years of being called 'Datsun' (I have some information on that name change, but it's probably apocryphal - remind me to post it sometime!)). To me the car looks like they took a look at the PT Cruiser from Chrysler (designed by a ZZ Top Fan, for ZZ Top Fans, if you ask me, but a great vehicle) and then saw the silly Peugeot 206 ad with the Indian guy bashing his old car so it looks like a 206 (specifically, my 206!). Then they decided to do the same to the Micra.
Another little thing - a couple of weeks the same paper gave away a DVD containing the full length advert for the Honda Accord (you know, the one with the car parts gently going through a Heath Robinson-type set up), and of course, this being a DVD, they made sure the footage was a Quicktime file. D'oh or what?
Posted by Badgers at 02:44 PM | Comments (0)
I'm Saved! Eurovision is Tonight!!!
Okay, it might bring back memories of Attack Of The 50ft Idol Singers (the I.T. strip that really went pear-shaped as it was written and drawn at a really bad time in my life), but tonight I'll be sitting and vegetating in front of the show as it's fun and, let's face it, Terry Wogan rips the heck out of every entry, even our own (go Jemini!!!). Surprisingly, Tatu's song isn't just a straight rehash of All The Things She Said (unlike the rest of the album), and Austria have tried this year. Not sure just what they've tried, but they have...
In other news, I checked my email at Demon this morning and found that James was planning another trip to that place that should not be named, but as usual, as he'd sent it to the old address, I didn't get it until it was too late! Still, the Bank Holiday this Monday is probably out as it will rain and be busy (a shocking revelation for the Bank Holiday, and more shocking as it was Nick who emailed it! During the week!), and because I'm a taxi driver for mum as she is representing Pets As Therapy at the Great Harwood Show. Sorry guys... plus my voice isn't gonna be up to screaming for a while yet anyway!
Ah well - I'm going to be updating bits of the sites this weekend while I have a chance, and will be adding a Message Board and Chat Room! The Board won't be up and running until tonight at the earliest, but this and the chat room will let us natter quite happily and maybe even plan things like trips to the theme park we don't mention without the need to bugger about sending emails to the wrong address! Still, at least it seems he's talking to us, though he doesn't seem to have Vice City yet!!!
Oh, and after reading it, I don't think Aot50ftIS is all that bad, now... unlike C&D: Rites Of Spring...
Posted by Badgers at 01:27 PM | Comments (0)
May 23, 2003
Oh Goddess, Big Brother is Back...
I'll survive, though, thanks to nice people online who are posting the excellent early '80s TV arcade game show Starcade to the newsgroups! Scary though, when you see the contestants... and the prizes! State of the art Casio mini-keyboards! ('The Orchestra Is In The Palm Of Your Hand! (tm)' - s'yeah, right!). I can imagine someone wanting (correction - NEEDING!) a Tempest or Burger Time machine, but Jungle Hunt? Mind you, if they are the best the early '80s had to offer...
Sigh. In other news, I can say that Vice City is a bag of poo. On the PS2. Well, in comparison to the PC version which really looks rather spify at 1024x768, and higher. Ah, the thrill of taking corners while being chased by cops and firing at pedestrians is back, only this time you can ride bikes and scooters! I guess that I.T. Episode 01 is gonna have to wait... but then, due to my throat, it will have to wait anyway!
Y'see (and I blame Jamius for this, 'cos he has a way of attracting dark evil magic and bad things to his mates, and me especially - and considering this is a week since he begged me to pull a sicky to go to that place that must not be named!), I had a bad throat last weekend - nothing too special - but as the week went on, it got so bad I couldn't swallow without a hell of a lot of pain. A problem when for some reason your mouth won't stop salivating! after a few days of this, and coughing up the nastiest phlegm I've seen since my Granddad died years ago, I found myself up all of Tuesday night in agony (my tongue even felt like it was swollen, but it wasn't, though it didn't help) I ended up having Wednesday off sick. I went in on Thursday and today though, but my voice wasn't exactly much good for talking to deaf and hard of hearing clients. It hadn't been great on Monday morning at a Racial Equality Workshop, or at a meeting Tuesday afternoon in Lancaster (the talking there really did for my voice!), but it seems to be getting a little better now. Note the 'little'. I'm currently sweating and shivering, which I hope is the back end of whatever it is...
Oh, and a light popped up in the car to tell me that something is wrong with the engine. Oh, goody, and me with my money problems this month... it can't be serious (I think she's just getting close to her service and letting me know). The joy of cars...
And finally, a friend I know is going to be a mermaid on a float at the Todmorden Festival this weekend... you don't know how much I wish I could be there!!! Give her a wave from me, if you see her!
Posted by Badgers at 06:58 PM | Comments (2)
May 17, 2003
Life Is A Lemon And I Want My Money Back
Well, it seems like Jamius is leaving us under a cloud, and he's taking his ball with him. Such is the life of a website - the arguments, the fighting, the backstabbing, the deciding who gets to keep the vase Aunt Nora bought and neither of you can actually stand so it's been in the loft for six years... no, sorry, that's marriage. Hmm - I'll stick to websites, thanks. Less arguing over whose copy of the White Album that is!
If this is have been Jamius' last entry in his blog, so be it - no hard feelings, and certainly no nasty emails are going to be flying your way as I'm just not that kind of person (as he well knows).
Ah well, onto more pleasant things. Due to all the work commitment stuff, I haven't been on Newgrounds for a while, and I'm scared I might have missed a new Neurotically Yours (gotta love Foamy and the Goth Chick), not to mention the last chapter of Dead Rain (not up yet). But one short series I have caught and loved is 21 - a spoof of 24, in which Norwich is threatened with nuclear destruction... over a bagel. All in 21 minutes of real time. Very funny, silly, and extremely British! Well done Friz for making me laugh so hard in this week of Hell!
And a big round of thanks goes out to 'A' 'cos she made my week on Friday!!!
Posted by Badgers at 08:30 AM | Comments (3)
May 16, 2003
A Fit of Pique, Perhaps?
Now, I know some people feel that a series like Robot Wars is redneck TV for the Brits, full of robotic carnage designed to keep the feeble minded happy. And I realise that some who say that sit glued to WWE programming in it's heavily edited form on Sky One, because it's a real sport. But that totally ignores the pure excellence of Razer. And the total pile of candyass (BLEEP) that the WWE storylines are, and have been for the past few years...
Of course, the real redneck TV over here is Trisha (basically Jerry Springer with an english accent, but no opera, or even Oprah) and a number of other shows on ITV1 and 2, but that can wait for another Rant!
Back to the point, such as it is! Anyway, apparently, due to losing The Simpsons to Channel 4 (who will probably find a way to edit it and then show it in the middle of the night like Futurama), the people at the top of BBC 2 have decided to rejig the early evening schedule. And Robot Wars is one of the casualties. A show that people actually turned over to watch (when it wasn't dropped due to some really exciting moment in the snooker). I expect The Weakest Link will probably be moving to Five along with Robot Wars and Top Gear (let's face it, Fifth Gear IS Top Gear, a) except not as long or b) not as good, while the new Top Gear is a totally different, if funny series). Not that they have treated it well, recently, preferring to show feeble US clones, then repeating RW Extreme straight after the first run, which with the snooker lead to them having two series (almost 8 months solid) of programming waiting to go out.
I wonder if they thought about the overspill of the decision - all those merchandising royalties the BBC gets from the toys, magazines, etc... even the money they rake in by not producing new Doctor Who (here he goes again!) will not offset that, especially after hearing the plans they have to 'ramp down' the output in the 40th anniversary year... ie this year! And what of Robot Wars sister programme Techno Games? Just as it's going to go international and get bigger, will that end up decamping to Five too? or is two weeks a year of jumping lollipop sticks and swimming bottles* just right for early evening on 2?
Still, Five will be happy to get more viewers earlier in the evening, rather than those who only watch CSI:Whatever, etc. In fact, Five seems to be getting a lot better... maybe they'll wrestle NYPD Blue from Channel 4 and treat it with the respect it deserves, and maybe grab Oz too...
Poor Five - I guess the topless weathergirls will be a thing of the past from now on! Though I can't help feeling that ITV will pick them up soon to raise the intelligence of their output...
PS - I have a great idea for early evenings on BBC2 - a new series about a man who travels through space and time with a couple of companions (one of which must be a cute female to get in the dads), perhaps in a blue box thats bigger on the inside than on the outside? Hello? How about some killer robotic things to scare the kids? And wait till you hear what the title music will be...
*No - I'm not degrading the work that goes into making the entrants - I think it's great to see schools and families working towards the goals of the series... and it's even more fun when things go wrong!
Posted by Badgers at 06:32 PM | Comments (0)
Damned if You Do...
Imagine you are a government. people harangue you because you don't close all airways and tell everyone not to go somewhere that might (just might) have a possibility of a disease/terrorist activity/war.
Then, one day you decide to say 'sod it' and say 'Okay, there might be something going to happen in Kenya, so don't go there - oh - and we are stopping all flights going there & coming back, for good measure'. You just know that people are going to harangue you about it.
Of course, you have 'positive information', but lets face it - this is as much vapourware as the 'weapons of mass destruction' are, as far as most people on the street know.
Still, there's enough stupidity to go round, it seems...
Posted by Badgers at 06:01 PM | Comments (0)
May 15, 2003
Penrith, Twinned With Bug City, Arizona
Well, probably. Today I had a meeting up in Penrith... the day didn't start too well though, as I was too knackered to get up on time (something to do with finsihing work last night at 7.30 again), so I was a little late geting to the petrol station to top up Camille, and nipping into work to book out at 8.00am didn't exactly help as my boss was in and so I had to dash in, and dash out, failing to find what I had gone into the office for. At least I had my directions thanks to Autoroute. Unfortunately, my brain decided it wanted to head to The Trafford Centre, so I turned left when I should have gone right (but I didn't lose time as I was back on the M6 going north in a few minutes!)
The journey was nice enough, not too many delays due to the numerous roadworks, and the music was cool, unlike the weather, which was rather hot! The scenery as I headed up through the Lakes wasn't too shabby, either! I was running a little late, so I was going a tad fast, but my windscreen was fairly clear of smeared insects...
...until I came off the M6 at Junction 6 and headed into Penrith at a leisurely 30 mph, where it seemed someone had thrown a bucket of bugs at the car! Ick. Ick-ick-ick!
Still, the meeting was a decent one (I didn't go to sleep during it, met a friend I hadn't seen in nearly a year (and who has just got engaged - why doesn't that ever happen to me?) and even put in my little bit of input!)
Of course, it doesn't make up for what should have happened yesterday if a) my job hadn't been a little important to me as far as keeping it was concerned, and b) some idiot hadn't said that it was better to go with all four rather than just three of the idiots, but at least it was a damn good run (Camille hasn't gone that far in her life, I don't think).
And to make some people feel better, I took a big chunk out of my finger doing the (expletive deleted) job that had to be done(tm).
Ah well. Just a few days to wait to see if my (rather extreme) financial solution is viable (don't ask, really!), and to see if I can start preparing to get the Hell out of this damn job!!!
Oh - and I think I'll be giving Sundays a miss for a few weeks - I have something that is a little late and needs to be out in early June... not mentioning the names of any animated series I might (allegedly) be behind on...!
Posted by Badgers at 06:36 PM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2003
Idiots.
I mean it. Idiots, the lot of them.
Alton Towers is totally off, as is James (in a huff).
Absolutely bloody idiots.
Posted by Badgers at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)
Well, Thats Off, Then...
Sadly, I won't be going to Alton Towers this Wednesday, but I don't see why the other idiots can't go without me... James is trying to see if we can all 'reschedule' for another day, but personally I'd tell them to just sod off and enjoy themselves, but...
Sigh.
Of course, it's the old work thing for me - I already have to travel up to Penrith on Thursday, and as I'm out in Accrington and Longridge on Tuesday (till about 7.00+ I think), that leaves me with just one more day to do a load of stuff... and then there's something that has come up in the last week that Has To Be Dealt With (tm) on Wednesday or else I might be out of a job a little earlier than planned due to a complaint. And I'm not sure if it's even my fault. Even vaguely. Still, it's not all wine and roses in local government, despite what certain shelf-making people who snipe in FPS might say...
Ah well. No doubt the day out will be moved, and Doof won't be able to make it that day as he's had his one day off a year...
Posted by Badgers at 07:00 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2003
I Gotta Sort Out That 'Dream Diary' Page
...but for now this will do!
Usually after a night out (just read the entry from this morning, to be sure!) I don't have any dreams, but, probably because it's been a while (and my liver is fully regenerated.... well was...!) I just woke up after an odd dream (or dreams - not sure which!). Definitely not my usual dreams (the ones with titles, etc) but in colour to those who only dream in black and white!
A few interlinked bits, not many of them making any sense at all:
Driving to work, but ending up with the other idiots in the back of the car... playing Vietcong (the FPS) in the car... up by an old abandoned store, sitting in the back of dad's Ford sierra estate - there's a strange reflection in the window, and for some reason dad doesn't like it and takes it into himself to smash it (but not before asking me to do it, but I can't, for some reason) - he breaks in and kicks the window which almost comes out of its frame in the wall befor topping and shattering into a million pieces - a strange feeling of peace comes over everything (I'll note this bit down - it might make a cool short story for the site once I embellish on WHAT was in the reflection...) Next me and the idiots are road racing through Clitheroe (ish - the road layout at the roundabout at Pimlico Road/Waddington Road is a bit odd, and so is the road beyond) and I'm forced into turning left while they go straight on by James in his bus, I then have to find my way back through the streets, but for some reason, by turning left there I've ended up on the A6 coming through Chorley... Then finally, we are playing computer games again in a bigger version of Nick's bedroom, and for some reason the FPS we are playing doesn't have any guns, but in a Postal 2 stylee you can have a pissing contest... and I happen to have a little pot full of the stuff (as have we all) and tip it on Nick's lap, laughing insanely... and nobody minds 'cos it's part of the game.
Now the last bit almost makes sense after a night out!!! And the part about the window is serious short story fodder - I can feel it building already. Now you don't have to ask where I get my ideas from!!!
Posted by Badgers at 08:02 AM | Comments (1)
The Slightly Blurry 'Blog Entry...
Well, tonight was a fairly enjoyable night out, despite Nick forgetting about it! As usual, neither of us got 'lucky' (not that it is ever likely to happen!) but Nick did spot some, um, ladies, in his age range! As usual, though there were a fair few good looking lasses out there, but he was too tied up on the older ones to notice, and I was to tired/shy/whatever to get out there, and do it. So to speak. Thankfully, he didn't get to grind either, which is a godsend I suppose!
Still, there was a large amount of singing (and catterwalling in Nick's case!) and lots of nice things to see (especially one lass in a a denim top (that barely covered her top) and denim micro skirt (which barely covered her, um, bottom!)).
For a change, we hit The Swan (now home to a nice Arcade Classics coinop which replaces the Area 51 that had been there for months), followed by Paradise Island, Smackwater Jacks (which I'm sure was bigger long ago!) and then Chicago Rock. At one point in the Rock, Nick thought he'd got lucky as three ladies waved towards him, but they were just using him as a stepping stone to get to a friend (male) sitting at the next table!!! One of them did (briefly) lap dance on him, but moved on! Sigh.
One thing to note about the Rock - the drink prices are as high as ever, and the entry fees are terrifying - free before 11.00 (which is good), but then £3 until 12am, then it goes up in stages until it's a dizzying £6 by 1.30... not that anyone is likely to be arriving then anyway... but be warned! Another thing is that the toilets have finally got seats... y'see, last time we went (and the umpteen times before!) the gents (can't speak for the ladies, though I'll admit to having, um, 'been' in there before!) have been missing toilet seats. I did notice though, that by 11pm someone had decided to throw up in one of the loos, and also managed to miss quite spectacularly!
Oh, and apparently, the 3 drinks for £5 offer (on selected drinks only) is no longer working, despite being displayed on the monitor all night... which is naughty!
Ah well - the next night out is likely to be in a few months, if we are lucky! And James (who couldn't make it due to having to save for Alton Towers this Wednesday, the purchase of a new PSU for his PC and general marital strife) might be there to be really melancholy and 'You're my best mate'-ey, and to provide ample blackmail material! We shall see...
I know one thing - next time, I'll try to be be as grope-y as the other blokes are, and risk the slap (Nick gets slapped often, but that's 'cos he hits on women to get their chocolates!)
A final note - there were the usual selection of 'Learners', police women and women dressed as schoolgirls, not to mention the odd pair of flashing devil horns, but flashing baby's dummies seem to have been all the rage... strange!
Posted by Badgers at 03:37 AM | Comments (2)
May 09, 2003
Not a Good Week, But Today Came Straight From HELL!
Sigh. I'm feeling a little better now, but up to an hour ago I had decided I wasn't going out tomorrow night, and Alton Towers was going to be just for the three other idiots. Depending on how things go this next week, I may just be looking at their pictures of the day out. It's really been one of those days.
Still, I think I've worked out how to get out of the financial quagmire I'm wallowing in, though it may not be that good an idea... but as I doubt I'll be alive then, it won't matter!
Oh, and I've decided to go on a diet - I'm going to lose about 2 stone, but do it the proper way this time, not by getting ill and throwing up all the time... that way lost me 6.5 stone, but it also meant that I started collapsing and eventually waking up in hospital. Not good.
So what about today? Well, lets just say that I had to see five people after 5PM, and they were all prettyy far flung - from Colne to Whitworth and various points between. Most were no too bad, but when somone panics and calls 6 times to say a portable system isn't working,. and when I get there at 7.45 it's just because they forgot to put the microphone in... you can imagine, I'm sure. Ah well - on current plans, I will be handing my notice in after Christmas (shame there are no other local authorities for me to skip to, eh James?) Perhaps I should be a bus driver - James seems to make it sound like a lot of fun, especially in the bits he tells me, but doesn't put on his page... and his Evel Knieval impressions!
Don't worry, if all goes well, I'll be making a much *happier* entry about 3.15am on Sunday morning...
(Now that sounds like a line from a classic Avengers episode!)
Posted by Badgers at 09:18 PM | Comments (5)
May 05, 2003
Nearly Lost Sadie!
Ulp! Last night we were just sitting down to tea, when we realised that Sadie, our old, virtually blind and virtually deaf dog wasn't with us... and she wasn't anywhere in the house... Everything was dropped immediately and M&D rushed out yelling for her. Luckily, she hadn't got far (though she had been out for almost an hour as she had probably heard me come in, and gone out the open door as I brought my computer back from Nick's... she was scared but excited. But probably not as much as we were! She doesn't get out much as she is so old and its often too hot or too cold for her (she's still going though thanks to little orange pills and determination!), so she probably took her chance when she heard me come back home. All seems well now though.
Not the way we want to lose her, though...
Ah well. Sunday was fun - 3 of us hunting VCs in Viet Cong (which is really impressive - about as far from Postal 2 as you can get!). Be warned - its not an easy game, and death comes swiftly from the bushes! And a rather manic terrorist hunt in Rainbow Six 3... And something I can't tell you about for a while at least!*
If you're wondering where Jamius is (his page has blanked since his last post was so long ago), he's been having computer problems and decorating. He'll be rounf this week, I'm sure...
Oh - and next Saturday, if you are out in Burnley, Nick and myself will probably be out too, so say "Hi!" or even "Wibble-pling!". In fact - here's a meme for you all - start yelling out "BADGERS!" or "ROGUE NOIDS!". Lets get a thing going here! Heck, even yell out the full URL of these sites if you want! Write them on the back of trucks and dirty white vans! And just wait until Sunday morning- I'll let you know what he gets up too! And you're invited too Jamius, if you can get away!
And we're only a week and a half away from Alton Towers... ah well - I'd better get up now - it looks like a gloriously sunny (really!) Bank Holiday in prospect!
*Damn None-Disclosure Agreements!
PS - Here's an interesting page I hunted down via Lycos' Viral pages... but be warned - only visit if you want to see every (apparently) Playboy centre spread thing between December 1953 and April 2002 (it says here)... Not like me to promote such stuff, but there is a Betty Page one in there, so I guess it's okay! Some other interesting stuff there too inluding links to funny pics, flash, etc, that are currently 'hot' on the web... so not much AYB then!!!
Enjoy! (and no doubt you will!)
Posted by Badgers at 09:13 AM | Comments (0)
May 03, 2003
Postal 2 (Running With Scissors)
This is a review of a game which is (surprisingly)going to make it to this country, but will be savaged for so many reasons. But is it worth such treatment? Is it that bad? Well, it had to be better than the original Postal...!
Hmm - not really - it's fairly average, but a lot of fun while it lasts. If you have an open mind and are not easily offended! There are a lot of minus points against it though, so I'll start with those...
Okay - it's racist, but both ways - this was definitely written by people in a nice office and not a redneck in the dusty swamps, mainly because the rednecks come into the same amount of flak as the be-turbaned terrorists. And considering the hatred in the game for butchers, the programmers are probably vegatarians too - there is far less gore than I expected. A lot more swearing though! Right, now thats out of the way, here is the main minus points...
Firstly, no multiplayer, though this will be fixed in an upcoming patch. This is an unforgivable error! Secondly, the weapon selection is rather small, if varied, though what use the scissors are, I never found out! And the fact that there is not too much point in shooting at people's legs to make them limp or blow off a leg - only the head is explodable, and even that is only possible with the hunting rifle or point blank with the shotgun... the damage plays out more like an arcade game than a FPS. Thirdly, and this is the biggy, is that the layout of the game isn't anything special - it may be powered by the Unreal II engine, but it sure ain't unreal! The landscape is pretty basic, and not a lot of design work seems to have gone into it - it's almost as if the programmers knew they were not going to make millions (though the lawyers might!) and din'f spend a lot of time on it. The character design too, is generally shoddy, though the ragdoll physics used means that the dead bodies can get into some... interesting.. positions, should you want to look (Nick!)
The plus points are there though - the game is quite challenging, and is a lot of fun. Pouring gas on someone, and then tossing a match at them is spectacular, but somehow this pales when you find you can stick a cat on the end of the shotgun to be a silencer... I also like the ability to ander around the town almost at will, especially later on, though the loading times are atrocious, escpecially considering how small some of the areas actually are. The one liners are a major plus point too, with some rather memorable ones cropping up (thoug repeated too often - at least in Duke Nukem 3D and Serious Sam they only cropped up when needed), though some are still funny the umpteenth time... "Sorry, I'm feeling a little psychotic today!' being a personal favourite.
So, if you can get this cheap, do so - if you have to pay full price, walk away now... it's certainly not that bad, but it's 'politics' may leave you a little 'Postal' yourself!
So it's 2.5/5 from me, mainly due to the fact it's quite average, if fun, but the loading times are a bitch! And the dreadful lack of multiplayer...
Whatchutalkinaboutwillis? Is it really Gary Coleman's voice? I think we shuld be told! The credits don't say anything!
As I mentioned in the reiveiw, there is a lot of racial stereotyping, from terroist Islamic towelheads to rednecks - it goes both ways. Even the cops are not immune - you can use donuts to entice them to help you...
But seriously, this is not a game for the faint hearted or easily offended - everything should, of coursse, b taken in fun, but perhaps it does go a little far - in my first version of the review (before the crash) I noted that it might not make it here - I'm amazed it will be, but it might well sell, considering the voting in the local elections this past week...
Oh, and it might make it here, but if you live in Germany, the cat+shotgun antics are going to be a little harder to get hold of! Even with green blood!
Posted by Badgers at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)
The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith (Polygon)
I have a slight penchant for mystery novels that are not quite the norm... witness my love of Lindsey Davis' excellent Marcus Falco series... but occasionally I find something a little different. Not set in Ancient Rome, Egypt or the depths of space. And quite a long way from any Agatha Christie you've ever read. And often in 2 for 1 deals at Waterstones in Manchester!
Which brings me (sort of!) to the subject of this review - The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Currently numbering four books, it is the story not just of the agency itself, and its various cases, but of the people involved, from the owner, Precious Ramotswe, her assistant Mma Makutsi, her friend Mr J.L.B Matekoni, et al. And the setting? Contemporary Botswana. There, that caught you, didn't it?
So, no big house mysteries, no locked room murders, not a lot of precious jewels going astray after expensive dinner parties, then. But Mma Ramotswe does owe quite a lot to Agatha Christie' Miss Marple, and much to a certain bible of Detective work she keeps on a shelf in the office!
Currently the series comprises The No1 Ladies Detective Agency, Tears of The Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, and The Kalahari Typing School For Men. Each novel has a number of little mysteries, and one larger one, ranging from finding unfaithful husbands to fraud investigation. So definitly no big-house-locked-room mysteries then. But that isn't the point - these books are not about the investigations (excellent though they are), but about the people themselves. Early books linger on Mma Ramotswe, but later books open up to follow the lives of the other characters, each as well realised as the rest. You can come to care for these people, even though they live in a country that is far removed from your own. In fact, Smith makes Botswana seem like a rather wonderful place, though there are still things lingering beneath the surface of the 'old Botswana morality', especially for those who don't have it, such as the Nigerians or the Zulu.
Definitely a recommended series if you want something little out of the ordinary, and both funny, uplifting and occasionaly tragic at the same time.
So its a strong 4.5/5 from me, and I look forward to the next in the series!
Alexander McCall Smith is a Professor of Medical Law at Edinburgh Law School, and has written a number of books, both fiction and non fiction, such as The Forensic Aspects of Sleep and The Criminal Law Of Botswana. His other fiction includes a series of children's books (such as The Perfect Hamburger), a book of African folk tales called Children Of Wax, and a book I have to hunt down about eccentic german professors called Portuguese Irregular Verbs!
Posted by Badgers at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)
Free Comic Day!
Yes, in the US and over here in the UK, surprisingly, today is Free Comic Day! Get thee to a local comic emporium and get some free comics... not any comics, you understand, but such titles as Leave It To Chance, Dork Storm, and others... I'm not sure if any Spidey or X-titles are included, but who cares - grab some of the lesser known, indies - they are better, and more importantly, FREE!!! Of course, when you get this blog, it'll be too late, but what the heck!!! And of course, my comics are always free at roguenoid.com!
Ah well - I got to Manchester today and had some fun - the bus broke down on the way, as it came off the motorway... on the way in we got to see a burning chippy... I picked ups some FREE COMIC BOOKS!!! and got the other two Godilla Origins Figures (I now have all three - Original Godzilla, 1968 Godzilla and 1999 Godzilla). I'm happy! Still wish I could afford Rodan, and that the other figure they had in stock wasn't Hedorah the Smog Monster... I also picked up some nice DVDs at HMV - I love 2 for £20 deals... and the X-treme video offer - X-Men 1.5 for £19.99, and get Minority Report for £5! Oddly, I didn't get any books today, but I have enough to keep me going for a month or so...
On the way back, I got chatting to an old man who only travels from Burnley to Manchester once a year, and this time he seems to have only gone to get a shirt from Marks & Spencer. One thing puzzes me. Recently, Burnley & Pendle have added a new bus - usually you catch the X43 (until it breaks down!), but now there is a new X44 once an hour that goes pretty much the same way (through Rawtenstall, onto the motorway to Prestwich and into Manchester), except it leaves the motorway early and goes through Edenfield for no apparent reason. I suppose it gives the bus drivers a change...
One last note - James - you should be able to get your entries up now as I'm just sorting out the directories in the configs files... the site will be up and running properly now, apart from running a little slowly while Digihosters sort it out. Enjoy!
Posted by Badgers at 03:08 PM | Comments (0)
Silly Things To Do
(Originally 2 entries on 26.4.03)
So, this blog is turning into more of a series of snapshots of my life... it works like this, though, so why not! In this vein, how about I tell you about something really stupid I did this week...
I had to install a smoke alarm at a deaf lady's house. No problem there. Except it was at the top of the stairs. Again, no problem, except that the ceiling was kinda high (I had to stand on the top of the stepladders to reach) and the stepladder was balanced across two steps at the top of the landing as there is a step up to the bedroom at one side, and another step up to the landing itself at the other. And I had to run a wire up the wall from the bedroom (for the light and vibrating pad), along the ceiling and put up the smoke alarm itself.
And for bonus points, the steps were a little wobbily, and there was a young boy running up and down in roller skates he'd just got from the loft, but couldn't use outside because it was raining. And he wanted to get upstairs to tell me about his N64 games, and play on his Playstation.
I don't think I have ever been so scared in my life. And I've driven with myself.
Still, I survived, and all went surprisingly well! Just don't tell Health & Safety!!!
Also - I went to shopping to Morrisons in Nelson with my mum and found they wrere selling off action figures for cheap prices... Action Man and Barbie stuff for £4-8, and what I picked up - a Silent Screamers Maria from Metropolis for £1.49! Not bad sculpting, a large base, and nicely poseable legs - she looks updated, but still very recognisable. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the other figures in the range (not on sale, but on the back of the box) - Edison's Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde. They have great stands, but the figures just don't look as cool. Or as well stacked. So to speak.
Finally, thanks to the people posting Chris Rea mp3 and Tori Amos videos on the newsgrups - I've added to the Chris Rea post by uploading the live bootleg CDs I have... Thanks guys!
Posted by Badgers at 08:52 AM | Comments (0)
CRASH!
No, not the car, but the server over at Digihosters! Last Saturday I did a really good entry, and two and a half reviews, then it all went tits up! No email, either! They had a server crash, and lost a lot of data, so things have been running on a backup, and I've found that all the ftp server folders have moved! While I should be able to get everything sorted (Jamius - you'lll have to re-enter any of your entries, sorry!) it may take a little time, as the changes have buggered up my Moveable Type installation... of course, if you can see this, it means that I've got it working! For now, at least...
I'll get the entries knocked up pretty much as they were last Saturday (mine at least), so you won't have missed much...!
Posted by Badgers at 08:28 AM | Comments (0)