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October 24, 2003
The Hundredth Blog Entry!
That's a nice little milestone... or is that millstone?
This week, there have been no other entries, but not because I wanted to make this a special one. It's just been that I have been so hacked off I wasn't sure what I'd type. I still am, in fact, but I feel more lucid.
There have been a few good things, and one or two humorous things this week such as a drunk staggering around first thing - all over the road and the pavement, obviously much further gone that I was a couple of weeks back... I need another night out, and there might be some little devils out next Friday, but I digress!) And one guy I watched as he tried to decide which way to go - he walked one way, stopped, looked around, then walked a different way.... totally lost, and sadly I couldn't help him. I was too busy hiding my giggles...
A good week for redheads, too!
One good thing was taking the car to be dealt with... the door no longer makes that horible noise when it opens, the engine management light went off, and the recall things that were outstanding were dealt with too. The indicator is on order, but should be due next week, which is convenient as I now have to take it back as the car occasionally loses power whehn setting off in 1st gear or when changing to seconmd gear. And the bloody light is back on. The best thing is that the work done so far hasn't cost anywhere near as much as I expected, so I can afford to get the front wings replaced! Hopefully it will all be sorted for my MOT... By the way, the new 206 (I had a new blue one as a courtesy car) drives like a video game - way too light and obviously not as much power (except for the odd time - see above!)
Work-wise things were not too bad, apart from a couple of annoying niggles - one woman didn't want anything (though she really needed stuff), one man had gotten some IR headphones and was happy with them, one man also needed stuff for his sons (I needed to do new referrals to myself to order the equipment), and I got a message that a man's textphone wasn't working. Of course, I get this message today (Friday) and he came in while I was on holiday and was told that I would see him Monday or Tuesday this past week. I visit tofay and find that he doesn't have a textphone, and in fact doesn't have a telephone line installed and could we fit one please? I wouldn't mind, but the original message was taken by a lady I rather like... but thats okay as I have my revenge - she is having to rule the columns in a book I use to keep track of my ever-increasing workload... a mind-numbing job if ever there was one! Supervision with my boss was quick, and the woman who was starting/wasn't starting is now starting one day a week next Thursday. And the new structure for Social Services in Lancashire came through, and I still don't know where I fit into it. Oh joy.
That last straw was a visit to an annoying young woman who had a tone caller from BT but insisted that we installed it and it was our responsibility. You see, it was ringing constantly (none of the other phones did, just that) and so make her flashing lights stay on constantly. The joys of being deaf. So, as it isn't our responsibility (she was fairly militant that it was) I ordered a tone caller myself, paying £25 for it and the delivery. And finally, after getting back to work, I was able to fit it today. And it rang and rang and rang. It had to be the phone socket ie BT's problem. Of course, she wants us to pay for any call out charges... She calls and I step in to help get the point across. BT would do nothing until we'd tried the tone caller in another socket (like I was taking it off the wall and removing all the wiring) and tried a phone in the socket. We did so, and after a second 20 minute wait, we got through and they were saying okay, but its a £50 call out charge...I mean, what do they think they are? Plumbers? I got on the phone, and explained very carefully (and loudly!) what the problem was, and that it was up to them. Suddenly theengineer could come on Monday at 8.00am. I didn't have to get that militant about it either. Of course, once in the car and driving home, I screamed out my frustration.
Oh wonderful - while typing this I just went downstairs to have tea when I fell over some stepladders resting on the stairs and twisted my ankle - not sure how badly yet, but it hurts and I can only just walk on it (not done the tendon though - just the ankle - I hope!) - this may mean that Sunday is called off, after all, it's no fun if I'm not there... And i doubt if I can carry Ayumi! Sorry guys!
I need another night out, but I don't know if I can walk properly yet... (cry!)
Posted by Badgers at 07:28 PM | Comments (5)
October 18, 2003
Dredd Is Finished!
Sigh. Just to let you know that as the parents were off doing a community trip to Blackpool for the lights (two full coaches worth all going for free! That should give the area some bloody community spirit!!!) I decided to spend the day (from 3.00 at least) going through Judge Dredd - Dredd vs Death... I finished it a little earlier - expect a review as it isn't bad - I want to see how multiplayer goes, especially the co-op side of the game - me and James will no doubt hit that this week!
James didn't get it yesterday due to various things, but he has it now...:biggrin
Later!
Posted by Badgers at 11:45 PM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2003
That Was A Week Off...
Hmm - well, at least I wasn't at work!
One of the things I was going to do this week hasn't really happened, due to James not bringing Macromedia MX last Sunday (Jamius' solution of downloading it again wasn't really practical...), but I did get to draw more art for it, which is a bonus I guess... my Doctor Who tribute is looking unlikely to make it by the 23rd of November though... :angry
So what have I managed to do? Well, I managed to get some sleep and get over last Saturday night (!), and finished Halo, got a lot further into Jedi Academy than anyone else (damned hard!), watched a little more TV than usual (Bill Oddie doing a history/Treasure Hunt style program that isn't all that good, even by morning TV standards! And the lunchhtime Bargain Hunt is now 45 minutes long...)... scary! I've also been doing some practice on Tiger Woods 2004... I'm still not very good, but at least I can hit the ball somewhere in the right direction! :lol
The best thing is that some recent competition entering has come up trumps - thanks to a supllier we used to use in my old job, I am now the proud owner of a HP1940 iPAQ.:biggrin Of course, this has meant I've had to spend some money to get a 256mb SD card and some screen protectors (and a cheap case), but it finally means I can get away from the filofax... and I can also play Day Of The Tentacle in ScummVM while having lunch! James has lots of ebooks but nothing to read them on yet, (I suspect he's hitting Ebay unless he's still banned!) so who knows... I am also the proud owner of a neighbour's Dragon 64... and a huge pile of Dragon User magazines, etc... I can't get a game to load yet, but looking at the tapes, it looks like the tape player is the problem - I'll try converting to CD like I have with my Oric stuff!!!
So, that's been my week - I havn't even been on the PC as much as I expected this week (no new design for RNP yet!), but I may sort out some reviews etc this weekend if I get the chance - I can't wait to go back to work next week... I just have to remember that my car is going in for repairs and the MOT this week...
Oh - one thing - the Judge Dredd game isn't bad from what I've played - I wanna try co-op with James if he picked it up today - it will be fun!!! Probable review on this soon!
Posted by Badgers at 07:34 PM | Comments (2)
October 12, 2003
Golf And Nights Out (Not Necessarily In That Order)
Not a bad weekend so far... My plan to get revenge on James for Alton Towers (I've been buttering him up for weeks) by telling him me and Nick were not going out didn't work as the fool didn't go for the bait - typical! Still, it was a good night out. Me and Nick went alone as James wanted to go but 'couldn't'... one of the drawbacks of marriage, I'm afraid! I had to go out last night, but the next one will no doubt be a while off. Ah well.
The night started with The Swan and included some nice highlights, such as two rather attractive girls who kept looking at us and talking (God knows why), even getting closer (I kept looking at them and they looked back) but due to the number of people walking beween us I decided to move to a slightly more open space in the pub, but they didn't follow. Darn. Things were not a complete loss as while thepub has lost the Nintendo classic coin-op they had, they have gained a working (!) Simpsons Pinball Party table, which Nick and I monopolised all night! Somehow, he got the higher scores (how? he's terrible at Visual Pinball!!!), though I have a theory... excessive alcohol consumption - see later!
About 10-ish we decamped to the Paradise Island club, and while it was packed as usual, we found that you could go upstairs (I was following a rather nice (and then some!) redhead at the time) to a bit where a band were playing live (ish). They were basically singing over songs by Bon Jovi, The Corrs, etc, but playing keyboards and guitar, and while it shouldn't work, it really did! Nick bought them a drink as they really worked their socks off. I was surprised that this was up here - there is even a rooftop beer garden... looking at the people there, I think we can guess where the people who usually go to the Rock are going while the refurbishment is under way. Good music and lots of fun. And girls. Lots. And lots. Oh my!
Lots of drinks too... usually I have maybe a couple of VK/Smirnoff Ice/etc and then a J20 or fruit juice to cool down, but that didn't happen last night...
Nope - last night Nick stuck to simple (and little) Bacardi and Cokes, while I just had Smirnoff Ice. Lots of them. And more. It was like the night out with Helen over again (the one pre-blog when she decided it was her mission to get me drunk, and proceeded to do just that until her boyfriend (wonder if Marcus is still around! I wish she was!) arrived to pick her up, by the means of going through the vodka drinks alphabetically... Basically then, I was the most :drunkdrunk:drunk I've been in a long time - barely able to walk straight and very tired (I'd been up since 5am). Still, it was a very good night (I don't want to rub it into the faces of the married one and the sad Galaxies-playing one, but it just was... lots of lovely midriff to ogle (I like midriff!:kiss), and other bits too!). Of course, getting home was a different matter... I made it, had to throw up (that doesn't happen often, collapsed into bed, woke up at 5am again to cough up some bile (this I had to do on and off until I finally felt able to get up properly at 11am!), had my usual bacon/eggs/sausage Sunday lunch and then went to Nicks. More on this later...
On the way to the night out, I had three funny experiences - the first was walking across Bank Hall pit on the usual route to Nicks when I had to stop - omething wasn't right - you see somone had taken down the wooden bridge across the river! Thankfully it wasn't too dark so I saw it... and of course I didn't take that route home!!! Next was by the fire station - an engine came out and raced down Ormerod Road, a little red car turned down, only to have to skid to the side when the second engine set off and came up behind it... the third thing was some idiot on a mobile phone talking loudly into it about a pick up... drugs probably...
Ah well - I'm fairly okay now, mainly due to a game of golf this afternoon, courtesy of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004... This is a golf game I can heartily recommend! We played through the whole of St Andrews and it was lots of fun - in face we will be doing it again... It may form the centre of a plan to have a 'night in' - it's the nearest thing we will have to getting all four of the idiots together at once!
Ah well, I have a plan for the next night out, but it might only work if James isn't there... might be quite easy to arrange then!!! (ahem!)
Oh well - I'm off to battle through some golf... I may have to review this!!!
:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk:drunk!!!
PS - I've also picked up a heap of Dragon 32 games from a neighbour, and I will have the Dragon 32 and 64 he used to use once he finds where it was put! Another old computer to add to my ever growing collection!!!
Posted by Badgers at 07:43 PM | Comments (3)
October 10, 2003
Thank Goddess That's All Over
Well, I think we know what the 'third thing' has turned out to be - see the previous entry for details. I felt she needed an entry to herself.
The rest of the week has been pretty bad too, what with the PC thing and the tyre. And now, thanks to the wind nearly taking the door off the car yesterday, the driver's door knocks against the front wing when you open it - that's another thing to get sorted out next week.
At least I don't have to think about work for the next week,and after today I am so glad about that. No problem taking most of the morning off to deal with Sadie, but everything I had to do today had to be slotted into less time and still have more stuff added. All in all, I need that night out tomorrow, and I don't care if it takes all of next week to get over it.
I hope things are going better for you lot... later perhaps...
Posted by Badgers at 09:07 PM | Comments (0)
Farewell, Sadie Newton, You Will be Missed.
Last night, Sadie, the cute but old ginger dog that I consider to be mine started having a number of grand mal seizures, recovering enough to walk round the room banging into everything as she went. She had been having a number of similar fits in the past few months, but nothing on this scale, and certainly not followed by another and then another.
This morning I took her to the vets and mum and I stayed with her until she went to sleep. I cried. A lot. She was around 20 years old, and ornery as could be when she wanted to be - the other dogs knew who was in charge! And I was the only person she didn't bite. For the past four years por so she had been living on borrowed time thanks to some pills that kept her going long after she should have been. Covered in lumps, thin as a rake towards the end, virtually deaf and blind, she kept going, even when she couldn't go for a proper walk with the other dogs anymore. But she was happy until recently - when she recovered from the fits she had before, she was fine, but not this time.
Farewell old girl, you'll be missed, not the least by me.
Posted by Badgers at 07:11 PM | Comments (1)
October 08, 2003
These Things Things Come In Threes...
...at least I hope its only in threes... :angry I discovered that the Nvidia FX series graphics cards are DirectX 9 compatible, but not compliant. This explains why Kyoko (1800XP Processor, 512mb of memory, Geforce 3 Ti4200) runs Halo better than Ayumi (3000XP, 1 gig memory, Nvidia FX 5600 Ultra)! I got a Radeon 9600 Pro and after much hassle (like having to reformat c: to get rid of every last trace of FX driver!) I finally got a working, stable, and fast game of Halo. With specular stuff and bump mapping and everything. Whoa. And I also tried Midnight Club II (a fun game that I couldn't play due to the frame rate making it too hard to finish the race I was in) and got a shock - it ran as smooth as GTA Vice City had on the other card, despite lighting effects and reflections on the cars etc... It runs most stuff the same speed or even a little faster, but the DX9 stuff was stunning... 3DMark also gave me a decent score (especially in 2003!) so at least I'm happy about that little disaster... I just have to get everything back on the computer again (I'm typing this at work!)
The next big thing was the loss of another tyre... one of the ones I had replaced! I was returning from an appintment in Foulridge and the car ahead hit a stone in the road - it bounced and I heard a terrible thump and a bang - I stopped and pulled over to find the blasted thing had taken a lump out of the passenger side front tyre. I'm sure James will laugh but so what? Not my fault, and at least I didn't have to execute an A-Team-style jump into a field after hitting it...
The third thing (as far as I can tell) is that the person who was to start tomorrow doing my job in Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley won't be as some bright spark decided it was enough for her to do 1 day a week... she wouldn't even be able to keep up with her messages on the computer doing so little! So, it's been cancelled and no-one is covering that side, except for people who need me to see them urgently... and there are few of them...
Oh - one last thing - what kind of muppet stops on Church Street at the bottom of Ormerod Road in Burnley at 8.50 in the morning to let every car come off the road, blocking traffic for ages...? Sadly, it was some fool in a Cinqcento (or whatever they are called), and nota white Siearra, so i couldn't blame Jamius for that one!!! :rofl
A FYI, there might be a night out in the offing this wet autumn weekend, but I can't be sure... it kinda depends on availablity of James, me and money. Nick would go out anyway, he's that kind of fool! Barney Gumble would be proud! :drunk
Posted by Badgers at 04:55 PM | Comments (0)
October 04, 2003
Russell Crowe? At Least He Won't Be Playing The Doctor...
Well, I survived Manchester... it was as busy as I've ever seen it today... maybe people are doing their Christmas shopping! :lol I got a shock though, when I went to get some more Patrick O'Brien books... they had the movie tie-in books for Master and Commander and Far Side Of The World! Russell Crowe will be playing Captain Aubrey... He looks quite good, but I don't know... having read the books, I don't want them buggered up on screen! I'm sure the battles will be impressive (they should be pretty damn brutal too!), but the casting... I don't know. I'm definitely willing to give it the benefit of the doubt though, just to see it on the screen. The trailer certainly looks impressive and it looks like some of the bits you thought they might cut (checking the water in the well, for example) are in there... but that accent isn't Jack Aubrey... James might think Dredd doesn't sound Dredd-y in the Judge Dredd game and the audios, but this is the return of his Gladiator Accent... but then he still won an Oscar for that! Keep an eye on Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World this November...
I also picked up Night Watch by Terry Pratchett, and started reading it on the bus home as I had finished the third of the Von Igelfeld books on the way into Manchester (expect a review this weekend and a cover ijmage when I find my scanner!!!:lol). Also, shockingly, Bone has returned with the long awaited #52, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has finally wrapped up the Martian invasion fairly shockingly... Book Three will be interesting... whenever it arrives! To celebrate I bought the collected Volume One as I don't feel like hunting and digging in the attic like Quatermain looking for King Solomon's Mines!
Oh - and this morning work begun in earnest on ...Ish, the first of my proper Flashes to go online... I'll hopefully pop a bit of my concept art (well, pencilled doodles!) online in the Gallery... expect the Flash very soon!!!
Ah well, to work!!!
Posted by Badgers at 03:43 PM | Comments (3)
October 03, 2003
Country Roads Take Me Home
Between cows and tree branches... such is life...
While out on visits these past two days I have run into a load of runaway cows that had gotten out of their field, and also managed to get a scratch on the passenger side of the car thanks to a bloody big branch sticking out on the way to Rimington. Apart from that, the week has been a success - no big disasters, in fact no disasters at all, just a pain in the chest from tidying up my cabinet with equipment in (mainly because it is in our smoke room - if James did take my job on, he'd soon stop smoking in there!) and with my chest it hurts to be in a smoky environment for that long (at least without alcohol!), and a happy boss. I even got informatiojn that the person taking over in the Hyndburn/Ribble Valley area starts next Thursday, two days before I go on a weeks leave. Oh joy - one day of training and into the job for her, as Thursday is already booked down as visiting in Bacup and Whitworth! Still, thats more than I got...
Thankfully, I'm in Manchester tomorrow...
Posted by Badgers at 05:49 PM | Comments (3)
He's Back... Almost!
So, officially, Doctor Who will be back in 2005. On Saturdays. And written by Russell T Davies. Good thing or bad thing? Discuss.
Okay, overall I think it is a good thing! The rights have finally returned to the BBC so they are now free to do something. The question is, how will it be done? Will it take the route of continuing with the continuity of the older series? Will it be the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann), the Ninth (Rowan Atkinson (Curse of Fatal Death) or Richard E Grant (BBCi internet story, for the anniversary), or someone entirely new?) or even a Tenth Doctor? Will Tom Baker return? Will it be a new start altogether to get rid of all that baggage?
At the moment, we know little - Davies is a great fan, but is a fan the best person to give the series to? A series of six episodes seems likely at 50 minutes each, but will this mean multi-episode stories or self contained tales? I'd love it to continue from where it left off, but could it do so and pull in the viewers needed to keep it on air? Even though the TV Movie pulled in enough viewers to make it work over here, the BBC couldn't go ahead as it did far worse in the US for various reasons. It will need to beat the ratings received by series such as Strange, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and the recent (very boring) series of Jonathan Creek. In an early evening slot, it couldn't be as viscerial as it was even at the end of McCoy's run (something like Ghostlight or Survival on at 6pm nowadays?!?) and so would be watered down, but even so the ratings need to be there if it is to survive more than a single series. And I'm sure that the BBC will want it to run longer than that. But still they won't want to alienate that core of fandom that will watch whatever happens. Hmm - a tall order, then.
My idea (and one shared by Mark Gatiss, someone who might make a good Doctor after his appearance in Web of Caves) would be to start from scratch. Yes, the Time Lords and Daleks and Cybermen would still appear, but without the baggage of the earlier series. Remember my earlier rant about re-visioning older series (and buggering them up)? I must admit, this is similar, but probably necessary (apart from the 'buggering up' bit!). The idea that the audience know that pepperpot-shaped thing is a dalek, and quite dangerous (not least because it actually hovers and can get up stairs!) but the Doctor doesn't... mmmmm! Of course, they should never be the spider-daleks. Not ever.
My plan therefore would be to start from scratch at Totters Lane, and with someone not young (!), and go from there. Retell old tales if they must, but in exciting, more modern ways. Perhaps regenerate every series? One thing I know is that another 26-year run is not likely! Considering the performance of those series mentioned above recently, a run of two short seasons should be considered a success! One thing we do know is that Davies feels the stories will be largely Earth-based, probably to keep costs down, and because we know he is more interested in that than outer space stuff. But as other writers will be coming into it (at least from the second season onwards). In fact, the cost cutting, if the right deal can be cut with Terry Nation's estate, would pretty much ensure the return of the Daleks, Cybermen, etc... I hope! I have a feeling the series will carry on from where it eft off, one way or another. We shall see.
Casting is a difficult one. Many want the return of McGann (even if only for a regeneration though as it wouldn't be for long on screen it might turn into a Colin Baker-style regeneration :wink), and Grant is unlikely to return to the Doctor after the webcast in November as he is quite busy (The Scarlet Pimpernel fitted into a slot he had, hence none since). Alan Davies is being touted, and in a radio interview this week Tom Baker said that Eddie Izzard was cast in the role already (he's already been touted and would make an interesting Doctor... really! If it's true, I'm cool with Eddie!), and he may say something different in his interview this afternoon on Radio 2 (I'll update with anything when I hear it tonight). At this point, I doubt that any real thought has been made into the casting - the show itself must come first, then casting begins - it's waaay too early to say (insert person you want to play the Doctor here) is going to star. Make it a show that might have broad family appeal, rather than just 'anorak' appeal, first. If they cast someone early, the show will be tailored to fit them. If it grows to fit the person over time (as it did with Tom) then so much the better.
So, it's wait-and-see for the moment, but as you can expect, in all the excitement, speculation is rife. After all, what do you think this little piece is? Apart from a fairly random opinionated rant?
The point? He's coming back! And it really is about bloody time!
UPDATE: Thanks to a last minute appointment in Rawtenstall (not often you'd hear me say that!), I got to hear Tom on R2 and yes, he says it is Eddie Izzard! No official confirmation yet, though, but at least it isn't Alan (please-cast-me-me-series-which-used-to-be-decent-has-gone-rubbish) Davies!
Posted by Badgers at 03:43 PM | Comments (2)
I'm Amazed I Survived Childhood!
A number of schools are banning conkers, mainly to stop themselves from being sued. Other things are being banned too - leap frog, running in the playground, football... and it is all the fault of the blame culture that is rapidly growing in this country. We may not be quite as bad as America yet, but by gum, we're gonna strive to be better!
Conkers, admittedly, can cause injury - idiots swing them as weapons, rather than to play the game, but while the odd hand injury is possible (but unlikely to be serious) the insurance companies, seeking to reduce risk, quote the danger of eye injury. Apparently, this is even true. Many schools banned leap frog due to injuries, but some are going far further... Some ban football, not due to the injury problem, but due to it being too competitive. It seems the children can't handle losing. Why do I think that the school won't be raising it's exam scores any time soon as they have banned all kinds of testing? Other schools have banned School Sports Days, even for parents. Too much of a risk. Pokemon and Yu-gi-oh cards banned due to injuries (and not just to being beaten up for them!)...
Of course, this is not necessarily the school's fault - the insurance companies are desperate to reduce the risk of a payout, and due to this the shools are having to overreact like this. But ever since the late '80s this overreacting has grown rapidly... It's a wonder that I survived to tell the tale of my younger life! The perils of growing up have to be experienced, surely? If we fit every child with padding and make sure that no harm can come to them, surely the risk to the child is greater? Risk is a part of life, after all. if you know that you will get hurt by doing something, you think twice about doing it - animals learn this way, so do we.
Example scenario: If you cross the road, there is a risk a car will knock you down, but you accept that - you do what you can to minimise that risk yourself by looking to see if it is clear. The only risk-free option is never to cross a road. Even a subway under the road could collapse, after all. The problem is that we may be growing a generation of children who cannot judge risks for themselves - like rabbits, they will see something across the road and just cross, not looking and in doing so become roadkill themselves! An extreme example, perhaps, but true.
Here's another. If there is no real value of risk, what of our laws? Might this lead to people with no sense of risk committing a crime, without thinking of the risk of being caught? It's a thought.
When I was young, I walked on high walls (fell off a few!), ran across roads, etc. Heck, I even played marbles and conkers, but I can still see (I also had a stone that looked exactly like a conker, but never strung it up to cheat - the risk of being found out was too high!). I lived, and a few scratches and scrapes made me a better person today. It seems that current generations don't have this understanding of risk, and it seems that with lawyers, insurance companies and the litigation culture we are gaining, things can only get worse.
If we mollycoddly our children too much, things will go the wrong way - playtime will end, (too much possibility of injury), science lessons (little Johnny might try to mix up something and either burn himself or blow the ceiling off the classroom), even maths (too hard a question might cause a brain haemorage or worse). School trips will go due to the possibility of injury or death or even disapointment. Schools themselves may be changed drastically as everyone finally realises that having them in the open is a bad idea and paedaphiles might just hang around them... heck, even going outside is risky, what with ultraviolet rays and colds and asteroids whizzing past us at every oportunity... it goes on and on. And you know, I think we might get there in britain, long before the Americans.
If I ever have kids, I'll make sure they meet risk full on. It's the only way we will ever learn.
(This was talked about on The Jeremy Vine Show on Radio Two this week, and the stories from people were very worrying... I have used some in the article above...)
Posted by Badgers at 02:59 PM | Comments (3)
October 01, 2003
Near Misses
Over the last couple of days I've been almost killed over and over again. Cars coming off roundabouts without looking, a truck today that decided to turn a corner I was coming out of but of course he forgot to signal... People stepping out in front of the car and everything. Heck, I was almost taken out by a loveley blonde woman pushing a pram when she suddenly decided to turn right to go up to the Market Hall, executing a fantastic 90 degree turn as she did so.
Right into me.
Still, for a change this week hasn't been bad so far, though yesterday afternoon it looked like it was going wrong when I had to see 10 (10!!!) people in the afternoon for repairs to equipment, etc. And being old dears they all wanted me to talk to them for ages... Its even worse than James and his Messenger things when I'm trying to play a game or do some work...
Still, just a few days to go until I nip to Manchester... and possibly a night out... hurrah!
Posted by Badgers at 06:45 PM | Comments (5)
Gaming
A short one this, but interesting. The idiots are up here playing games, but in different rooms. James is in my bedroom shooting on some unnamable FPS, Andrew is in the bathroom doing another FPS, while downstairs, Nick is playing yet another first person shooter. They are not linked on a network, but playing alone. I'm just wandering between them watching what they are doing.
Note that I'm not playing games - do I feel left out? Oh, and everyone is playing FPS... is there any other genre of game nowadays?!?
Judging by the last three dreams (all from the same night!), I feel left out, trapped and unable to get what I want. I'm on a downhill slope, folks...
Posted by Badgers at 06:48 AM | Comments (3)
Melon
A large, modern shopping centre has been built - it is huge, like the Trafford Centre. It is like a mirrored glass box, but with rounded edges and some round bits stuck on. Very modern. As I ride the escalator up to the first floor entrance, I look round at large signs with a strange badly drawn dog on them (obviously the centre's mascot/logo) I and think "I could have done it better than that!".
Inside there are large shops around the edge of the building, but the middle bit is taken up with market stalls, ranging from tidy professional ones to the sort you'd find on the flea market. A little way off you can see down into the floor below through the railings.
I see a stall selling fruit, melos, etc. I see a dish with sliced pink melon on it, and I think - I'll get that, but as I approach a lady asks to try some of it, likes it, and buys it herself. Of course, this is the only melon she has on the stall (it is a dream, after all!) and I look in vain around the stall for something else I might like but it has chocolate and stuff that I just can't eat without being violently ill.
Nick, James and Andrew turn up, I tell them about the melon, but somehow it doesn't really grab them as a problem, so we go off to explore the market. Nick and James find some old porn, I find a stall selling old toys and model kits. Of course, I don't have any money... Not sure what Andrew does as he has buggered off by then.
Well, Burnley is getting a large new Tesco store, but it isn't going to be much like the centre in the dream! Really modern and spectacular... and large. The market on the inside was good (allsorts on sale, including that one plate of melon) and worth building into a real one...
The melon was odd. Why dream of a plate of pink melon? Why did she get it before I did? Another sign in a dream that I'm unfulfilled, and feel people are getting things I want before me? Have I missed something recently that I really wanted? Not especially.
The idiots turning up was fun and almost leads into the next dream... I love how I found the toys and kits and stuff that I couldn't afford, and they found porn... kinda like real life, lately! And I have no idea where Andrew went - there one minute, gone the next.
Oh, and the dog/logo thing - really, I could draw better than that... maybe my id is telling me to get on with Butterfly, Ish and I.T.!!
Seriously odd dreams this time round.
Posted by Badgers at 06:45 AM | Comments (3)
The Enemy
I am at a seaside resort (it seems) and staying in what seems to be a half decent hotel. But something isn't right. The man 'running' it is a kind of spy - he is played by Peter Miles (best known for various roles in Doctor Who, such as Nyder, Davros' second-in-command in Genesis of the Daleks), and it is his job to use information to keep the war going and get people to kill each other.
This feelas wrong, but I am obviously under his influence, until a woman arrives and takes me out onto the beach outside - it is cold. She is a large,woman in her early 40's, and she apparently does the same job as the man. She tells me what is going on, and I join her in her fight as we are attacked from Browhead Court (a local sheltered housing complex) by general in a green waterproof jacket/kagool thing and his men. They come out shooting, but we are not hit, but keep knocking them over with a kind of high-powered water rifle. I'm not sure how, but the general gets covered in nasty, oily black goo (I comment that he needs a bath) and leaps into a large green metal pram (armoured?) and we keep firing at until it fills with water - he is thrashing about in the pram, but at least he is cleaner... then Peter Miles character arrives, inspects the very unhappy general and comes over to us. He says he is very disappointed.
He takes us both back to the hotel and talks to the woman while I am escorted back to my drab room. She tells him that she does the same job as him, and he is shocked. I get out of my room and go to the kitchen - I feel sick and throw up the same black goo that the general was covered in - I rush into the kitchen and start getting rid of the freshly boiled vegetables while the cook is out, as they are poisoned...
Hmm. Peter Miles I can place - I read an interview with him in Doctor Who Magazine. The rest on the other hand... Is it a sign that I feel trapped? That squirting high-powered water rifles at people is the only way to freedom? That I ate too much cheese before going to bed? The being sick bit at the end was disturbing... especially when I woke up and had to cough up phlegm for real...
Perhaps the rest of the night's dreams will reveal something?
Posted by Badgers at 06:36 AM | Comments (3)