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Wyatt's Journal
Aug. 15th, 2008
09:20 pm
God, it was a desolate place. The landscape was a mess of jagged rock and tumbled scree where nothing grew. There were a few trees dotted about, but most of the vegetation was either dead grass, or burnt from the fires that had ravaged the island only a few weeks before. Everything outside of the carefully tended hotels was dead or dying in the burning heat. Just letting the sun fall on my skin was to feel in burn; the air was like opening the door of a kilm, and I could barley breathe. The landscape was dotted with half finished buildings, concrete frames with steel rebars sticking up out of them, in various states of ruin; the frame had been put up, and then left to crumble. Some must have stood under construction for years, as the stone had begun to crumble. And the buildings themselves were ugly, so ugly, just boxes painted white, duplicated endlessly and dumped all over the island with no care. Fire, earthquake, land rovers full of sick and god only knows what else had struck the land, and I got the impression that it had never recovered. It wasn't a place I'd like to spend any more time.
Jul. 31st, 2008
08:58 pm
While the (homeowners? landlords?) landlords are away, I'm looking after the cats, who are both on special diets. So, I got a cup of low-fat food for Fat Cat, and a cup of high fat food for Thin Cat. I poured them into bowls, and they set to them. I turned to put the cups back, and by the time I turned back, they'd swapped bowls.
I think I know why Thin Cat is thin and Fat Cat is fat.
Jul. 29th, 2008
08:34 pm
I loathe and detest optical mice. I never had a problem with mice with balls, and I can't understand why we need them replaced. Sure, people tell me they're more accurate, but I've never been able to tell the difference, possibly because the pointer spends half of its time jammed in one of the corners. It flicks about with gay abandon, caring not one whit for what you are actually doing, and that I've just spend ten minutes selecting all the right cells in excel, and ruins my work. I hate that, and it's happened with six different optical mice I've had, on all types of surface, so I can only theorise that the balls they removed have been used to makes the whole thing bollocks. And I can't get a ball mouse anywhere! Why replace something that works with a less functional, more expen-
Ah. I've answered my own question.
Also, I hat wireless internet. As a method of quickly connecting laptops, phones, and whatever you have that needs to be mobile it's fine, but people think it can be used as a replacement to a wired connection, for which it sucks. The speeds manage to be lower than the average broadband in this country, and connection drops at least once an hour, yet because it's 'more advanced' than a big wire, people prefer it.
Drives me mad.
Jul. 22nd, 2008
09:40 pm
The saddle fell off my bike yesterday. It certainly made the ride home interesting.
Today's ride was interrupted by a massive swarm of flying ants, which got everywhere. I've eaten ants before, but I prefer it when they don't hurl themselves down my throat at twenty miles an hour.
In addition, I seem to have some sort of lump, or swelling, just above my right eye and beneath the eyebrow. It's not turned blue, so it's not a bruise from walking into something and not noticing (again, although my glasses normally prevent that kind of thing), but it is red and feels sensitive when I touch it. I'm leaning towards an 'enormous spot' theory, as there is definitely a more solid lump at the centre of the bulge, but no spot is showing, and whatever it is, it's large enough to push my eyelid down, making me look half-asleep, and hurts whenever I move my eyebrow. Which is a lot.
Jul. 14th, 2008
09:30 pm - Subtitles
I have to havesubtitels on when I'm watching TV. For some reason, if I have subtitles off, the soud on half the digital channels goes off, but with subtitles, the sound comes back. Odd, but I've got used to it by now, and it can be quite fun, when the typist can't keep up with live TV, and you get odd mis-spellings, words running together and the like. And Never Mind The Buzzcocks is always good for a laugh, if only to try and guess the point where they'll give up and label Bill Bailey with (HE MAKES STRANGE NOISES).
But also, I find the adverts interesting. Some adverts have subtitles, some don't, but the subtitles hamg aroung for a minute or so, meaning the tagline carries across one or two adverts, putting 'If Carlsberg did barbecues...' beneath Mr. T in a tank, or 'Because you're worth it.' beneath one of those harrowing child abuse adverts. Child abuse prevention, that is. I can't help but wonder if they have to pay extra for subtitles, how many people use them, and whether the effect they have is worth it. For sure, a lot fewer people see the words, but if they do read them, they are by definition paying more attention.
Anyway. Now I'm rambling a bit.
Jul. 10th, 2008
09:30 pm
Bastards! I was wondering why I couldn't get online, and now Iknow, Microsoft have broken the internet. Lucky I have my little laptop, or I would never have found out about this.
Jul. 1st, 2008
07:38 am
From Dogblog:
"Probably one of the best things about owning a dog has to be that eternal fuzzy optimism. Honestly, who else is going to greet you like you're about to have the best day of your lives every single time you see them? Even for the richest man on Earth, that has got to be one short-ass list."
Ands that's why dogs are much better than cats, who just stare at you with barely disguised contempt until - no, with utter contempt until you feed them, then they bugger off.
A cat was sick in one of my shoes this morning. The left one.
Jun. 27th, 2008
09:23 pm
Man, am I hyped about tomorrow! First thing, I'm going into town, to get Super Smash Bros Brawl, freshly released today. I'll pick up the next couple of books in the Song of Fire and Ice series, which I picked up a few weeks ago and affirmed my belief that you can always find new gems. Then, I'll go home, and play and read all day (I reckon it's going to rain, which means I have an excuse not to go out) until 7:10, when it's time for Doctor Who! I am so excited about that. I've been dreaming about Who, I'm that obsessed at the moment.
Jun. 25th, 2008
08:47 pm
Why is it harder to draw other's characters? Why is it taking me so much longer? Because they're not mine, they don't speak with my voice. I'm not natural with them.
But I will be.
Jun. 11th, 2008
Jun. 5th, 2008
09:33 pm
Try this: stick a finger in your left ear. Not hard, just so that it covers the hole and deadens all noise. Now leave it there for a week.
Yes, I've gota blocked ear again. It's not the worst of afflictions,or as bad as the time my ear just kept bleeding, but it is incredibly annoying. After a while of the silence, my ear started ringing, and it hasn't stopped. The quieter the situation, the louder the ringing. I've tried the ear drops, but they only seem to make things worse. The best thing? sticking a cotton bud in my ear and twirling it. I know it's exactly what they tell you not to do, but it's started to get big lumps of wax out, much to my relief.
May. 25th, 2008
03:38 pm - New toy
This weekend was kind of a bust. I'd planned on going surfing, but the weather (rain) combined with the surf (none) mean the trip was canceled. So, I've been hanging about at my sister's house. In the rain. Still, it gives me a chance to play with my new toy: an ASUS Eee PC 901, just arrived at my parents house (still my main address). It's pretty neat, but does have a few problems. You'd think the size would be a big problem, but no: the screen displays everything quite nicely, and the keyboard's tiny-ness is actually handy; I can hit key on diagonally opposite corners precisely with just one hand. However, for some reason, the linux system is ridiculously unstable: it's crashed and frozen on me a couple of times already. Perhaps that's just me, though, I've managed to break a gameboy before. Hopefully it's just some teething problems. Also, the battery life is miniscule: about 2 hours, if you want to use the internet, which is what I bought the thing for. Still, with light usage, it should okay, I suppose.
May. 21st, 2008
09:19 pm - Somedays, all you can put in the 'victories' column is not forgetting your underwear.
God dammit. Underwear was on - but back to front. I'm beginning to suspect there is something seriously wrong with my procedural memory. I've put my mobile phone through the wash twice in the past week, too (yes, I don't like them, but I have a mobile phone just in case. It doesn't work very well, though, possibly because it's been through the wash twice).
May. 16th, 2008
08:45 pm
Today I managed to leave the shower withput rinsing the conditioner put of my hair. I only noticed that at work, by which time it had dried into something that was both crusty and slimy.
Somedays, all you can put in the 'victories' column is not forgetting your underwear.
May. 12th, 2008
09:51 pm
It's never good to get a migraine, one of the ones where your vision goes all funny, but it's even worse when you get a visual migraine while reading The Day of the Triffids, a book with the central premise of the whole world going blind. It's a little worrying, for sure.
May. 11th, 2008
07:48 pm
Went for a walk over the nearby hills today. The countryside around here is simply beautiful. Just a few meters from my front doorstep, I found a sunken cart track, shaded by beautiful chestnut trees, with elderflower growing on the banks, that lead me to a great open field of green corn planted on a hillside. From the top, I had a glorious view of the Thames valley, stretching north towards Oxford. The plain was alive with greenery, spaced out with the vibrant yellow of rape. It was surprisingly quiet, too, despite the still air carrying the sound of skylarks to me. A really good walk.
I'm worried I may have sunburn on my bald spot again.
May. 8th, 2008
08:22 pm - Truths from Airstrip One
I can't say why, but when these things come, they all come along at once. To start: a new database will allow employers to blacklist previous employees based, not on any crimes they may have committed, but on the crime they are accused of, even if they are not convicted - even if they are not prosecuted, or even told about it. One the one hand, you can see why this system might be set up: to stop criminals. But wait! What's this section on job application forms? Do you have any previous convictions? So you can tell if someone is a criminal already (and fire them for lying if they didn't put it down. This scheme is only going to allow old manages with grudge ruin the lives of their employees.
Plus, it raises an interesting question. Since anyone listed in this database (whether through their won fault or not) will not be able to get a job, who's going to pay to keep them alive? To feed them during the five year period that they're on the database. Presumably, they would get Jobseeker's allowance, so the public would have to pay for their five years off, whether they were convicted of a crime or not.
Next up: the Home Secretary wants police to harass scum. Good lord, do I have to list the ways this is a bad idea? So the chavs that this is supposed to target are uncontrollable, committing crimes left, right, and centre. That I can see, and something should be done. How about this for a revolutionary idea? LOCK UP THE THREATS TO SOCIETY! If they have broken the law, repeatedly, why are they still on the streets? This shows a massive failure in the criminal justice system, if they are still free. And if not? Then you're harassing people who have been convicted of no crime.
The government is either lax on crime, unable to do anything about the criminals on our streets, or has no concern whatsoever about our civil rights.
Also, by saying they'll investigate troublemakers car tax, TV license, council tax, benefits, etcetera, does that mean if you don't make trouble you can get away without paying, and claiming too much?
Finally: CCTV fails to cut crime. Billions of pounds spent, for no benefit. Just shows how well the system works.
I won't be voting Labour at the next election, I think I'll go for someone actually on the left.
May. 5th, 2008
12:50 pm
When grating a lemon, if you can't find a grater, the side of a bread knife will do just fine. Right up until the point where you slice one of your fingers open.
THE ACID! IT BURNS FROM THE INSIDE!
Still, not as painful as the time I touched myself there after handling hot peppers. I tell you, being tied to a rock with snake venom dripping in your eyes would be nothing compared to an eternity with your dingle in a bowl of chilies.
Apr. 25th, 2008
Apr. 19th, 2008
12:06 pm
I've been smelling the scent of shit for a while now, and I thought it was farmers spreading; turns out it's just Europe.
I couldn't make it up.
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