I Need A Rest Or A Drink!

I've been very tired lately. I told you on Tuesday of my zombie-like state on Monday morning, walking past 3 buses into the train station, buying my tickets, then being surprised when directed to board a waiting bus. I'm not sure why my brain never made the connection, there are never normally buses outside the train station. Anyhow, I'm coming home on the train tonight, and it was real busy, lots of people standing. After a while I saw a mate waving at me from down the carriage. Ten minutes later he got a seat beside me, after loads of people had disembarked at a station. He said I'd looked at him loads of times and he'd been waving, but to no avail. Apparently my eyes were rolling and stuff.

So, I not only feel tired, but I clearly look tired as well. That's reassuring. Not only have I been yawning all day long, but my eyes are rolling around too... great! It's these 6am starts. I just can't get used to them again after 4 weeks getting up at 7:30am. I like my regular sleep patterns. I figure I need 8 hours in bed or I'm useless. That's a lot. Apparently Margaret Thatcher could make do with 3 or 4, but then she had Arthur Scargill to deal with.

What I really want to do is get drunk. It's clearly needed, I haven't had a proper drink since September I would say. Just a few nice drinks in pleasant company, having a laugh. All work and no play makes "Me" a dull boy! Just another week to go though and then I'll be on hiatus till January... yay! If only I had some money?

Breaking the Ice!

So I was watching "Earth: The Power Of the Planet" with Iain Stewart last night. Excellent show, he's very passionate about his work, particularly when dealing with volcanoes. This episode however was about ice. He was looking at glaciers in Greenland, all of which are retreating rapidly, because it would seem, meltwater is pouring into holes in the glacier, and lubricating the buffer area betwen the rock bottom and the glacier. This propels the glacier along much more rapidly, and of course where it reaches the sea, icebergs are calving off more frequently, thus causing the glacial retreat.

Anyway, enough pseudo-science, on reflection today, it got me thinking about 2 great books I've read, whcih simply must be made into blockbuster movies. I'm talking of course about "Ice Station" by Matthew Reilly and "Deception Point" by Dan Brown. Both have very similar plots really, but while Deception Point is more a conspiracy tale, Ice Station is all action. Not to be confused with the book and film "Ice Station Zebra" by Alistair MacLean!

If you haven't read either of these books, or at least one of them, then, you either; can't read, don't read at all, or can't afford books. The first and third are vaid excuses I suppose, but I've made my position clear regarding people who don't read in a previous post. If you fall into this category, then don't worry, Big Brother will be back on TV soon enough, and since you're reading this, you must be a liar anyway!

The Shape Of Things To Come!

Yes, this post has been delayed, just like I was heavily delayed yesterday. It was my first day back at Uni, and unbeknowest to me, there were engineering works going on somewhere along the railway line between Keith and Inverurie. Only after I had purchased my ticket did I realise what the buses were waiting outside for. Damn it, I hate buses even more than the train! Anyway, the upshot was; the bus took us to Inverurie, then we got on the train there and arrived at Aberdeen a good 45 minutes late. Coming back at night was no better The train left half-an-hour earlier than usual, but the bus journey was just throughly unpleasant. I had a migraine when I got home, so I didn't feel like posting at that time.

Today, I'm up to my neck in learning theory; Piaget, Bruner, Vygotsky, Skinner, Gardner, Golemore and Maslow. Who are they you ask? Those my fine fellow, are the gentlemen who have shaped modern education. Their influence is far reaching. Most of them are however dead!

I would like to spare you more time, but I really must get back to it. This assignment has to be turned in on Monday. After that Perhaps I will have more time on my hands to produce some quality posts for your perusal. I really hope so, I like to write the thought provoking stuff, but it does require thinking time, and that's in scarce supply right now!

Leave A Light On!

I'm sorry, but I don't have much time for you right now? I hope you don't mind! It wasn't anything you said or did, it's just that I'm under a little pressure to get this ginormous assessment finished for about a week's time. It will be rather torturous and I can't really predict what the outcome might be as of yet. Let's just say I'm putting great reliance on my literary skills to get me through it. So far, they've never let me down, but this assignment is a little different in that it has to be backed up by hard eveidence. Do I have that evidence? Probably!

So, the Christmas tree has gone up today, only it has no lights or decorations yet, because after a great deal of self-mind probing, I realised that last year's lights gave up the ghost just before I took them down. Realising this saved me form potential hours searching the attic for the box which might have contained said lights. Unless of course, I'm imagining that the lights were thrown out, and that they are indeed in a box in the attic somewhere.

I also had to go and get some groceries in yesterday, and was keenly aware of a surplus of shoppers. The town centre was way too busy for my liking. How can anyone enjoy Christmas shopping? We just do it for the sake of it? My relatives don't really care for me, and I therefore reciprocate their non-caring attitude, and yet, we still buy presents for each other, which nobody will like or want. What's the point of it? I've even had relatives give me their present back, saying they don't like it, want it, or have one already. Honestly, the audacity! Are they really that ignorant? ... well, YES!

Bon Voyage Morons!

First off, my apologies for not posting yesterday, I was in bed before I even realised that I hadn't done so. Yesterday marked the end of my fourth week of teaching experience, and the end of the first block teaching, as I must now return to Uni to imbibe some more theory, and I have a written assignment to complete as well. Anyhow, in the evening my Auntie from afar paid a visit, so that was the main reason for no post.

So, I read in the newspaper this morning that passengers on a cruise ship sailing from Bangkok to Beijing, are threatening a mutiny if they don't receive a full refund for the cruise. Seemingly there was a typhoon, and they all got sea-sick and were being thrown out of their bunks (not beds at sea). The passengers claimed that the ship should never have set sail, because the Captain knew there would be bad weather.

I have no sympathy for them. What kind of fool pays way over the odds to live in a confined space with thousands of people, trapped in a floating 24hr cabaret? With the downside being that if things go wrong, you will either wind up swimming in puke, or almost as bad; drown, get eaten by sharks or spend 2 weeks in a life-raft with rejects from Butlins who will drink all the water to protect their vocal chords. No thanks, you can keep that lot, I'd rather holiday in Shetland!

The Deadly Eyes Of the Cat!

Stalingrad, the Winter of 1942-43, and the conflict had taken on a deadly new form. Small feline creatures had been trained to form part of an elite sniper unit, which had German infantry pinned down in several key parts of the city. With supplies running low, and the cold biting with savage intensity, things looked bleak for the Germans, but wait, the cats had forgotten their Winter weather clothing, they were uncamouflaged. Black cats on white snow, soon to be black cats on red snow.

Yes, I might seem mad, but then I have been teaching for 4 weeks, so what else would you expect. Tomorrow is my last day, until the New Year. Now I simply have to produce a detailed 5000 word assignment covering every possible aspect of education imaginable, to be submitted in 10 days time. When will it ever end, that's almosty 4 years of essays, assignments, assessments, projects and exams I've had to endure to get to this point. I just want to earn some money now!!!

Coincidentally, I might have said this before, but these last 4 weeks I've been so busy, and yet in a bizarre twist, I've had huge success with my family tree for the first time in ages. I guess these things just happen and it's other people who have the time on their hands, not me. Still, perhaps I am too obliging with my precious time!

The Indoor War Association!

Every boy and man seems to have some unhealthy obsession with warfare, whether it's wanting to join the forces, or playing video games. Myself, I have no interest in warfare as such, in fact I think it's pointless and brutal. But that's not to say that there wasn't a time when war was actually necessary and the strategy of war was an art form. Of course, modern warfare is fought against invisible enemies, with no clearly defined outcome or objectives, fought in lands far removed from our own. It used to be the case, that you would go and fight becasue the enemy was at the gates, it was clear cut.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a fan of "Medal Of Honour" and "Call Of Duty" and the "Total War" series. It's easy to villify the Germans in video games, because they were clearly the bad guys, same with Napoleon and his armies. All the great generals are remembered because of their famous victories, and yet they all died rather ignominiously; Hitler, Napoleon, Alexander, Genghis Khan. Apart from Genghis, they weren't very good breeders either, now I come to think of it.

Anyhow, to the point. As, I'm shortly due to become wireless and will effectively have a LAN in the household for the first time, I'm going to have a great time playing all of the aforementioned games against my son. He's way too good for most games as it is, so it will be a pleasure indeed for me to play Wellington to his Napoleon, Monty to his Rommel etc. So tell me again, how do you set up a wireless network?

The Power Of the Spoken Word!

Did I ever tell you my theory on the powers of humanity before written language was formed? No, I don't think I did. Well, I'll tell you now, and you can shoot it down if you like, everyone has their own opinion and most are wrong. I use the power of reason to fashion my arguments, but it's increasingly difficult to find rational people capable of reasoned thinking anymore. Why is it that folk are willing to accept any scientific theory thrown at them if it comes from a "reputable" source? It's the guys who can think outside the box, the so called crackpots, who make the major breakthrough's, and it's only generations later that they're accepted as geniuses.

Anyway, I'm no genius, but here goes. Clearly before written language appeared, oral traditions and histories were the key to civilization. I suspect that in places such as Egypt and South America, priesthood's held sway over the people, and to concentrate and magnify their powers, the spoken word when used correctly, particularly in secret rites, took on magical properties.

The dilemna we're dealing with here, is a positive shift from right-brain to left-brain thought patterns with the development of writing. I believe that before writing, socities influenced by the spoken word alone, thought in an entirely different way. Being able to think in a very different way also means being able to do things that you wouldn't otherwise. I believe that such people would have been deeply empathetic, intuitive and instinctive and far more able to develop powers of animal kinship, psychic powers, and possibly tele-kinetic powers.

You think I'm talking absolute nonsense, but I'm not entirely making this up. There is much evidence to suggest that such things are true. For instance, we know little about the power of sound in ancient times, but clearly the Egptians knew secrets long since lost. Ancient texts allude to large scale construction projects, where they placed a sacred hieroglyph on a papyrus leaf, under a block, and upon a certain note being intoned by a group of individuals, the rock would fly through the air to it's desired location. I'm not going to tell you any more, find out for yourself!

Music For Fire and Snow!

My son is studying Romeo and Juliet in English right now, but with the need for teachers to make things cool, they've actually been watching the Baz Luhrmann film version rather than reading the actual Shakespeare play. To be honest with you, I didn't like the film, despite Radiohead's "Talk Show Host" and "Exit Music (For A Film)" being included. At best, I would be willing to sit through the closing credits and listen to Exit Music (For A Film) playing, an absolutely fantastic song which sums up more about Romeo and Juliet for me, than the film ever could.

Vanilla Sky, now there's a decent film with Radiohead music in it, and Sigur Ros too, superbly selected music for a soundtrack. I like this film, even though many peple think it's strange and I guess Tom Cruise had become a deridable figure having lost much off this popularity since then, But, Vanilla Sky is one of these films which force you to stop and think, and I just love that in a film. For some people it's action, romance or gore, whatever... for me, it's bizarre philosophical Sci-fi type shennanigans. And, with some decent music too, an unstoppable combination.

Dammit, I've just realised that I've mentioned Radiohead and Sigur Ros, two posts in a row. At this rate, the cat will be out of the bag and it will be clear as day to all insundry, exactly where my musical devotions lie. Someplace between this sceptred isle and the land of fire and snow. That would be either Shetland or the Faroe Isles by my insane reckoning. If you think this is mad, don't expect things to become clearer anytime soon.

A Mountain To Climb!

I've been using free beta versions of this program Geno Pro since around 2000. It's probably about time I purchased a copy. It only costs £20, but I've never seen the need until recently. It's a damn nifty piece of software anyhow, but having been trying out a beta version of the newest release over the last week or so, I am absolutely astounded by the number of fantastic features that this program now has. I know I sound as though I'm marketing it or something, but as Family Tree software goes, this one knocks everything else into orbit.

Unfortunately for me, I've already gifted myself this years Christmas prezzies in the form of Radiohead's "In Rainbows" boxset, due to arrive in a week or so, and the new Sigur Ros double dvd; "Heima". Mind you, Geno Pro is a one time only purchase, all future updates are free if you already own it, so I think I better find the cash from somewhere, because life is so much easier when you have the right tools for the job, am I correct?

So, another week of school experience, then it's back to Uni. I'm quite keen to get back to Uni, only I have an assignment to complete and hand in a week after returning, so that's really going to put a damper on things, until I'm clear of that. Did I tell you how my Critical Observation went? No, I don't think so. Actually, it went about as well as I could possibly have hoped for, so I'm on to the next mountain and let's start climbing again!