Tunnel of Germs!

I'm under the weather again! Don't know what it is, not a cold or the flu. Probably a "virus" like before. That's the new catchall term the Doctors use for any illness which you might succumb to at this time of the year, the identity of which is not immediately apparent to them. What are my symptoms? General aching all over, but particularly around the neck and throat. I have a very sore throat. I thought about taking the day off, but then quickly decided against it. I knew I had a light enough load today, to be able to get through it reasonably intact. Anyway, ill at home, ill at work, not much difference. Only difference is, you get to feel more sorry for yourself at home.

Hopefully I'll be a bit better by tomorrow. I have a few challenges set for me then, to get through which, I may have to be on top form. I can't go into details. Simply put, getting a group of individuals to engage in tasks, the manner of which will be most unappealing to them. Mainly because they don't like doing anything, asked to think a bit and that's stepping over the line. Nevermind, I have some devious ploys ready to persuade them that my way is the best way.

I finally got around to watching "Alexander - The Directors Cut" on Saturday, and I was very disappointed. I know it got bad reviews when it was released, but quite frankly, I expected more. 300 wipes the floor with it, no doubt at all. Still waiting for Cloverfield. It'll be my first trip to the cinema since I took the kids to see the last Harry Potter film, which will be the last Harry Potter film any of us want to see. Is it just me or is Harry Potter a steaming pile of shit? Anyway, I'm sure Cloverfield will restore my faith in the big screen!

Climbing Up A Bloody Great Hill!

Behold an image taken with my digital camera, hugely compressed, although since I'm in it, clearly I wasn't operating the camera at this particular point in time. This is me just this afternoon, at the summit of the Bin of Cullen (320m). It's not a difficult ascent. From the South road, we went up, and back to the car in an hour. The village I'm pointing towards is Cullen, although if my wife had been a more astute photographer, she would have ensured that the old railway viaduct was in the frame. You could see it as clear as day!

It wasn't cold on the walk up, but it was definitely "fresh" at the top, as it always is, even on a glorious Summer day. Bizarrely, everyone we met on the way up, and on the way back down, had Black Labradors. There must be a sale on somewhere. And, while the dogs couldn't care less about us, it seems that they didn't much care for each other, because every 10 minutes we heard ferocious barking from afar, as the mutts encountered each other in the passing.

Anyhow, this camera will be put to better use I promise. Pictures of me, up a hill looking like a demented Jimmy Tarbuck, aren't everyone's cup of tea. Besides, I did promise to get some exercise, and here's the proof. I have bigger ideas though, I want to get myself up some Munros. The only drawback being my lack of suitable attire and equipment, coupled with my lack of cash, as a result of having spent the last four years at College and University. This year I will start making some money, but unfortunately must also start paying back some of those student loans!

The Major Memory Card Debacle!

I forgot to tell you about my unfortunate Memory Card debacle! What's that you say... a debacle concerning Memory cards, how come? Exactly, it should never have happened, and I'm still a bit pissed off about it! You may recall how I purchased myself a 10.1 Megapixel digital camera, just after Christmas. I took some photos. The onboard memory can store about 20 images. So far, so good. I looked at the manual and it said "This camera takes SD cards or MMC cards!" I thought, "That's great, I'll get something with decent capacity, so I'll only ever need one card. 4 GB should do it!"

I ordered a card online, MMC+, apparently backwards compatible with MMC. I put the card in the camera and it said "Memory Full". I used the "Copy Images to Card" facility, and it said "Memory Full". I took the card out, and of course the memory was still full, so I deleted all the images, then re-inserted the card. The memory was still full, so I deleted all the images from the card and the memory was still full. I took the card out again and I was back where I started.

So, I found a mate with an older camera, 7 Megapixel I believe, and tried his 2 GB SD card in my camera. It worked straight away. Just to see what would happen, I asked him to try my MMC+ card in his camera, and that bloody well worked too. I asked him if he'd like to buy my MMC+ card... and he wasn't interested. So now I'll have to get myself a 2 GB SD card just so I can use my camera, and I'm stuck with a 4 GB MMC+ card that won't operate in a brand new camera, but will in an old one. I have no idea why, but I just want to take some photos. Is that too flaming much to ask?

A Rampaging Monster!

Ah well, there weren't any new Radiohead tracks last night, and so, Ed in fact did lie to me! How could you Ed? Radiohead are also set to make an appearance on the 200th Later with Jools Holland this Friday coming (a week today in fact), but there's very little chance of them playing unheard tracks on that occasion. I make this Radiohead's 5th appearance on the show, including their 2001 special when they played a full set to a very lucky audience.

What other good stuff do we have to look forward too? Well, both myself and my son have got quite excited about this:

Cloverfield will go on general release tonight, although it doesn't come to the UK until February 1st, which is OK with me. I'll have more time then anyhow. I haven't really got in on all the hype. I saw the first trailer and that was enough for me. I don't want to know anything else about the plot until I see it. I do know there's a monster, but that's all I do know!

I quite fancy getting to a concert this year, I'd especially like to go and see Sigur Ros, but I don't think they're touring. I should go and see Radiohead at Glasgow Green, but I'll be working that day. Can't really get out of it either. Ah well, hopefully a chance to see a half-decent band will materialise in due course!

And Now... The Radiohead Takeover!

Well, last night's Radiohead in-store gig didn't come off exactly as it was intended, but at least they did play eventually after having to move to a bigger venue next door (93 Feet East), on the recommendation of the Police, as there was a huge crowd hoping to be admitted. Only 150 very lucky sods actually got in, so the rest had to freeze as I suggested they might, yesterday.

That's not the end of it though. I'm typing this hurriedly, because Radiohead are about to "takeover" the Zane Lowe show on Radio 1, and I want to hear it on the off chance they might play a new song. I had hoped they would play one last night, but they didn't. Anyhow, Ed suggested last week, that there'd be a new song played this week, so I'm thinking that it would have to be tonight. or else Ed has lied to me.

I thought I was going to be ill yesterday. My guts were churning all day, but it never came to anything thank goodness. Being in school with all those kids, you'd think illness was inevitable, but I try to stay welll back from the ones that are obviously ill. Which is OK until they ask for asssistance, in which case I have to put myself right in the line of fire. It wouldn't be so bad if I was getting paid!

Radiohead In-Store Webcast Tonight!

Yay, good times to be a Radiohead fan. First it was the unexpected album download, followed by a boxset with an additional CD. Then they did the Thumbs Down webcast, playing Smiths, New Order and Bjork covers. For New Year they did the Scotch Mist webcast, playing all the tracks from the new album. At 8 pm tonight (GMT), they're going to be playing a free in-store gig at Rough Trade East in London, which will be simultaneously webcast. Delightful!

What to expect? Well, we know they've been rehearsing a Siouxie and the Banshees cover, and last week Ed let the cat out of the bag when he said that they'd been rehearsing new tracks as well, including one which was particularly brilliant, that they wanted to play the following week. Play it tonight!!!

By the time I publish this post there will only be an hour until it starts. Some people have been queuing all day long to get in, and to be honest who can blame them. It's a very rare opportunity to see a band of Radiohead's calibre in such an intimate setting. Those who can't get in however, will have the opportunity to stand outside in the freezing cold and watch it on screens there. Good luck if that happens to be you, it's not warm tonight!

Inward Looking Outlaw!

One of these days I'm going to write a book, and it will be a proper book with a start, middle and end. A proper ending, one where all the sub-plots are resolved, you know like in Martin Chuzzlewit. Clearly the finest piece of writing Dickens ever committed to paper!

Do I have any ideas? You bet I have. I've had a bunch of notes written more than 10 years ago, lying gathering dust, all set to be brought to life in the tale of a Highland outlaw that makes Rob Roy look tame. What's more, it's a true story with lots of dramatic twists and turns and a rather surprising ending. I don't want to give too much away, you might steal my idea.

I could have other ideas for a story I suppose. I have toyed with writing a work of complete fiction, but the areas of fiction which I like are fairly well trodden already I'm afraid. I quite like the idea of a Sci-Fi story, there's so much freedom to take it where you want to go, but it would have to be something really wild to amuse my brain. Modern Science Fiction doesn't have the same punch as the tales Sci-Fi authors of the 60's were mass producing. I suppose, that since Space Exploration was taking place then, authors were inspired by that. Now there's very little truly inspiring in the World, worth writing about. It's a shame, we've become so inwards looking, that we've sort of abandoned the idea that anything exciting could exist out there!

The Icing On the Cake!

Better buy yourself a pair of wellies fast, judging by what I'm reading on the ice melting news front. Not only are the Greenland glaciers calving icebergs faster than ever, but apparently scientists have just realised, that the Antarctic ice-shelves which they thought weren't seeing much action, have melted away by 60 billion tonnes last year. So, they thought it wasn't too bad, but actually it is! That invariably means that sea-levels are bound to rise, soon, and by a lot. For the majority of the World's population, who just happen to live in low-lying coastal areas, that could spell wet feet I'm afraid.

Not that I'm too far above sea-level myself, but far enough to get my ass the hell out of here on time. If it waves I'l say goodbye. I know that "The Day After Tomorrow" sort of covered it, but I suspect that we're due a few more films of that sort, just to remind us how the planet intends to get back at us for using cars and sometimes leaving a light on when we go out!

I don't believe that shit for a minute. It's heavy industry that's mainly responsible for pollution, but they contribute more to the economy than you do, so why should they take the blame. They're flushing the World down the pan, while Governments feably protest on their behalf that it's the public that should hold themselves accountable. Who's to say that it's not just a natural phenomena anyhow? Maybe the ice was due to melt around now, and it was going to happen come what may. I've got no problem with it. Shit happens, you learn from it and you move on!

Satellites Come Crashing Down!

Today I have mainly been trying to install a new satellite dish. It was in a box when I received it, so first I had to assemble the component parts. That was reasonably easy. Next, I had to take my old dish down, that was relatively difficult as it's 12 feet up, so I sent for a man with a ladder (dad) and proceeded to remove it. He decided that the cable was worse for wear, so we ripped that out too.

Now to put up the new dish... wait the holes in the wall for the old dish don't line up with the plate fixings for the new dish. So my father drilled a few new holes. But he used too large a drill-bit and the bolts wouldn't take hold. So now the whole operation has been put back till tomorrow, when I won't be here. So he'll be doing it all on his own. I dread to think what I'll come home too.

On the insomnia side of things, my sleep patterns seem to have returned to a reasonably regular type. I've definitely been sleeping a lot better the last 2 or 3 nights. I probably need to take up hill walking or something so I can get some good fresh air. I'm sure the exercise would help too, if it doesn't kill me first. Yes, I definitely need to take up an outdoor pursuit, especially once I find myself indoors all week long. That day isn't that far off I suppose (already happening intermittently), and I do like a spot of fresh air, as opposed to air-con!

Drop the Camera and Run!

Hey, I don't know if this is real, but even if it isn't, then well done to whoever faked it! It would be natural to assume that it's faked, because let's face it, if you saw something like this happening, you'd literally shit yourself, drop the camera and run for your life. But, the intrinsic idea, I like very much, that someone just might find themselves where they're in a position to capture something unbelieveable on film, and that no-one would believe it was real.

We all know that U.S airforce bases are probably communicating with aliens anyhow, testing out alien technology recovered from crash sites and especially seeing if they can get a leading edge on military technology design using technology probably designed for the most peaceful of purposes. That's why we as a human race would be deeply supicious of alien contact. We'd wonder seriously if they planned to attack us, because, more than likely, we' do it to them given half a chance.