I have been hoovering the cat at work for the past half an hour or so. I've just completed my end of year accounts returns so I feel I have earned the right to loaf for a bit. Anyway I used the time to look up an interesting concept that was mentioned in the New Scientist magazine recently.
In line with christian fundamentalists insisting that their faith be taught as science a young chap in Oregon has written to the Kansas School Board to have his ideology taught on equal terms with intelligent design and evolutionary science. However, his ideology is that the world was created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster and also includes such 'beliefs' as global warming has a direct inverse relationship to the number of pirates in the world. I have to say that I really like this and I hope that the chaps campaign is successful.
Check the website http://www.venganza.org to get the full story
Friday, August 12, 2005
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Just back from WorldCon
I had a great time at Interaction, well for most of it anyway. Went to lots of panels, spent lots of cash in the dealer room, adopted a beeble-bear (picture here), got some great ideas for making cross stitch designs in the art show. I also met lots of great people who I hope that I can keep in touch with, as well as meeting up with people that we had lost touch with a number of years ago. There were a few problems in that so many of the panels were very popular and so you had to get to the room early to be sure to get in, but then the rooms would be overfilled and get very hot. There was also a lot of concurrent panels on similar topics so frequently you had to make a choice as to which you preferred, and then, of course, hope you could get in. I made it into most of the panels I was interested in. There was only one that I left through boredom. The evenings on the other hand were a non stop round of parties.
We didn't go to the first night parties, opting to be sensible and go to bed. This resulted in not being able to get any ribbons, but we made up for it on the the subsequent nights (first rule of fandom don't miss the scandinavian parties). The Hilton Hotel were initially charging over the odds for the specially imported real ale, but very quickly dropped the price when they realised just how much alcohol they were selling.
The main gripe we had was with our hotel, the Corus on Argyll Street. The double room was tiny, didn't have a proper wardrobe just a pole with four coat hangers that was awkward to access, and we were supplied with only one hand and one bath towel even though the room was booked for two people. I've stayed in hotels that were much better and cost half as much. Fortunately, it was just a place to rest our heads so it wasn't that bad, but under any other circumstances I would have made a complaint.
We didn't go to the first night parties, opting to be sensible and go to bed. This resulted in not being able to get any ribbons, but we made up for it on the the subsequent nights (first rule of fandom don't miss the scandinavian parties). The Hilton Hotel were initially charging over the odds for the specially imported real ale, but very quickly dropped the price when they realised just how much alcohol they were selling.
The main gripe we had was with our hotel, the Corus on Argyll Street. The double room was tiny, didn't have a proper wardrobe just a pole with four coat hangers that was awkward to access, and we were supplied with only one hand and one bath towel even though the room was booked for two people. I've stayed in hotels that were much better and cost half as much. Fortunately, it was just a place to rest our heads so it wasn't that bad, but under any other circumstances I would have made a complaint.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
We're Not Afraid
I rare that I've been involved with something big right at the start, but it seems I've managed it this time. In the wake of the London bombings some moblog friends and I have started a website We're Not Afraid. The discussion thread where this site originated is here and alfie's image that has been in all the press is here. At the moment the team are working our butts off processing the images. We have lots of really great images and they are coming in faster than we can add them the to the site. Unfortunately there are many that are not the inspiring images that we wanted but are too gung ho or inflamatory. It's amazing that by a little after 3 pm I'd indirectly made the suggestion, by 3:45 someone else had come up with a name, and by 5 pm alfie had registered the domain, organised the hosting and was getting volunteers on line to help with the organising. The press coverage has been fantastic and we have issued statements to media in several countries.
Now to get some sleep after the hard work.
Now to get some sleep after the hard work.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
London
It's taken me a while to get this done as I've been following the news of the London bombings on moblog.co.uk. One of the guys took a photo whilst he was trapped in the tube and SMSed it as soon as he got to the surface. The photo has now been picked up by a number of the news sites. I've done sod all work today just spending the time watching the news and following the news and blog sites. I just can't believe this is happening, it reminds me of the height of the IRA stuff when you never knew who was going to be next.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
War of the Worlds
Just been to see War of the Worlds. It was absolutely brilliant. Okay, so Spielberg has played with H.G.Wells plot slightly, but it doesn't matter. What is important is that he has kept the main elements of the story, which after all is about a hundred years old. So what if he has taken english, middle-class victorians (from Woking, which apart from the McLaren Factory, would be vastly improved by an alien attack) and turned them into working class americans. The most important thing is that for just short of 2 hours it kept me in my seat, with my eyes glued to the screen - and it scared the crap out of me.
See it. On the big screen. If you don't you will regret it later.
See it. On the big screen. If you don't you will regret it later.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Look what we missed.
I completely missed the annual borefest that is the Eurovision Song Contest and from what I did hear about it I'm rather glad I did. However, it seems that one counties entry was disqualified. The competitor from Molvania was arrested on arrival "at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport and immediately deported".
Okay, okay. I know that Molvania doesn't exist and that the travel guide is merely a spoof. However, this joke is taking on a life of it's own, now taking the micky of trashy Europop. What's more the parody is superb. It has all the elements that we expect of a Eurovision entry - bad english, innuendo, cheesy outfits, etc. Check out the molvania eurovision site http://www.molvania.com/eurovision.html and if you are feeling brave look at the video. Just don't blame me if you hurt yourself falling off the chair.
Okay, okay. I know that Molvania doesn't exist and that the travel guide is merely a spoof. However, this joke is taking on a life of it's own, now taking the micky of trashy Europop. What's more the parody is superb. It has all the elements that we expect of a Eurovision entry - bad english, innuendo, cheesy outfits, etc. Check out the molvania eurovision site http://www.molvania.com/eurovision.html and if you are feeling brave look at the video. Just don't blame me if you hurt yourself falling off the chair.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Saturday
The boy wonder and the italian lunatic are in the tenement stair fixing a bicycle. I keep going and supervising once in a while but generally just laughing. If this had been someone fixing a car I would have known better than to laugh at the silly little things that happen, but cyclists do have a better perspective on things and do think that making something squirt/splash in your face accidentally is funny. Meanwhile, I've gone back to murder and mayhem by reloading Red Alert 2. I'd forgotten how tactical you have to be with this game so I'm relearning how to defend the battle lab in the Ural Mountains without losing my ore miner to some damn sneek attack. This may take some time.
The boy wonder and the italian lunatic are in the tenement stair fixing a bicycle. I keep going and supervising once in a while but generally just laughing. If this had been someone fixing a car I would have known better than to laugh at the silly little things that happen, but cyclists do have a better perspective on things and do think that making something squirt/splash in your face accidentally is funny. Meanwhile, I've gone back to murder and mayhem by reloading Red Alert 2. I'd forgotten how tactical you have to be with this game so I'm relearning how to defend the battle lab in the Ural Mountains without losing my ore miner to some damn sneek attack. This may take some time.
My office is being redecorated.
Yes indeedy. The powers that be have decided that I can get my office redecorated. I have to say that it's about time. There is paper peeling off the ceiling and the walls look filthy in places from years of people leaning against them. As I'm getting my office done, and the boy wonder and I are looking to move house. It seems that now is the time for upgrading, refurbishing and generally making things better. My web presence is no exception, so over the next few months I'm going to be looking at redesigning my web pages, trying to get everything, this blog, the livejournal, the moblog and various other things tied together in a unified fashion. I've asked the chap who worked with me on the Deadhead Comics project to help me out as he is a superb graphic artist and we do tend to bounce ideas off each other really well.
Progress reports will be forthcoming.
Yes indeedy. The powers that be have decided that I can get my office redecorated. I have to say that it's about time. There is paper peeling off the ceiling and the walls look filthy in places from years of people leaning against them. As I'm getting my office done, and the boy wonder and I are looking to move house. It seems that now is the time for upgrading, refurbishing and generally making things better. My web presence is no exception, so over the next few months I'm going to be looking at redesigning my web pages, trying to get everything, this blog, the livejournal, the moblog and various other things tied together in a unified fashion. I've asked the chap who worked with me on the Deadhead Comics project to help me out as he is a superb graphic artist and we do tend to bounce ideas off each other really well.
Progress reports will be forthcoming.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Moblog launched!
Moblog is up and running at http://moblog.co.uk/blog/rathgild. It isn't going to replace this blog but will be a suppliment until blogger decides to sent a code to my phone. First photos are just ones that were sitting on my phone that I've used to test things were working. I'm actually surprised that they have turned out as good as they have because I'm notoriously bad at taking photos. Anyway at the moment there is a photo of Edinburgh Castle and a couple of pictures of a friend's cats.
At least with this will give me something to do during the day whilst at the office. Now that the exams have finished and the students have gone home everything at work has slowed down to a crawl. I spent today going over the accounts for the main departmental budget so that I know how much we still have to spend over the next month or so. Tomorrow I will start doing the same with the research accounts. It doesn't fill my day though. I could have spent some of the time doing the reading for my course but the problem is the balance of doing what you have to do against doing what you want to do, which is also partly the reason that I've not done any of the web page updates that I promised. I will do it honest. In fact I've spoken with the friend who worked with me on the Deadhead Comics project at Net Resources and he's going to help me with the design. So there will be some improvements in the future. Just don't hold you breath.
Moblog is up and running at http://moblog.co.uk/blog/rathgild. It isn't going to replace this blog but will be a suppliment until blogger decides to sent a code to my phone. First photos are just ones that were sitting on my phone that I've used to test things were working. I'm actually surprised that they have turned out as good as they have because I'm notoriously bad at taking photos. Anyway at the moment there is a photo of Edinburgh Castle and a couple of pictures of a friend's cats.
At least with this will give me something to do during the day whilst at the office. Now that the exams have finished and the students have gone home everything at work has slowed down to a crawl. I spent today going over the accounts for the main departmental budget so that I know how much we still have to spend over the next month or so. Tomorrow I will start doing the same with the research accounts. It doesn't fill my day though. I could have spent some of the time doing the reading for my course but the problem is the balance of doing what you have to do against doing what you want to do, which is also partly the reason that I've not done any of the web page updates that I promised. I will do it honest. In fact I've spoken with the friend who worked with me on the Deadhead Comics project at Net Resources and he's going to help me with the design. So there will be some improvements in the future. Just don't hold you breath.
Monday, June 13, 2005
I know I'm not exactly built like Kate Moss, and I know I've got a fat arse so I dress accordingly. So here is the warning girls. If you are of a larger build do not under any circumstances wear hipster jeans. Especially do not wear hipster jeans with cropped tops. The sight of a wobbly, fat belly pouring over the top of the waistband is not pretty, in fact it looks disgusting. So stop it. NOW!
House hunting
When I moved to Edinburgh I got a furnished flat to live in. That basically means I've been living in a place where I worry about every spill on the rug and marks on the sofa. It's like being in a hotel room with no maid service. The main reason was that the boy wonder and I had a flat full of our own furniture in Manchester, the flat I was in was going to be temporary and as soon as I had a good job (TM) he would move north and we'd get a nice unfurnished place. That didn't go to plan. Firstly, Prudential Property Management, who had purchased the Manchester Arndale Centre from P&O Properties announced their plans for the redevelopment of the shopping centre about two weeks after I moved. Their plan involved knocking down one side of the Mall and rebuilding it in such a way that they could create a "high profile" store in that area. The plan also involved demolishing 60 apartments one of which I had a considerable stake in. It took three years to get a deal out of Prudential that didn't involve being screwed and believe me for a company who spend millions advertising themselves as a company who value communities they sure as hell tried to screw us and our neighbours.
< Biased opinion>Front page news - Prudential are just another bunch of lying, tight-arsed, money grabbing bastards. don't trust them to tell you the truth and don't trust them with with your hard earned cash< /Biased opinion>.
All the time this battle was going on the boy wonder was getting on well with his job so there was no immediate rush for him to move. He was looking for work here but not being in the area didn't help him.
Then we had all the upset of finding that my mother had lung cancer and the aggravation of my aunt hogging center stage as though she were the most important person in my mother's life and all the time trying to write me out of family history. Well given that her kids (my cousins) are a screwed up lazy jerk who spend more time with his mates than his wife and kid and a psychotic bitch who is only one step from the lunatic asylum, she's bound to have it in for anyone who is normal. She enlisted help from Ian the youngest of my uncles and they tried to take all sorts of moral high ground which I thought was prize especially as it was Ian's wife having an affair with my step-father that broke up my mother marriage.
After being taken completely out of the loop of the funeral arrangements, being told I couldn't speak with my step-father MKII and being physically threatened by Ian and getting verbal abuse from the psychotic bitch cousin, and seeing how boy wonder was standing by me I actually asked him to marry me. (It was more like "do you think we should get married?" I mean, hell, we'd been living together for 10 years at that point and separating would have been as painful as a divorce anyway).
Stay with me, this story does go somewhere. Eventually.
So moving on a year we got married. First day back at work after the honeymoon, he is taken to an office and told that he will resign, or else... The or else was a bit vague, in that it was we will put you through the disciplinary procedure and you don't have a chance, but no mention of what they would discipline him for and he couldn't think what in the hell he could possibly have done that would result in instant dismissal. On reflection we don't think there was anything that he had done but that the employers would have found something if he'd called their bluff. We decided not to do that as they were going to pay him his month's salary in lieu of notice (garden leave) and a nice hand out of three months salary tax free. So with no more ties to Manchester boy wonder moved up to Edinburgh. Into my furnished flat. With all our furniture from the place in Manchester!
To say that we are currently cramped is the understatement of the year. There is so much stuff in the flat that we have very little floor space to walk on and we have to negotiate passing places to move around the flat. It's like that game where you have to shift blocks around to make space to move other blocks. I'm not kidding.
So now that we are both working in nice well paid posts, we're looking for something else. Somewhere we don't have to worry if we get two visitors at the same time because we have space for the chairs. Somewhere we can actually have a dining table and not have to eat dinner from folding tv tables so that they can be stashed in a cupboard once we've finished using them.
We viewed a lovely flat on Friday and by the time I rang this morning to say we would take it we had beaten to the draw. Damn. There is another flat that we are interested in, but we aren't holding our breath, and we are going to look at some new build (yuck but needs must and all that) tomorrow.
Wish us luck
When I moved to Edinburgh I got a furnished flat to live in. That basically means I've been living in a place where I worry about every spill on the rug and marks on the sofa. It's like being in a hotel room with no maid service. The main reason was that the boy wonder and I had a flat full of our own furniture in Manchester, the flat I was in was going to be temporary and as soon as I had a good job (TM) he would move north and we'd get a nice unfurnished place. That didn't go to plan. Firstly, Prudential Property Management, who had purchased the Manchester Arndale Centre from P&O Properties announced their plans for the redevelopment of the shopping centre about two weeks after I moved. Their plan involved knocking down one side of the Mall and rebuilding it in such a way that they could create a "high profile" store in that area. The plan also involved demolishing 60 apartments one of which I had a considerable stake in. It took three years to get a deal out of Prudential that didn't involve being screwed and believe me for a company who spend millions advertising themselves as a company who value communities they sure as hell tried to screw us and our neighbours.
< Biased opinion>Front page news - Prudential are just another bunch of lying, tight-arsed, money grabbing bastards. don't trust them to tell you the truth and don't trust them with with your hard earned cash< /Biased opinion>.
All the time this battle was going on the boy wonder was getting on well with his job so there was no immediate rush for him to move. He was looking for work here but not being in the area didn't help him.
Then we had all the upset of finding that my mother had lung cancer and the aggravation of my aunt hogging center stage as though she were the most important person in my mother's life and all the time trying to write me out of family history. Well given that her kids (my cousins) are a screwed up lazy jerk who spend more time with his mates than his wife and kid and a psychotic bitch who is only one step from the lunatic asylum, she's bound to have it in for anyone who is normal. She enlisted help from Ian the youngest of my uncles and they tried to take all sorts of moral high ground which I thought was prize especially as it was Ian's wife having an affair with my step-father that broke up my mother marriage.
After being taken completely out of the loop of the funeral arrangements, being told I couldn't speak with my step-father MKII and being physically threatened by Ian and getting verbal abuse from the psychotic bitch cousin, and seeing how boy wonder was standing by me I actually asked him to marry me. (It was more like "do you think we should get married?" I mean, hell, we'd been living together for 10 years at that point and separating would have been as painful as a divorce anyway).
Stay with me, this story does go somewhere. Eventually.
So moving on a year we got married. First day back at work after the honeymoon, he is taken to an office and told that he will resign, or else... The or else was a bit vague, in that it was we will put you through the disciplinary procedure and you don't have a chance, but no mention of what they would discipline him for and he couldn't think what in the hell he could possibly have done that would result in instant dismissal. On reflection we don't think there was anything that he had done but that the employers would have found something if he'd called their bluff. We decided not to do that as they were going to pay him his month's salary in lieu of notice (garden leave) and a nice hand out of three months salary tax free. So with no more ties to Manchester boy wonder moved up to Edinburgh. Into my furnished flat. With all our furniture from the place in Manchester!
To say that we are currently cramped is the understatement of the year. There is so much stuff in the flat that we have very little floor space to walk on and we have to negotiate passing places to move around the flat. It's like that game where you have to shift blocks around to make space to move other blocks. I'm not kidding.
So now that we are both working in nice well paid posts, we're looking for something else. Somewhere we don't have to worry if we get two visitors at the same time because we have space for the chairs. Somewhere we can actually have a dining table and not have to eat dinner from folding tv tables so that they can be stashed in a cupboard once we've finished using them.
We viewed a lovely flat on Friday and by the time I rang this morning to say we would take it we had beaten to the draw. Damn. There is another flat that we are interested in, but we aren't holding our breath, and we are going to look at some new build (yuck but needs must and all that) tomorrow.
Wish us luck
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
A Very Late Update
The year has been a mad rush.
I got married (Yay)
Had honeymoon in Venice (Yay) (photos forthcoming... maybe... hopefully... one day)
I started a new job (Yay)
Hubby lost his job (Boo)
But he was then able to move from Manchester to Edinburgh (Yay)
I started evening classes ... (hmmm)
... and got a 71.75% pass on my first module (Yay)
Earning lots so just got new mobiles ... (Yay) (moblogging here I come... maybe)
... and a nice shiny Samsung Syncmaster 910N 19 inch TFT screen (Double yay with a back flip)
Plus I was made moderator on a big mailing list for a game (Yay)
which may lead to a place on the game's High Council (fingers crossed)
So as you can see I've been very very busy. Honest. :-)
The year has been a mad rush.
I got married (Yay)
Had honeymoon in Venice (Yay) (photos forthcoming... maybe... hopefully... one day)
I started a new job (Yay)
Hubby lost his job (Boo)
But he was then able to move from Manchester to Edinburgh (Yay)
I started evening classes ... (hmmm)
... and got a 71.75% pass on my first module (Yay)
Earning lots so just got new mobiles ... (Yay) (moblogging here I come... maybe)
... and a nice shiny Samsung Syncmaster 910N 19 inch TFT screen (Double yay with a back flip)
Plus I was made moderator on a big mailing list for a game (Yay)
which may lead to a place on the game's High Council (fingers crossed)
So as you can see I've been very very busy. Honest. :-)
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
No comment
Make up your own mind about this one.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/14/utah_grounds_santa/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/14/utah_grounds_santa/
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Good News
I've managed to get myself a job at the University. Woohoo! Go Me!
I've been temping in the Department since May (and within the University for even longer). I was so surprised to be offered the post because I really thought I'd done appallingly at interview.
I don't officially start until I come back from honeymoon, so it's all worked out really nicely.
Just need to get the other half a job now.
I've been temping in the Department since May (and within the University for even longer). I was so surprised to be offered the post because I really thought I'd done appallingly at interview.
I don't officially start until I come back from honeymoon, so it's all worked out really nicely.
Just need to get the other half a job now.
Monday, June 14, 2004
Wedding Plans
Are all going well if somewhat late....
I've just got the invitations back from the printer so they will finally be going out this week, and I have to go and see the Registrars to finalise the legal notices.
The dress is coming along nicely, and I even have a very basic wedding site at http://www.netresources.co.uk/~jan30/wedding.
All in all I'm very pleased with how things are going. Not stopping me panicing though.
I've just got the invitations back from the printer so they will finally be going out this week, and I have to go and see the Registrars to finalise the legal notices.
The dress is coming along nicely, and I even have a very basic wedding site at http://www.netresources.co.uk/~jan30/wedding.
All in all I'm very pleased with how things are going. Not stopping me panicing though.
Monday, April 26, 2004
New game
For those of you that play the Vampire The Dark Alleyways, there is a new variation called Gothador. This is a little bit more dungeons and dragons based and is undergoing serious development as people are joining the game and letting the developer know what features they'd like to see.
Enjoy
UPDATE
Well that was good for a while. The game developer has now implemented lots of features that the first round of players asked for and promptly started charging for them. Not amused. On top of that everytime anyone says anything even slightly bad about the game on any of the lists (which the game developers are making a point of owning) they are pounced on with abuse by one of the list moderators and then find that the posts "vanish".
My view of this lot has completely changed from a bunch working to get a game going for the hell of it (which is what it appeared at the start) to a bunch of money grabbing control freaks asking for "a small $5 USD / month donation (approximately £3 GBP)" to "gain access to all current advanced features and also new features that non-supporters will never get access to".
Make your own choice, but I've quit the game and asked the owner to remove my details from the database (which they still haven't done).
Enjoy
UPDATE
Well that was good for a while. The game developer has now implemented lots of features that the first round of players asked for and promptly started charging for them. Not amused. On top of that everytime anyone says anything even slightly bad about the game on any of the lists (which the game developers are making a point of owning) they are pounced on with abuse by one of the list moderators and then find that the posts "vanish".
My view of this lot has completely changed from a bunch working to get a game going for the hell of it (which is what it appeared at the start) to a bunch of money grabbing control freaks asking for "a small $5 USD / month donation (approximately £3 GBP)" to "gain access to all current advanced features and also new features that non-supporters will never get access to".
Make your own choice, but I've quit the game and asked the owner to remove my details from the database (which they still haven't done).
Saturday, April 17, 2004
Arghhhh!
Trying to make a combination of the wedding dress and clothes for the honeymoon and the sewing machine has decided to seize up on me.
I now have to find a place that will do house calls to old Singer treadle machines.
Poo
I now have to find a place that will do house calls to old Singer treadle machines.
Poo
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
A nice relaxing weekend... not
The boy wonder came up for the long weekend so we used the opportunity to get various bits and pieces done. Of course, making the wedding dress was completely put on hold as I had to hide everything to do with it away, but that was a minor sacrifice. Firstly, on Friday night we went to the pictures to see Shaun of the Dead. It's brill. Go see it NOW!
Saturday started well with a leisurely lay in, but the need for food soon had us running out to get bacon rolls and coffee, then on into town where we ordered the wedding rings. I also took my mothers rings with me to get them resized and also to have the eternity ring restored. The jeweler commented that it was an old ring with a lot of wear so I think that Val got in a muddle and gave me one of my gran's rings by mistake. Not that I'm complaining because if that is the case then in her attempt to grab the valuable stuff for herself she has inadvertently given me one of the more valuable rings. I'll wait to see what the final report on that one is. Shambled around town a bit which was nice and ended up in HMV, where were picked up some of the DVDs we've been looking for in the sale, then home, food, and on to the pub for a good night out with friends.
Sunday, we made a tailors form in my shape, using cling film, and lots of duck tape, which was fun to start but got very uncomfortable after a while due to being sweaty and sticky. Then watched one of the DVDs we'd bought before finishing all the invitation designs and working on the wedding website (it still has problems and I can't seem to fix them - damn cross browser incompatibilities) so that will be going on-line in a day or two.
Monday he went home, and I didn't even get to do the tearful goodbyes at the train station as I was working. *BooHooHoo*
So now the dress will be brought out of it's hiding hole and that is going to be the big priority until he comes back in a few weeks when we have to make time to go to the Registrar's Office to submit the legal Notice of Intent to Marry and after that it's just finalising various bits and pieces.
It never seems to end though.
Saturday started well with a leisurely lay in, but the need for food soon had us running out to get bacon rolls and coffee, then on into town where we ordered the wedding rings. I also took my mothers rings with me to get them resized and also to have the eternity ring restored. The jeweler commented that it was an old ring with a lot of wear so I think that Val got in a muddle and gave me one of my gran's rings by mistake. Not that I'm complaining because if that is the case then in her attempt to grab the valuable stuff for herself she has inadvertently given me one of the more valuable rings. I'll wait to see what the final report on that one is. Shambled around town a bit which was nice and ended up in HMV, where were picked up some of the DVDs we've been looking for in the sale, then home, food, and on to the pub for a good night out with friends.
Sunday, we made a tailors form in my shape, using cling film, and lots of duck tape, which was fun to start but got very uncomfortable after a while due to being sweaty and sticky. Then watched one of the DVDs we'd bought before finishing all the invitation designs and working on the wedding website (it still has problems and I can't seem to fix them - damn cross browser incompatibilities) so that will be going on-line in a day or two.
Monday he went home, and I didn't even get to do the tearful goodbyes at the train station as I was working. *BooHooHoo*
So now the dress will be brought out of it's hiding hole and that is going to be the big priority until he comes back in a few weeks when we have to make time to go to the Registrar's Office to submit the legal Notice of Intent to Marry and after that it's just finalising various bits and pieces.
It never seems to end though.
Sunday, April 04, 2004
Ha!
Last night I went to the pub. She who is trying to make out that she is being maligned behaved as though my being there had spoilt her whole night. Went to the pub tonight she stood on her own at the bar having done a u-turn upon seeing me. Do I look like someone who cares? Yeah your right.
It's getting to the point where she is looking like a complete prat, and people are actually noticing this and commenting that she is behaving like a five year old. And I just sit there and smile and ignore her. You see I have learned that I can hold my own with people, I don't need to make other people look small to make myself look big. I grant that I have a nasty temper that wise people do not get on the wrong side of. More importantly, I've decided that I am going to have a social life and if some psychotic attention seeker wants to fantasize about my being a threat to them then okay. If they want to lie about me - fine. I know the truth, the people that know me know the truth, and it isn't actually hurting me. The person who is behaving like a brain dead twat is on the other hand starting to get bad press as people notice the stupidity. Lets face it, if you insist on being the center of attention when you're actually a complete bore, people tend to be glad to see the back of you.
It's getting to the point where she is looking like a complete prat, and people are actually noticing this and commenting that she is behaving like a five year old. And I just sit there and smile and ignore her. You see I have learned that I can hold my own with people, I don't need to make other people look small to make myself look big. I grant that I have a nasty temper that wise people do not get on the wrong side of. More importantly, I've decided that I am going to have a social life and if some psychotic attention seeker wants to fantasize about my being a threat to them then okay. If they want to lie about me - fine. I know the truth, the people that know me know the truth, and it isn't actually hurting me. The person who is behaving like a brain dead twat is on the other hand starting to get bad press as people notice the stupidity. Lets face it, if you insist on being the center of attention when you're actually a complete bore, people tend to be glad to see the back of you.
Saturday, April 03, 2004
Beware - rant in progress
Today I arrived home to find an email from a friend. He and his partner had been up all night with their blind, ailing, geriatric puss, who had sadly died this morning. Didn't help that it was my friend's birthday. After I had been around for a visit to commiserate for their loss it was decided that we would go to the pub for a "wee dram" or three. So there we were a rather forlorn group of four people sitting in the pub, but the ale soon lifted our spirits, and one of the group, who had recently returned from Nigeria was telling us about life in North West Africa. During the course of our evening a couple turned up and suddenly things turned very sour.
Basically, the female of the pair was a friend of mine for many years, but about a year ago decided to spread some lies about another friend in, of all places, her Livejournal. The other friend, lets call her Mrs A, was very upset about this and asked for a retraction of the lies and received abuse in return. Mrs A's husband then tried to get a retraction and he too had abuse hurled at him. He, however, was defending his wife's reputation so didn't back down at this point, hence their argument spilled over into my livejournal comment space. I told them both to stop it and grow up, where upon I got an apology from Mr A but abuse from the other woman. Now I have put up with this woman's tantrums for a number of years and to be honest they were growing thin. She seems to think that behaving like a petulant 5 year old is a virtue in a thirtysomething year old woman, which to be frank, it isn't. By this point she was slandering Mr A in on line forums by making people believe that he had had some sort of breakdown and had become a dangerous lunatic who was putting her health and safety in great danger.
Having had this argument thrust into my face and deciding to draw a line in the sand, which she very quickly crossed, I told her to grow up and act her age, to which her partner then started telling me that she was "unsocialised" and "didn't know that her behaviour was unacceptable" and that "I was responsible for her bad behaviour by not telling her it was wrong". When I pointed out that when you tell her her behaviour is unacceptable you get a torrent of abuse I was told I was "being unreasonable".
I was supposed to be the matron of honour at this woman's wedding but I told her that I wouldn't bestow such an honour on someone who though being abusive to friends was a good idea and I broke of contact with her. At this point her partner started telling anyone that would listen that I was "spreading obnoxious lies" about her. Of course, as the only things I had said about her were backed up by emails and other independant witnesses people soon got tired of hearing this. And so for nearly a near this couple have been trying to make the world believe that I am a dangerous lunatic.
Tonight was the last straw. They have made unsubstantiated accusations against people that I know just on the basis that they are talking to me. They are saying that they cannot even be in the same pub as me as I pose a physical threat to their safety (which bearing in mind that I was in the same pub for two hours and didn't even look at them) is patently fabricated, and this on top of telling people over the past year that I am a psychotic receiving psychiatric care (I'd like to see them prove that one in a court of law). I am so angry at the moment but I know that there is very little that I can do. Or at least there is very little that I can do that doesn't take me down to the same sewer that they live in.
Maybe I should just get my solicitor to issue a summons of slander against them. There are enough witnesses to prove my case....
Today I arrived home to find an email from a friend. He and his partner had been up all night with their blind, ailing, geriatric puss, who had sadly died this morning. Didn't help that it was my friend's birthday. After I had been around for a visit to commiserate for their loss it was decided that we would go to the pub for a "wee dram" or three. So there we were a rather forlorn group of four people sitting in the pub, but the ale soon lifted our spirits, and one of the group, who had recently returned from Nigeria was telling us about life in North West Africa. During the course of our evening a couple turned up and suddenly things turned very sour.
Basically, the female of the pair was a friend of mine for many years, but about a year ago decided to spread some lies about another friend in, of all places, her Livejournal. The other friend, lets call her Mrs A, was very upset about this and asked for a retraction of the lies and received abuse in return. Mrs A's husband then tried to get a retraction and he too had abuse hurled at him. He, however, was defending his wife's reputation so didn't back down at this point, hence their argument spilled over into my livejournal comment space. I told them both to stop it and grow up, where upon I got an apology from Mr A but abuse from the other woman. Now I have put up with this woman's tantrums for a number of years and to be honest they were growing thin. She seems to think that behaving like a petulant 5 year old is a virtue in a thirtysomething year old woman, which to be frank, it isn't. By this point she was slandering Mr A in on line forums by making people believe that he had had some sort of breakdown and had become a dangerous lunatic who was putting her health and safety in great danger.
Having had this argument thrust into my face and deciding to draw a line in the sand, which she very quickly crossed, I told her to grow up and act her age, to which her partner then started telling me that she was "unsocialised" and "didn't know that her behaviour was unacceptable" and that "I was responsible for her bad behaviour by not telling her it was wrong". When I pointed out that when you tell her her behaviour is unacceptable you get a torrent of abuse I was told I was "being unreasonable".
I was supposed to be the matron of honour at this woman's wedding but I told her that I wouldn't bestow such an honour on someone who though being abusive to friends was a good idea and I broke of contact with her. At this point her partner started telling anyone that would listen that I was "spreading obnoxious lies" about her. Of course, as the only things I had said about her were backed up by emails and other independant witnesses people soon got tired of hearing this. And so for nearly a near this couple have been trying to make the world believe that I am a dangerous lunatic.
Tonight was the last straw. They have made unsubstantiated accusations against people that I know just on the basis that they are talking to me. They are saying that they cannot even be in the same pub as me as I pose a physical threat to their safety (which bearing in mind that I was in the same pub for two hours and didn't even look at them) is patently fabricated, and this on top of telling people over the past year that I am a psychotic receiving psychiatric care (I'd like to see them prove that one in a court of law). I am so angry at the moment but I know that there is very little that I can do. Or at least there is very little that I can do that doesn't take me down to the same sewer that they live in.
Maybe I should just get my solicitor to issue a summons of slander against them. There are enough witnesses to prove my case....
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