| Time Wasters |
[Jun. 6th, 2004|10:13 pm] |
I was very good and sorted out my bookmarks today. Which included, shock, horror, actually deleting some! So, here follows some links to some cool games to waste your time with:
There are two games at Yahoo Games I love: Zuma (which I finally finished!) and Rocket Launcher.
Some good shockwave games: Daily Jigsaw, Diamond Mine (which is also at Yahoo Games), and House of Cards.
Yeti Sports is the home of all the flying penguin games going around. There will be ten eventually, at the moment there's only four. There's another version of the first one - Bloody Pingu.
Hamlet - The Text Adventure. There are hints to this one but it's much more fun if you just blunder about killing everyone :)
There aren't hints for Crimson Room but you might feel the need for them - it's practically impossible to do on your own. Leave a comment if you're stuck (although chances are you don't have everything you need). |
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| Harry Potter |
[Jun. 5th, 2004|09:01 pm] |
I finally got to see Harry Potter today. I can't believe it's only been out six days and it seems like everyone has seen it already. I'm most upset they've changed the uniforms. Okay, so it's nice to watch it without cringing but my Harry Potter scarf is no longer a Harry Potter scarf!
My external hard drive no longer works. I eventually got hold of a cable the right size at both ends and it still doesn't work. Which is not good because I have all my videos on it - the ones I haven't managed to put on CD yet.
On a better note, there are pictures from Farscape:Peacekeeper War (ie the mini-series). |
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| Fandom |
[Jun. 2nd, 2004|11:11 pm] |
My dad said the fatal words today: I'm doing an amazon order, do you want anything. Hmm, now let me see... :) My favourite shop these days is Borders (aside from the cheap shops in Poole, and The Lemon Tree, but they're more difficult to get to). I did buy Una's book. Dad suggested I get it signed - just need to remember to take it to Redemption '05 now :)
I meant to say something about this before, but fandom is a funny thing. Perhaps it's something to do with not being able to see people when communicating with them, but people in it, are in general, a lot more tolerant. Tolerant of race, gender, disabilities, species, I mean. It's everything else that goes downhill.
I suspect it's the extent to which I'm involved with fandoms that makes me more able to see it in some than others. Stargate, for example, is not always a nice place. I discovered the newsgroup during the fourth season and I remember what it was like. Hence the reason I don't go near the place any more. There are still people who can't believe that I am friends with Jack/Daniel slashers being as I am a Sam/Jack shipper. Well, mostly, the dark side is looking distinctly grey these days.
There was talk on another site about why slash fics are labelled so people can avoid them, but het ones are not. On the one hand it is a sad fact of life that heterosexual relationships are more accepted. Certainly when I was young they were the only relationships I thought existed, being as they were the ones portrayed in books/on TV etc. I do remember the lesbian character (Helen?) on Drop the Dead Donkey not being particularly shocking, though.
It is entirely subjective as to which pairings squick which people though. Although I remember someone mentioning Arwen/Bilbo at one point, which I don't think anyone can quite cope with. But then that's an age and species difference. It's the ones that go against our moral values that squick us, I think. Although I'm inconsistent. I'll do Qui/Obi but not Obi-Wan/Anakin and definitely not Elrond/Aragorn, which I see as a similar relationship to Qui/Obi. I'll also read Elladan/Elrohir but nor Boromir/Faramir.
I think perhaps some of that comes from wanting to reading fic about friendships between particular characters and not minding if they have sex. And also, for me, knowing that people love each other and not minding what type it is. That's certainly how I got into Qui/Obi and Frodo/Sam. Plus some really good authors writing them.
Having said that, I'll read anything funny. Which is how I got into the whole Jack/Daniel thing in the first place. I also think you can do anything, it's just that the harder stuff has to be better done. I've heard there's a Servalan/Orac one that was actually believable.
It's nice to ship with the majority as well - there's more choice of fic to read (although more likelihood much of it is bad, I suspect). I've also found it's nice to ship with the minority. Qui/Obi and Sam/Jack is definitely the majority. John/Aeryn and Sydney/Vaughn are canon (at which point they bored me, although in the case of J/A it took till the end of the series, S/V was only halfway through season 2).
When it comes to Enterprise, though, I ship for Trip/T'Pol. Now that's a minority, or certainly was at the start. I feel quite protective of this one because I saw it right from the start. I preferred their relationship when they constantly wound each other up, but then I suppose all relationships change over time.
And now I'm rambling. It may not sound like it but fandom is a wonderful place. You get to meet new people for a start. The best thing anyone ever said at a con was that everyone at their work only ever talked about Eastenders because then I knew it wasn't just me. There is a tendency to get to know people really quickly as well - shared opinions help that (and it is nice to have someone to go squee over blokes with that people at work have never heard of).
It was at Redemption '03, I think that someone pointed out that once you know you have one thing in common with someone else, you'll find a whole load more as well. Actually, it's a lot like uni, where the closest friends I had were the ones I knew from clubs and societies, rather than the ones I happened to end up living with in my first year. Although we were quite close as a tutor group by the end - there's something about having a group whinge to pull people close (not literally).
This long post is inspired by Sel (so you know who to blame). So to everyone reading this you're all appreciated 'k? Perhaps it's time again to make sure I don't loose touch with old friends I haven't spoken to for ages. |
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| Troy |
[May. 31st, 2004|10:25 pm] |
Andrew, you sneaky bugger, I've spotted you!
I saw Troy today. Nice looking blokes + sword fighting = good film. And a desire to go to Greece (when it's not hot!), which is not good. |
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| BritSlash |
[May. 30th, 2004|11:01 pm] |
I found a link to this website: BritSlash and it's really quite disturbing. I was just getting over the idea of Eastenders fanfic and then saw the Midsomer Murders an Taggart slash. And the question I have to ask is why? I so don't want an answer to this one (not least because I can only think of one potential answer), but who is there in Midsomer Murders to slash? Mind you, it took me some time to get over the idea of The Bill fan fiction. Or Red Dwarf for that matter, although that's for an entirely different reason.
Yesterday I helped clear a load of bushes for Emmaus. The link is to the Oxford branch and there's a picture of the site on there. It's changed a bit now - all the bushes at the front, near the wall, from the left side of the photo to the middle of it are gone. We cleared more than that but you can't see it for the bushes in this picture.
There was a big police station opposite, which wasn't terribly exciting, although there were a few coppers on bikes hanging about. Not long after there was a bloke taking photos of four of them.
Then, in the evening, I went to the work hen party of my boss. It was quite good, although I couldn't finish my pizza, even though I was hungry before I sat down. After we ate, we went to Bar 38, or at least we tried, because they wouldn't let anyone with trainers in. I really don't understand the no jeans and no trainers rules in pubs/clubs because what do these people expect me to wear out in the evening - the same clothes I wear to work? I don't think so.
Anyway, after that we went to Brannigans. I'd never been, but everyone told me it was shite because it was full of fifteen year olds and no-one liked it there, but we had to go because it was what you did on a hen night. Apparently. I didn't know there was a handbook. Although I did see four other hen nights by the Riverside that night.
They were right - Brannigans was shite. Not so much for the reasons they said - I was avoiding pissed blokes attempting to chat me up. I was really hot but that could have had more to do with the Sambuca I'd downed not long beforehand. They were playing dance shite loudly, so you couldn't hear what anyone was saying (it was also really dark near the bar where we were stood, so I couldn't work out who anyone was - they looked different all dressed up). I'm not against loud music but only if it is actually music (ie has a tune) and if you're going to dance to it. It's not terribly helpful if you want to stand around and chat. I was quite glad I was only there for an hour before I had to go and get the last train.
I'm not quite with it today due to sleeping late, then not being bothered to get up. I ate lunch at 4 o'clock, which probably didn't help. I've really not woken up properly, although I did get some of the things done today that I meant to, which is something. Tomorrow I'm hopefully going to see Troy and remember to listen to the first in the new series of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. |
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| I love my TV card |
[May. 27th, 2004|10:36 pm] |
I wasn't quite ready for The Bill at 8 o'clock tonight, so I set the video on my computer to record it. SO I started watching at quarter past 8, fast forwarded through the adverts and finished at just past 9. It's great - I must do it more in the future!
The floor still slopes. They fixed my glasses a bit but any more beyond that and they might break, which will be very, very bad. So I have shelled out a quite horrendous amount of money for two new pairs which are bendy. I also got a free pair of pescription sunglasses although those won't have special lenses to make them thinner. It's been a long time since I had ordinary lenses, so I dread to think how thick they'll be.
I didn't go to bed till 1.15 last night, which was fine because I wasn't tired. I am now though, I might have to have an early night. |
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| Good and bad news |
[May. 24th, 2004|11:03 pm] |
The good news: Enterprise has been renewed (http://www.trektoday.com/news/200504_01.shtml
The bad news: Richard Biggs has died (http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-17099)
I went away for 26 hours at the weekend and returned to find 198 e-mails, of which 144 were spam. I've been answering them while listening to "Six Characters in Search of an Answer" on BBC7's Listen Again. Which is so useful because I never listen to anything on the radion on time. I only remembered to watch Have I Got News For You on Friday because the video came on (in my defence I'm usually out).
On the plus side this weekend I established that Hobbycraft still doesn't have any rabbits I can cross stitch. I might have to go on a hunt on the internet, or end up doing cats. Which are nice, but not as nice as rabbits. I've still got a fair bit of The Librarian left to do so it's not urgent yet.
I also made about 20 CDs and did all my backing up. At the same time I finally saw Miss Congeniality. I meant to go and see it when it was out at the cinema. I meant to get it out on video. I even meant to watch it on TV, but forgot. That's a record, even for me.
I re-injured my toes tonight, exactly the same way as I did last week, so they hurt. What's worse is that I had my glasses punched twice on the same side, so the floor now slopes. Which is not helpful.
I finally got round to doing these quizzes, this is from Selenay (I can't quite bring myself to use the word gacked, to me it sounds like the cat's about to be sick):
Good stuff, you are "Wedding? I love
weddings! Drinks all around." You're the
life of the party and nothing gets you down,
not even certain death at the hands of your
zombie nemesis or the Navy. Come to think of
it, realism isn't your strong suit...
Which one of Captain Jack Sparrow's bizarre sayings from Pirates of the Caribbean are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
How true!
This I first saw on fileg's journal:
| paranoidangel may explode without warning | M
EXPLOSIVE |
From Go-Quiz.com
Yep, that would be me :) |
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| Tired |
[May. 20th, 2004|08:39 pm] |
I am so tired I think I am rapidly losing coherency. At 9pm when The Bill's finished I might end up watching it lying down. I can't help thinking I had more things on my to do list for tonight but if I've forgotten any they're just not going to get done.
Work was actually quite fun today because we're trialling a terminal server. The idea is that all the programs are run from the server, along with the files so there is less traffic going down the link and it is quicker. It is a lot quicker to run programs but there is a really annoying delay on mouse/keyboard clicks.
My computer is also a bit ****ed up and pauses. To the extent where this afternoon it had lost 15 minutes since I last restarted at lunchtime. I think I didn't notice because I was playing with the terminal server but this morning I managed an hour and a half before it got unbearably annoying I needed to restart.
The terminal server means essentially a whole new computer to customise. Which is fun for a day - after a week of it it tends to get a bit samey :) I'm only now just realising how much I rely on some programs that are only on my computer and make my life easier. Similarly, some of my settings. I can change some things, like how the start menu looks and the desktop but others I can't. I'm having particular issues with my e-mail. Everyone is having issues with everything - the IT guy in the company, and the outside one who knows all about the terminal server were doing nothing but sort people out for two hours between them showing us it and it being lunchtime.
TGIF it's Friday tomorrow, frankly. |
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| Remix |
[May. 18th, 2004|10:18 pm] |
I've been reading some of the stories at We Invented the Remix... Redux. It's interesting reading the remixed story and the original. Some of them are really similar and all that's changed is the POV. Some of the then are really different though - one has a long story off one scene and one I don't know how they got their remix from the original, they're so different.
This morning I woke up at quarter past six when my computer fan came on. At which point I realised I was hot too and opened the window. When I woke up again the fan had gone off. Last Wednesday I was trying to get to sleep when I could hear a loud humming. I remembered hearing it Tuesday evening but quieter. At which point I realised I'd plugged my printer in Tuesday to do some printing then forgot to unplug it. Which only goes to show how loud the transformer is.
I've also injured myself at Tae Kwon Do - I can't remember what happened but there was kicking involved and I bent back the three middle toes on my left foot. Which wasn't too bad at the time but they now hurt whenever I move them. I still managed to play tennis tonight, so I doubt they're broken. They did at least bend the way they were supposed to.
The most annoying thing at the moment is that I have nothing to do at work and loads to do at home. I've actually been quite dynamic tonight and have nearly cleared out my inbox (I have lots of folders, so they only e-mails in my inbox are ones I have to deal with). |
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| Fantasy |
[May. 17th, 2004|10:48 pm] |
From reading my friends list and mailing lists it seems like the world and his wife have seen Troy. It doesn't even come out till Friday here (although there were previews at the weekend). Which is a tad academic since I won't get to see it till it's at the local cinema in June because all my weekends are booked up.
There's nothing quite like walking home past big houses to make you think 'I want one of those'. So, when I marry a millionaire (I would say win the lottery but since I don't play it there's more chance of me marrying a millionaire) I will have:
- A purple mini - with someone else to drive it. I get to sit in the passenger seat and decide which radio station to listen to. And not map-read - the driver should always know where he is going. He will also be available at my beck and call.
- A big house - which I won't clean. One room will be mine (I need my space). One room will have shelves all round it filled with books, videos, DVDs and CDs, since all my stuff won't fit into one room.
- A cook. Who will cook what I tell them to. Obviously.
- A garden with bunnies in.
- Someone whose job it is to make sure everything I put on my amazon/blackstar wishlist is bought.
- Craig Parker. Since I'll be marrying my husband for his money I'll need someone for everything else, won't I?
On an entirely different note, there should be a law against people changing the scroll bar colour to match the background of said scroll bar. How am I supposed to page down if I can't find the thing to click on? Also scroll bars within scroll bars because I'm always scrolling the wrong one. |
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| Update |
[May. 16th, 2004|09:52 pm] |
I have been good - I updated my blogger template with more recs. I updated my website, which meant I got to play around with all the Craig Parker photos I took. And I added a page for music video recs. Go me!
I still haven't got round to watching last Friday's Have I Got News For You though. It might not be quite so topical soon... |
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| Expo |
[May. 15th, 2004|09:37 pm] |
I am so tired, even though it's only half nine (so this may or may not be coherent), and it doesn't feel like I've done much today, other than wander round the Expo. Oh, and propose marriage to Craig Parker (who played Haldir in LOTR films). Well, ok, I didn't say that to him, and in my defense I wasn't the only person who thought that.
Annoyingly, he's doing a dinner in two weeks, but I have two things on that day (well, one in the day and one in the evening) and a con in October, but Kate won't go with me (too many SG cons!) and it's in Manchester, which is more of a pain to get to than Heathrow (being as it's practically the other end of the country). I did make her promise to go with me to an LOTR con next year, although together with Australia and Redemption that'll pretty much use up my holiday days for next year.
The man himself, and me, as taken on my new digital camera (the original looks a lot better but is a lot, lot bigger):
Then on the way home the (very hot) train stood around at Paddington for an extra 25 minutes, so it meant I missed my bus (and the next one wasn't for 2.5 hours, so I got a taxi - I will try and charge Thames Trains for it) and I finished my book when we were only just past Slough.
On the plus side I now have a very silly mouse for work (it has a floating Nemo in it) and Daniel on a keyring. |
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| Driving |
[May. 11th, 2004|10:28 pm] |
New Blogger - now with added comments. And titles. And pages with just one post and the comments on. Which now means all my links have to have the whole address in, annoyingly. There are bits of it I haven't investigated yet, but it seems good so far. I did hear about it via BBC News, mind you...
It really annoys me, in a way, not having a car. I'd love to be able to decide to go somewhere and just go there. And in the case of going home, in half the time. But, cars are:
a) expensive and
b) break (and I really don't understand them)
There's also the problem (and this is less easy to fix) that I don't like driving. I don't like other cars, I'm not terribly keen on roundabouts or traffic lights (I'm never quite sure whether they're going to change or not). I also don't like thin or dark roads, which is what all the ones round here are like. I especially don't like coming onto dual carriageways (so I dread to think what I'd be like on motorways, which sadly, are all round here too).
I also haven't worked out how you can possibly talk while driving. I'm ok, as long as I don't have to change gears, change speed, change lanes, or turn into or out of roads. Which, lets face it, is most of the time. Perhaps an automatic would help, but they're too expensive to consider anyway.
I can have dad's car when he retires in two and a half years. Which is quite nice, because I know it (or will be when the runners have been moved forward so I can reach the pedals) and when I work out how to do first to second. But I'm terrified of what he'd say if I crashed it. I'm terrified of crashing it too, of course.
It's all academic anyway because I can't afford to run one - well, I can but then I wouldn't be able to afford to go anywhere in it. I wish I lived somewhere with better public transport, which would solve all my problems. Or I could just never go anywhere and live a very boring life. |
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[May. 9th, 2004|09:33 pm] |
They sent round a recruitment e-mail at work and talked about the American office (which currently consists of one person) and said it could be as big as the one here, meaning there could be opportunities to work over there. Which all assumes rather a lot, mind you, but before I went to America last year I would have jumped at the chance. Which only goes to show it's a good idea to recce a place before you consider living there.
I was there just under a week and after that time I was desperate to get out. The whole country was driving me crazy. And yet I want to go back, which is even more crazy. I don't think I'd survive longer than a week though. I'm hoping Australia won't be so bad being as it's a bit more like here and the accents don't drive me mad. Not yet, anyway.
I'm almost in two minds about Australia. I keep thinking it would be better if I went with someone else, then I'd have someone to talk to. But going on holiday with other people is a pain if you want to be doing different things. There's probably less to do in the evenings but then I could just go to bed earlier and get up earlier to do stuff in the daylight. And I can do what I want when I want, once I've decided what that is. It's also a bit complicated going with someone else being as I want to see my family and meet up with my friends out there.
Barn Dance was last night and it went well. We made a profit, which was very good, and everyone looked like they were having a good time. Which means we'll do another one next year, which I'll be organising, which is scary. The Rotaract year starts in July, so hopefully I'll be more confident by then. I'm not growing up for the purposes of responsibility though. What a horrible thought. |
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[May. 7th, 2004|03:43 pm] |
Happy Birthday, undonne!
I thought I'd better update this, since I hadn't in a while. Since my last update I've drunk (but not got drunk), done very little work, seen the first episode of Sports Night, had a three day week, had a birthday, not quite been able to admit my age has gone up yet. I realised that if they don't put the retirement age up in the meantime I can retire in 40 years. Doesn't that sound depressing. I'm now downloading music videos. Barn Dance tomorrow, and more drink this weekend. Yay! |
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[Apr. 28th, 2004|09:32 pm] |
The Fandom President has been announced here. Darien and Selma would like to thank everyone who voted for them - we came a fairly respectable distance up the list for such a small fandom.
Since our new president will be providing rum for everyone this Campaign Manager is happy, as is our presidential candidate. Our vice presidential candidate is not so impressed but since we can just turn her off we'll ignore her.
Although Darien and Selma are sure President Sparrow and Vice President Norrington will do a good job (with rum or without it) they will be beginning their campaign for 2204 very soon to ensure their chance of success when they return to that time. |
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[Apr. 26th, 2004|06:02 pm] |
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If you're reading this you should have voted for Darien/Selma. If not, you just need to go here and we're top of ticket 5. |
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[Apr. 25th, 2004|05:57 pm] |
This is a party political broadcast on behalf of the Time Trax party.
Darien and Selma would like to remind you why you should vote for them.
Sod it, the campaign manager has not had enough sleep or alcohol, so her brain is not currently in working order. The voting starts tomorrow, so keep on eye on this website: Fandom Escapist Election and vote for Darien/Selma.
Note: Although Darien and Selma feel that bribery is against their principles, I, their campaign manager, is perfectly happy with the idea. Just name your price and I will honour it in return for you vote.
Additional note: Although Darien and Selma value honesty, I, their campaign manager, finds dishonesty nice and refreshing. This, and the above note, may well turn out to be lies. |
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[Apr. 20th, 2004|09:37 pm] |
I was so enjoying seeing the different campaigns for the Fandom Escapist Election I just had to submit one of my own. I present to you Darien/Selma '04
Reasons you should vote for them:
- They are honest - Selma, being a computer, can't lie
- They are from the 22nd century - they won't repeat any mistakes that will happen in the next 200 years
The main focus of their campaign is crime. As a captain in the police force Darien has seen it all and Selma knows it all. They pledge to try their hardest to rid the planet of both dangerous fugitives and petty criminals. |
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[Apr. 18th, 2004|05:44 pm] |
I went to a Murder Mystery dinner last night. I thought the bloke who dunnit was far too obvious, so I went for someone else! I did get my poem read out though.
I thought I was doing really well this week because I didn't feel tired at all Thursday and Friday. Saturday, though, it hit me when I went to Tescos and all I could do when I got back was lie down and watch a lot of Time Trax. But then I didn't get home till 2am, which I haven't done for what feels like forever and now I feel great. And I drunk alcohol last night, which I also hadn't done for a while either.
Next weekend is Conference, so I should at least be alright for that, although whether I'll be able to do Wide Awake Club is something else.
I was very good this morning because I tidied my room (it had got to the point where you couldn't see very much floor anymore) and cleaned it. I also did my washing (of course it's rained all day so I couldn't hang it out, should have done it yesterday), updated my website, replied to e-mails and done some other stuff. I still have stuff to do, I've just got to the point now where I'm quite bored. I do have some Teachers to watch though, and I have just remembered I taped Murder in Suburbia last night. I might even be good and so some Rotaract-related ringing up as well. |
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