Weekly Quote - W/E 19/12/09

"Tom had been offered the post of builder to the Exeter Castellan, repairing and improving the city's fortifications. It would have been a lifetime job, barring accidents, but Tom had turned it down, for he wanted to build another cathedral...once he had tasted that wine, Tom was never satisfied with anything else." - The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett

Weekly Quote - W/E 12/12/09

"And I was going to sea myself, to sea in a schooner, with a piping boatswain and pig-tailed singing seamen, to sea, bound for an unknown island, and to seek for buried treasure." - Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson

Snow through the ages - 2006

Hmm, I thought I had more pictures than this, but either the snow's been unimpressive recently or I keep forgetting to take pictures - actually yeah - I think we made a snow bear in 2007 but I don't have photos on my computer so maybe that didn't happen - but anyway, in 2006 we got very creative with our snow.
















Behold snowhenge!! This was meant to be a snowman, but after my sister and her friend used up all the snow in the garden, then make the 'body' by rolling snow down the entire length of our street resulting in a snowball about six feet tall and wide, there was no hope of moving the thing, let alone lifting it, so we cut the beast up and created snowhenge!!

We had had a coating several inches thick of snow, after this escapade -all that remained was...
















Later on there was more snowfall and again opportunities for creativity - with my sister again heading up the creation - this was produced.
















Mr Head - as he is affectionately known. Well that's it, if some white powdery snowball fodder falls this year I'll be sure to take a few pictures - word out people.

Word of the post: Quarantine –noun

1.	a strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease.

Word of the post:

Abject

Thought I'd type it into Google images as well as Dictionary.com - see what I'd come up with, I was stuck for time!! Makes for a quick post when you've nothing else you can think of I guess.









–adjective

1.	utterly hopeless, miserable, humiliating, or wretched: abject poverty.

2.	contemptible; despicable; base-spirited: an abject coward.

3.	shamelessly servile; slavish.

4.	Obsolete. cast aside.

Weekly Quote - W/E 5/12/09

"It's a grand country for a man to live and work in, and good money, too. But it's a crook place for a woman." - A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute

XX

...is the name of a band.

I've no idea how it's meant to be said - 'ex-ex', 'double x', 'twenty'...

But they are pretty great as a band if you're after something a bit different. With quiet chilled-out songs and simple melodies they are easy to listen-to, but not easy-listening as you soon find yourself humming the songs, then remembering the words, then in a shop buying the album!

I'd definitely recommend them - here's the album cover for you to look out for and one of their songs to listen to as I'm not good at describing music.










Word of the post: Elegant –adjective

1. tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc.: elegant furnishings.
2. gracefully refined and dignified, as in tastes, habits, or literary style: an elegant young gentleman; an elegant prosodist.
3. graceful in form or movement: an elegant wave of the hand.
4. appropriate to refined taste: a man devoted to elegant pursuits.
5. excellent; fine; superior: an absolutely elegant wine.
6. (of scientific, technical, or mathematical theories, solutions, etc.) gracefully concise and simple; admirably succinct.

Stuf I've read recently 7

It has been a long time, even longer than usual since I did one of these, so long I barely remember writing about stuff I've read. It is mere weeks short of a whole year since I last posted so I'd better get cracking. In my defence I was on a very full-on teacher training course which barely left time to think, let alone read and I'm only just getting back into my already lax reading habits.

If you're my friend on Facebook you probably already know what I've been reading but on the off chance there's someone else reading here goes.

The Bible - God

My reading as taken me right through the rest of the New Testament up to Revelation, which I've just started reading. The letters of Paul, John and Peter are full of marvelous instruction and exploration of the truths told in the Gospel. To read the words of great Christian leaders to the real Christians of the day, all the while knowing that God is breathing his Scripture through them, intending it to be read by us is humbling and inspiring.

Holy Sonnets of the Twentieth Century - Don Carson

A collection of poems in the aforementioned form expounding on a number of topics from the Bible, each accompanied with relevant verses. A useful way to dip into the truths of scripture in an interesting and accessible form

Neverwhere (Graphic Novel adaptation) - Neil Gaiman

I really enjoyed this rather loopy tale of one man's journey into London's 'underworld' where the strangest characters dwell, unseen by the masses, and where there really are sheperds at sheperds bush and a key player in the world is an Angel called Islington. The idea of this fantasy world that is just beyong our own is magnificently portrayed and the characters are appropriately 'different' while also recognizable as heroes, villains etc. The story is also a clever exposition of homelessness as it discusses the people who live on the streets of London who we simply do not see.

Star Wars Underworld: The Yavin Vassilika - Mike Kennedy

A short side story about a quest by the Rebels, the Empire and a trio of rival Hutt lords, manipulated and controlled by their 'slaves' for a rare and powerful item called the Yavin Vassilika. Various hunters and smugglers are called in, including the notorious Boba Fett, and a pre-New Hope Han Solo - you can guess who wins but the story does have plenty of twists and surprises in the running.

Planetary Vol 1 and 2 - Warren Ellis

Planetary is a superb series which manages to merge many classic Sci-Fi elements into a completely original story. Expertly drawn by Jon Cassaday the story is about a group of supehero arhceologists who don't fight crime, battle supervillains or alien threats, though they have their fair share of action don't worry! They investigate the hidden world, all the thing that have gone on behind the scenes, the cover ups, the truth behind ghost stories, digging up interdimensional devises and travelling to monster filled islands all the while uncovering a larger consiparacy. Well worth reading for the intrigue, superb characters and giant space ants!!

The End League vol 1: The Ballad of Big Nothing - Rick Rememder

Another new take on the superhero genre, this time set in a post-apocalyptic world where millions of people have abilities and their human nature has made the vast majority cowards and villains who serve despotic leaders like Dead Lexington or the Smiling Man. Yet one band of heroes remains, hiding for the most part but striking against the darkness when they can - they are the End League. When the characters make one desperate attempt to do good they lose more than they can imagine, yet discover one thing that could give them hope - the hammer of Thor. The characters are familiar such as flying super-strength 'Astonishman' or spider based 'Arachnakid' but their setting is a far darker world and their story is new and powerful.

Call for the Dead - John Le Carre

I caught this in a John le Carre series on BBC radio with dramatisations and readings. I really enjoyed this first one, though I unfortunately lost track of the other broadcasts. The spy George Gently is very interesting as he is an older man, not attractive (he is referred to as frog in an interior dialogue with his ex-wife) and his main background was as a trainer of other agents. Yet this makes him more real in ways and the danger to him more potent. The story was well-written and captivating and worth a look at.

Doctor Who Short Trips: Indefinable Magic - Caleb Woodbridge et al

My first purchasing venture into Doctor Who fiction, I have picked up some free audio dramas but that's about it. I bought this because my friend Caleb is the author of one of the short stories collected in this volume. I really enjoyed this collection of stories with the various Doctor incarnations and companions with a wide variety of stories and adventures as well as different writing styles. If you want to 'dip in' to Doctor Who fiction, a collection of original adventures like this is a great way to start.

OK those are the books I picked up during the past almost year, here are the 'main books' I was reading, in addition to the Christian stuff.

Strange Places, Questionable People - John Simpson

The autobiography of one of the foremost foreign reporters in the world and of his tumultuous love affair with the BBC. The story goes from how he audaciously applied for a job he didn't believe he'd get and from then on carved a career in some of the most exciting and diverse aspects of news reporting. Through planning and large amount of luck he has found himself in the front line of many key conflicts and global events and his story provides as much insight into the changing world as does his broadcasting.

Children of Dune - Frank Herbet

The third book in the Dune series detailing the political and religious machinations of the desert world of Arrakis where giant worms produce the spice that is central to the economy of an Empire spanning many worlds. There has been ecological transformation on Dune, starting the transformation of it into a lush world, but this is slowly killing the worms and threatening the whole of the Empire. Leto and Ghanima, heirs tot he throne and born with all the memories of their anscestors hatch a desperate plan to move against the rulers and move the Empire on a new path. The Dune books are notoriously heavy, but once you get into them the detail and minutiae build up a remarkable world and an exciting story.

OK - that is actually it, my next post should come sooner because two of the books I'm reading are on loan!!

Word of the post: Fray –noun

1.	a fight, battle, or skirmish.

2.	a competition or contest, esp. in sports.

3.	a noisy quarrel or brawl.

Weekly Quote - W/E 28/11/09

"It sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine that she was ten years before; and, generally speaking, if there has been neither ill health nor anxiety, it is a time of life at which scarcely any charm is lost." - Persuasion, Jane Austen

What is it?

It's a grass grater!!

One of the joys of working in a school is that the pupils say silly things - they say them because they're silly and don't known stuff, which is great fun! Unfortunately we have to teach them the right stuff, which is less fun sometimes!

Word of the post: Quizzical –adjective

1.	odd, queer, or comical.

2.	questioning or puzzled: a quizzical expression on her face.

3.	derisively questioning, ridiculing, or chaffing.

Weekly Quote - W/E 21/11/09

"Once men turned their thinking over to machines in hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them." - Dune, Frank Herbert

Good book - I'm reading the sequels now.

Snow through the ages - 2004

More in my epic series of 'pictures I've got lying around on my computer' posts, this time some pictures of the British joy of snow, we start off in 2004, where we had a fairly mild smattering of now, according to my pictures, though bear in mind these pictures were taken in the winter and we tend to get snow from March to April these days!!

November 04















A light smattering of snow on the ground - as I recall I took this to send on MSN to a friend as were were competing as to who had the biggest snow, while it was building up.


December 04
















A slightly heavier shower of the white stuff descended on a car, but all in all '04 wasn't a fantastic year for snow, or at least the scant documentary evidence I have would suggest this - more snow and picture posts coming up - they get better honest!!

Word of the post: Quiz –noun

1.	an informal test or examination of a student or class.

2.	a questioning.

3.	a practical joke; a hoax.

Weekly Quote - W/E 14/11/09

"Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existance; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her." - Emma, Jane Austen

The Backwards Olympics

I decided to test whether it is possible to find anything that pops into your head on YouTube - the evidence is fairly conclusive.



Word of the post: Noon –noun

1.

midday.

2.	twelve o'clock in the daytime.

3.	the highest, brightest, or finest point or part: the noon of one's career.

4.	Archaic. midnight: the noon of night.

Splinter Cell World Tour, part 3

To recap, the plan is to visit new and exciting locations in the world based on missions that appear in the award winning Splinter Cell video game series. I have no intention of repeating Sam Fisher's antics, but if carried out I would take a more leisurely approach to visiting these locations, especially this next one.

The Caspian Sea

Country: None
Area: 371,000 km²
Population: No fixed population
Language: N/A









Sam travels to the sea to infiltrate a meeting taking place on an oil rig by the nefarious parties uncovered in the Georgian missions. After clambering over, hanging under and crawling through an array of pipes he finally gets the proof he needs and after a short firefight escapes back to base. Not quite what I plan to do though meeting the oil industry in some form is likely as most of the neighbouring countries have significant interests in it's mineral wealth with full towns being built around mining operations.












Again this is a location I'd like to visit because I know very little about it, I knew about it, but mainly because it shares it's name with a certain Narnian prince! The landlocked mass would also be a fascinating place to visit due to the number of cross-cultural links it creates and the diversity of it's ecology.

The sea is home to a numbers of sub-species unique to it's location such as sturgeon, which are in danger because of overfishing for caviar and it's other species such as the Caspian seal are also in danger from overfishing and environmental changes.

The areas surrounding the sea also have a diverse range of environments such as the mining towns, scrub land and even dense forests which would be fascinating to explore. I can't tell you much more as the main interests in the area seem to be mining, but I'm sure there would be plenty to explore!!











Well, that's it for now - where will I go next I wonder?

Word of the post: Frenetic –adjective

frantic; frenzied.

Weekly Quote - W/E 07/11/09

" 'You'd find it easier to be bad than good if you had red hair', said Anne reproachfully. 'People who haven't red hair don't know what trouble it is. Mrs Thomas told me that God made my red hair on purpose, and I've never cared about him since' " - Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery

A Bad Day at Work

Possibly the ultimate bad day at work captured in this video, it seems that no one was hurt otherwise National Accident Helpline would be having an early Christmas party!!

The video also features a cool baseketball goal and a prank on Taylor swift, enjoy or ignore the commentary as you will.




Word of the post: Blasé –adjective

indifferent to or bored with life; unimpressed, as or as if from an excess of worldly pleasures.

Weekly Quote W/E 31/10/09

"Fiver sat trembling and crying among the nettles az Hazel tried to reassure him. If he was terrified, why did he not run for safety, as any sensible rabbit would?But Fiver could not explain and only grew more and more distressed." - Watership Down, Richard Adams

Weekly Quote - W/E 24/10/09

"And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of daisy's dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He di not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night." - The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Blog Action Day 09

OK completely missed this one - a sign of my hardened heart and less caring about the world or a portent of my making less use of my hotmail account - you be the judge!!

For those not in the know Blog Action Day is an annual event where bloggers all over the world post on a single topic, a different issue is picked each year, always something that has a global impact, such as poverty.

This year's topic was Climate Change, and from all accounts the day was a success - I'll hopefully be up for it next year, but I'll spare you the half-hearted posting that I could make and instead link you to some of the posts highlighted by the team.

Some of the bloggers included

Gordon Brown

The White House

The Spanish Government

Change.org

TreeHugger

and Daily Blog Tips

Have fun reading!!

Word of the post: August –adjective

1.	inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur; majestic: an august performance of a religious drama.

2.	venerable; eminent: an august personage.

Weekly Quote W/E 17/10/09

"I would fight a duel for a trifle, for an insult, for a blow; and the more so that, thanks to my skill in all bodily exercises, and the indifference to danger I have gradually acquired, I should be almost certain to kill my man.' - The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexander Dumas

Gandalf - no, not that one.

Here are a few images of my snake, who I had for many years. He was a Garter Snake from America and I had him because he was the only reptile my Mum would allow because he didn't eat dead mice or chicks as most lizards and snakes seem to do!!

As most snakes are he was quite solitary but it was fun to watch him slide gracefully around his tank and we got to do some fun things to - here are some pictures of him enjoying his favourite hobby, swimming in the bath!























One real advantage to having a snake was that you got to see cool things happen, like the flickering tongue as he prowled around. Another cool thing was that they shed their skin, leaving behind a fun memento for you to keep as an owner. Snakes usually use something to help them 'slough' as it is called, in this case a rock and a toilet role tube we used to add a bit of environment and variety to his tank, we also used palm trees from an old 'Tracy Island' set!!


















Incidentally I named him Gandalf before the films came out, so definitely a case of 'before it was cool!' for the ol' snake.

Word of the post: Vapid –adjective

1.	lacking or having lost life, sharpness, or flavor; insipid; flat: vapid tea.

2.	without liveliness or spirit; dull or tedious: a vapid party; vapid conversation.

Weekly Quote W/E 10/10/09

" 'It is required of every man,' the ghost returned, 'that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow men, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death.' " - A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

Unlimited Bowling

Yesterday I rediscovered the joy of unlimited bowling. I hadn't hit the lanes for quite a while, partly because of business and partly because the prices have skyrocketed over the past year or so to make a game of bowling a rare occasion if at all attempted.

Now having time (and fortuntely money) on my hands I decided to hit the lanes with a friend during the day time and see how much we could get out of the Unlimited bowling.

For those unfamiliar with the concept it runs like this: you pay a set price and for that you get three games of bowling, but if the lanes are still available (and if you go just after lunch like I did they usually are!) you can keep on playing until the bowl gets busy.

We expected to pay around the usual price for three games (an extortionate £13!!) but actually got the deal for £9, which was quite good we felt. We carried on for a record 18 games straight, giving us a value of 50p per game!! It was great fun and after a shaky start we managed to recover form and averaged about 100 points a game with my top score being 130, still shy of my personal best 170!

Anyway, if you're free in the day time it might be worth checking out - there are also discounts for booking online which I hadn't noticed before, which also give pretty good prices.

Well better go now - my hand and arm are really achy!!

Weekly Quote W/E 03/10/09

"A resolution to avoid an evil is seldom framed till the evil is so far advanced as to make avoidance impossible." - Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy

Dreamscape

Well on my degree we did look at dreams and how they can inspire and reveal stuff about your psyche and all that. I don't often dream, or at least I don't often remember my dreams, and usually they're just nightmares about having to repeat my teacher training or somesuch. Anyhoo I have had one or two more interesting REM sessions of late and I thought I might share some with you to fill the void between quotes - so here's one I had recently: I've added my own thoughts as to the mystic interpretation.

I was starting a new job, which I didn't really know anything about (1), nor did my colleagues, who seemed to be mostly made up of old school friends of mine. It was hard to keep up with the talk and demands of our boss who seemed to be, for all intents and purposes, Ricky Gervais. (2)













We were all sent to meet up at a location to start work, but I wasn't really paying attention when the directions were given out and everyone scattered before I could ask for a lift. I got into my car, trying to remember where to go. I drove off and in a guess I entered STOKE into my Sat Nav - which also activated the Hyperdrive in my car, transporting me there instantly (3)












Once I arrived in Stoke it was clear this was not the place, I drove around to check, then phoned one of my friends to get directions. It actually turned out that we were on some kind of farm in an obscure Welsh village (one beginning with 'Llan') and I tried to hide my lateness, but of course with hyperdrive technology even being slightly late was big trouble with the boss.

Soon after I woke up!

Interpretations:

(1) I am currently unemployed
(2) I watched The Office and Night at the Museum recently
(3) Star Wars and Mass Effect have a lot to answer for!

Word of the post: Facet –noun

1.	one of the small, polished plane surfaces of a cut gem.

2.	a similar surface cut on a fragment of rock by the action of water, windblown sand, etc.

3.	aspect; phase: They carefully examined every facet of the argument.

Weekly Quote W/E 26/9/09

"Outside, the garden was drowned in a blue light, heavy with the scent of stock. An eyelash of a moon hung in the sky. Far below, on the beach, the sea whispered." - The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher

iStuff

OK so I'm having fun with this iGoogle business after I decided to get myself a brand spanking new Gmail account, mostly because my other e-mail addresses are very random an not the most suitable for contacting prospective employers with!

The iGoogle page you can get with your account is pretty fun too. I can now read blogs, while checking my mail, and look at the weather while deciding whether the 'word of the day' is suitable for a blog post. Having all these things together makes it much easier and it's quickly become my homepage.

One thing I like is having 'themes' to the page, you can decorate your homepage with themes on a range of topics, from comic books to TV shows to gardening. These things go across the top and bottom of your page and look something like this.























What I like is having 'Theme of the Day' which changes and features a new, often famous, designer. I've mostly had bands and female fashion feature as themes, but it is a fun way to discover new things.

One thing I have discovered and enjoyed is Scott Draves, a software artist who uses 'fractals' and computer algorithms to create art. An ongoing project is 'Electric Sheep' where home computers network together in a type of SETI project to create branching and developing algorithms to propogate and continue the artwork, creating new and exciting pieces. I don't quite understand how it works, but the results are stunning.









Word of the post: Taciturn- adjective

saying little, especially usually

Weekly Quote W/E 19/09/09

"She...pushed back the door which opened slowly...then she slipped through it, and shut it behind her, and stood with her back against it, looking about her and breathing quite fast with excitement, and wonder, and delight." - The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

Under Water

Struggling for ideas so I'll resort to pictures. These are some pictures I took in the Blue Planet Aquarium on my 22nd Birthday. They're not great (Tim!) But they are interesting and show off the cool underwater tunnel which features a moving floor so you can observe the ocean life while being carried along.


























































Hope you enjoyed!

Word of the post: Defunct –adjective

1.	no longer in effect or use; not operating or functioning: a defunct law; a defunct organization.

2.	no longer in existence; dead; extinct: a defunct person; a defunct tribe of Indians.

Weekly Quote W/E 12/09/08

"Life was such a wheel that no man could stand upon it for long. And it always, at the end, came round to the same place again." - The Stand, Stephen King

Digital Kid

I've become aware over time that I really am a product of the digital age; blogging, e-mail and the internet are the norm for me and are more present in my lifestyle. One factor in particular has made this clear...

I'm rubbish at sending letters!!

I can write them OK, though I rarely do - it's the posting them part I get stuck on and when there's a parcel, letter or document that needs Royal delivery I have to ask for help! I'm not a complete ignoramus - I do know how to get envelopes and seal them and can find my local post office fine and even use the red box!

But where the address goes, what corner to put the stamp in - no idea whatsoever. I know they both need to go on the envelope, but each time I try to put pen to paper I know it's in the wrongf place and eventually I have to give up and get help, usually from a family member, but hey there might be some online!!

Yes there is!

But it does worry me about our progress as a nation. I'd say I was one of the first generation of the digital age. The internet, e-mail and all the rest of it were invented during my childhood and teenage years so I grew up and adapted to this technology as it came out. Children are now growing up with e-mail and internet as the norm before they were even born, they are taught to use e-mail in primary school and half of the year 5 class I was working with recently had Facebook accounts. What will posting a letter mean to these people, who won't even have contact with a post office unless they buy sweets there?

strange times huh?

Word of the post: Redundant –adjective

1.	characterized by verbosity or unnecessary repetition in expressing ideas; prolix: a redundant style.

2.	being in excess; exceeding what is usual or natural: a redundant part.

3.	having some unusual or extra part or feature.

Single of the Week

I've posted before about my hesitancy to spend money on music, especially music that's not already familiar to me and that I'm comfortable with. I've also mentioned Single of the Week when I stated that I'd bought an album by The Gaslight Anthem after downloading a free single through iTunes.

I'm really getting into this iTunes business and I'm enjoying being able to download new music at no cost or damage to myself. Bands I encountered first through this medium are starting to make a name for themselves in the charts, bands such as Friendly Fires being notable, and chart topping debuts such as Empire of the Sun have also featured.

I'd really recommend it as a way to explore new music, you may download a song and hate it - so what, delete it then, it cost you nothing. I've got a stack of songs I never listen to because they don't appeal. I've also got several I like listening to, but wouldn't stretch to buying, that's the beauty of the system, not to mention it's 100% legal and promoted by the bands themselves. You downloading their free song raises their profile and makes them more money, so you aren't harming the muic industryt at all - in fact the reverse.

And once in a while you come across something that you realise you just have to get your hands on. I find this quite an organic process. I download all these songs and leave them on iTunes, I listen to iTunes and over time a song will stick out, one that I want to play over again each time I log on, eventually becoming a favourite, after this I start keeping my eyes open for it on the shelves and CD racks (I'm a purist).

You guessed the fact that I found a band - the group I like are The Airborne Toxic Event. I liked the single 'Sometime Around Midnight' for a while, but unfortunately couldn't get the album in HMV or my usual haunts. I eventually dug it up in an indie music shop in Cambridge and it's fast becoming a favourite.










I won't attempt a review, instead I'll let you hear for yourselves.



Another single that's growing on me is 'Crystalized' by The XX. I'm finding I flick to that song every time I open iTunes, I suspect it will be bought as I can see it on the shelves more commonly and as soon as money comes in as well as out I'd imagine I'll pounce on it quick! Another band I'm enjoying are Solid Gold. I might post up some songs, but I don't want to clog things up so I'll leave it there for now - check them out online.

Word of the post: Heuristic –adjective

1. serving to indicate or point out; stimulating interest as a means of furthering investigation.
2. encouraging a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve problems on his or her own, as by experimenting, evaluating possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error: a heuristic teaching method.
3. of, pertaining to, or based on experimentation, evaluation, or trial-and-error methods.

Weekly Quote W/E 05/09/09

"Are we not all flung into the world only to hate each other, and therefore to torment ourselves and others?" - Ana Karenina, Leo Tolstoy

Another Souvenir

Jus' fillin' the spaces with some imagery y'know?

















This is a train ticket from a trip to Liverpool, I like these 'cause they remind me of my student days there, and even though it's rubbish (my last journey had a 40 minute delay!) the train journey is enjoyable and gets me all nostalgic so every now and again I like to keep a ticket, or even photograph it to remind me of the time I had - and it's nice to share so what the hey. What do your train tickets look like, is this standard for you - post a comment or a blog post.

Word of the post: Frugal –adjective

1.	economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful: a frugal manager.

2.	entailing little expense; requiring few resources; meager; scanty: a frugal meal.

Weekly Quote W/E 22/08/09

That time again already?!!

" 'How much do Giants sleep?' Sophie asked.
'They is never wasting much time sozzling,' the BFG said, 'two or three hours is enough.'
'When do you sleep?' Sophie asked.
'Even less' the BFG answered. 'I is sleeping only once in a blue baboon.' " - The BFG, Roald Dahl

Weekly Quote W/E 15/08/09

Finally found my quote book - in a pile as expected! I'm not gonna bother trying to catch up on the ones I've missed, but I'll just carry on with the next quote in the book.

"But with a lake as big as a small sea, a fourteen-foot dinghy with a brown sail waiting in the boathouse, and the little wooded island waiting for explorers, nothing but a sailing voyage of discovery seemed worth thinking about." - Swallows and Amazons, Arthur Ransome

This man should not be in parliament!!

Oh dear! I hear you say, with a weary sigh, what is it now?

More obscene expenses?

Another parliamentary sex scandal?

Quasi-racist policies?

No, I recently came across a report featuring a Lib Dem MP and immediately decide that parliament was not the place for him.

Why? Well because he has the coolest freakin' name ever!! A name that should only be reserved for elite military operatives or members of a superhuman rescue team. And so I believe this man should reign his commision as MP for Twickenham because he is the one, the only...














What a guy!! With Vince Cable as a driving force for the Libs, who knows, maybe Kal-El will rise up to be Conservative leader!!

Word of the post: Formative –adjective

1.	giving form or shape; forming; shaping; fashioning; molding: a formative process in manufacturing.

2.	pertaining to formation or development: a child's most formative years.

Splinter Cell World Tour, part 2

OK so I've got this idea of visiting the world through the medium of Splinter Cell...actually I've already done that, but I mean using the missions in Splinter Cell as a way of choosing which places in the world I could visit - for more details read my first post, which isn't too far down the page.

After evading Agents with Magnums in one hand and curiously large syringes in the other in Maryland it would make sense to stay in America and visit more locations, and if this thing ever happens that's what I would do, but for now I'll stick to the order they come in the game.

With the fifth game announced and looking incredible this idea is even more exciting, but for now I'll continue with the journey of the Stealth Action game that wowed us all.

Tbilisi

Country: Georgia
Area: 726 km2
Population: 1,480,000
Language: Georgian







In Sam Fisher's first mission for Third Echelon he is sent to Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia. A covert operative within the government has gone dark and Sam is sent to investigate, the trail leads to dead bodies and a lot of suspicion that opens the doorway into a wider conspiracy.

You tour the city, keeping to the shadows and taking down guards and enemies silently. After the initial investigation you go to the Georgian Defense Ministry in the city to investigate the connection between the country's president and a Russian mercenary. The ministry is an impressive building and possibly worth a visit, but I think I'd settle for the guided tour rather than entering by the roof!













Tbilisi is a city I'd be particularly interested in visiting as it's one that gave me this idea. I would probably not even have heard of Tbilisi if it wasn't for Splinter Cell, and it's the way that it's widened my understanding of the world that would make me very interested in visiting Georgia and it's capital.

Aside from that I know little about Tbilisi, other than the South Ossetia war with Russia of last year. I've briefly learned that it has a democratic government due to one of the largest and most successful non-military coups of recent times in 2003. It also boasts a large amount of architecture some unsanctioned, it will soon host two of the largest skyscrapers in the region and already holds some fascinating buildings like the Roads Ministry Building, which I'd love to see.











And there we are - the second stop on my Splinter Cell tour; where will we go next?










Word of the post: Curry —Idiom

.

curry favor, to seek to advance oneself through flattery or fawning: His fellow workers despised him for currying favor with the boss. curry (v.) c.1290, "to rub down a horse," from Anglo-Fr. curreier "to curry-comb a horse," from O.Fr. correier "put in order, prepare, curry," from con- intens. prefix + reier "arrange," from a Gmc. source. The surviving sense of curry favor is c.1510, altered by folk etymology from curry favel (c.1400) from O.Fr. correier fauvel "to be false, hypocritical," lit. "to curry the chestnut ('fawn-colored') horse," which in medieval Fr. allegories was a symbol of cunning and deceit.

I can't find my quote book!

Right, I am now in possession of both time and a life so expect my return to semi-frequent posting on the blog, as opposed to the very much infrequent posting there has been of late.

I hope all readers are well and I courteously extend an invitation for you all to turn your eyes this way once more and I'll share a thing or two with you.

I don't have anything in particular to relate at this moment, rather I simply announce that I am back on the scene. I don't even have my book do my weekly wuotes, but at the very least I can at least post for you my

Word of the post: Boring –adjective

causing or marked by boredom: a boring discussion; to have a boring time.

She lives!

You might be excused for thinking that this blog is dead but honestly she's not and I have been tapping into the bloggosphere every now and again to read the words of friends and fellow bloggers.

I am at an extremely busy and stressful time in my life, more so than I have ever experienced before. I have a few more weeks and then I will be free to enjoy the sunshine...and when the inevitable thunderstorm breaks I'll be right back to fill your otherwise empty lives with my words and thoughts.

I can't find my quotey book at the moment so I can't even give you one of the quotes, but I'll state some of the things I've been enjoying in the scant free moments that I have:

Halo Wars/ Mass Effect/ Prototype, these video games are great fun and provide that challenge and enjoyment that can fill that half an hour slot when I'm just too tired to do anything else.

The return of Ugly Betty: one of the best shows ever is back on channel 4, why o why do I have to work?!!!

Glastonbury: I checked out the Pendulum gig, which was off the hook, and also got treated to Gaslight Anthem being supported by Bruce Springstein, legendary!! If you can access iPlayer check it out now!!

See you soon I hope

Another Relic

I thought I'd already posted this, but I couldn't see it so I thought I'd share this old time container for media goods from a certain outlet that is sadly no longer with us, leaving one dog based giant controlling the media market. Their stores seem for the moment, untouched, as if no one wants to remove the relic or disturb the memory of happier times. I'm going to hold on to this bag in case the day comes when the signs are torn down and we can no longer reminisce about price comparisons or, if you are old enough, about how Virgin stores used to occupy that space - lamentable times, lamentable times indeed.

I'll commemorate this with a weekly quote

"It's no use; men are the strongest, and if they are cruel and have no feeling, there is nothing that we can do, but just bear it in and on to the end. I wish the end would come." - Black Beauty, Anna Sewell

And for good measure:

Word of the post: Cognizant –adjective
1.
having cognizance; aware (usually fol. by of): He was cognizant of the difficulty.

Another Weekly Quote Double

There may be some free time on the horizon, keep a weather eye...

"It wasn't a person but a principle that I killed! I killed the principle, but I didn't step over it, I remained on this side of it...all I was able to do was to kill. And the way it's turning out, it seems I didn't even manage to do that...the principle?!"

"The more cunning a man is, the simpler the trap he must be caught in" - Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky

200

Well I've made it - a landmark in my blogging - 200 posts! For some of my compadres it may be a distant landmark, noting a time so far back on the horizon it's barely worth noting - but it is a landmark nonetheless and one of which I'm proud. I'm impressed that the blog has stayed on this long and has actually grown and developed a bit since I started the project. Weekly Quotes have managed to pad out the content and I hope provided some interesting posts and I have managed to vary the content a bit and not just have sparsely populated long ranty things as I did in the early days.

Well I wasn't sure what to do to commemorate this occasion, I've done a recap of favourite things before and I felt something new was needed, so I decided to let Google do the talking and see what happened when I typed in '200' - here are some of the results I found.

Wikipedia - the year 200 A.D.

Wikipedia - the number 200

WiseGeek - What does 200 calories look like?

The Register - Minnesota want to ban access to 200 gambling sites

Brunel200 - Celebrating 200 years since the birth of Isenbard Kingdom Brunel

Actually some pretty interesting stuff eh?

I'll finish with an apology for lack of content, life is particularly busy at the moment and blogging is unfortunately one thing I don't have much time for I'm afraid to say so you won't hear much from me for the next few weeks. I'm glad we managed to reach this milestone, but I'm not sure how much further we'll progress until life returns to normal - I'll try and keep up with weekly quotes, though I may have to do some double posts like this one...

"We don't become Geisha so our lives will be satisfying. We become Geisha because we have no other choice." - Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden.

"Maybe if things would be different for them, better... Maggie forced herself to believe that things would be better for the children, otherwise what was the point of it all?" - Noughts and Crosses, Malorie Blackman.

And I'll finish with a traditional...

Word of the post: Infinity –noun, plural -ties.

1.	the quality or state of being infinite.

2.	something that is infinite.

3.	infinite space, time, or quantity.

4.	an infinite extent, amount, or number.

5.	an indefinitely great amount or number.

6.	Mathematics. a. the assumed limit of a sequence, series, etc., that increases without bound. b. infinite distance or an infinitely distant part of space.

7.	Photography. a. a distance between a subject and the camera so great that rays of light reflected from the subject may be regarded as parallel. b. a distance setting of the camera lens beyond which everything is in focus.

Weekly Quote - W/E 11/04/09

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to, than I have ever known." - A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens.

Splinter Cell World Tour, part 1

I had this kinda random idea of going on a world tour, visiting the locations that come up in the Splinter Cell games. For those that don't know Splinter Cell is a game based on very advanced counter terrorism, particularly in the area of cyber terrorism that takes the her around the world using gadgets, stealth and a good ol' fashioned hunting knife to stop the bad guys and save the world in the very near future. The game features a wide variety of locations, some fictional, but all grounded in realism and I thought it might be fun to visit some of these places that I've only heard of from the game and others I already know about but would like to visit anyway.

It'll probably never happen - certainly not soon so I thought I'd post about them in the meantime, so here's the first one:

Fort Meade, Maryland.












I don't think the location of the training missions is explicitly revealed, and I don't think I'd ever be able to get into whatever top secret techno-bunker they used to train Sam Fisher if it ever did exist so I think going to the National Security Agency Headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland would be the closest thing to that since Third Echelon (the fictional agency Sam works for) are a department of that organization.

I don't know if they give guided tours there or if it's even possible to get past the car park without being shot by spy satellites, but it'd be worth going just to see the place from which one of the most powerful and well equipped agencies in the world runs it's operations. I've always quite fancied a trek to America, but there's a ton of locations to visit on the vast nation it'd be hard to think of which to visit - but this one wouldn't be a bad one to put on the list so I'm thinking this tour might be a good idea, as long as I could squeeze in Central Park and maybe San Diego Comic Con.

There's also a few other American spy based locations on the first game's list and realistically I'd visit them before setting off to anywhere else, but as we're going about this trip virtually so I'll stick to going in chronological order and set out to somewhere interesting next time, but for now I'll leave you with a map of all Fisher's visits so far to give you a hint of where this journey might take us.












Word of the post: Exponential –adjective

1.	of or pertaining to an exponent or exponents.

2.	Mathematics. a. of or pertaining to the constant e. b. (of an equation) having one or more unknown variables in one or more exponents.

–noun

3.	Mathematics. a. the constant e raised to the power equal to a given expression, as e3 x, which is the exponential of 3x. b. any positive constant raised to a power.

Weekly Quote W/E 04/04/09

"I did it all to myself, I have no one else to blame. And I cannot regret one single moment of it." - The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough

Weekly Quote W/E 28/03/09

"Only one creature could have duplicated the expressions on their faces and that would be a pidgeon who has heard not only that Lord Nelson has got down off his column but has also been seen buying a 12-bore repeater and a box of cartridges." - Mort, Terry Pratchett

Say hello to my leedle friend

This is a tale of love and friendship.

Buying Christmas presents for people is always awkward, but not quite as awkward as recieving them. When you've sadly passed the stage where a pile of Lego will no longer cut it you have to start thinking of what people might get you that you want, don't already have and is within reasonable price paramaters.

My friend and I were at such a loss last Christmas and in a desperation fueled stupour I decided I wanted a green Elephant which feasted on Jelly Babies...but only the green ones (obviously). Many more such jokey requests were made over the course of the evening with no real solution in sight.

But a few weeks later we had a party and a 'Secret Santa' where we had to buy a cheap novelty present for a random friend. I bought a giant (functional) pen as I recall - and my friend bought/made me this:

















In't that brilliant! I'm liking this random photo with a story behind it stuff - watch out for more

Word of the post: Shuffle - –verb (used without object)

1.
to walk without lifting the feet or with clumsy steps and a shambling gait.

Weekly Quote W/E 14/03/09

"The children jumped over the ditch and walked through the wood, down the paths they knew so well. The wood was full of fairy folk going about their buisness. They took no notice of the children." - The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton

Weekly Quote - W/E 07/03/09

"Think what it would be like if you got back to your island and there was no old man, no girl any more. No mysterious fun and games. The whole place locked up forever. It's finished. Finished. Finished." - The Magus, John Fowles

Custom Status

Well as I quite like posting short, snappy pieces centred around a photo I thought I'd dig out this old thing - probably my earliest attempt at messing around with pictures using Paint, and as you can see I haven't improved a great deal. I felt at the time, and still do, that MSN Messenger was lacking in variety with it's status indicators, missing out key ones such as "having a shower." I thought it would be good if people could set their own and this was one attempt to do this, which I used on MSN for a while.















Any others you could think of - you never know I might even bring back the craft!

Word of the post: Quixotic –adjective
1.
(sometimes initial capital letter) resembling or befitting Don Quixote.
2.
extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable.
3.
impulsive and often rashly unpredictable.

This Morning I...

Woke up too early, went back to sleep, woke up again

Had Cheerios for breakfast

Watched the last episode of The 4400 series 3 - it was awesome! Watched all the bonus features too.

Went on the internet, spent less than 10 minutes on Facebook, which is good, but also quite sad as an achievement.

Wrote the Weekly Quote

Walked the dog, stopped to watch the ostriches.

Looked at a book for my PDE essay on Inclusion

Watched an episode of Doctor Who with my Uncle

Had lunch

Just in case you were wondering what I'm up to!

Word of the post: Implement – verb (used with object)

4. to fulfill; perform; carry out: Once in office, he failed to implement his campaign promises.
5. to put into effect according to or by means of a definite plan or procedure.

Weekly Quote W/E 28/02/09

"Crowley remembered what heaven was like, and it had quite a few things in common with hell. You couldn't get a decent drink in either of them, for a start." - Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

Key Stage 2, ironically

I just thought I'd let you readers know about some of the things I've been getting up to recently.

As most of you know I'm doing PGCE teacher training, which is a hard slog I tells ya, but there are some perks, such as the opportunity to get creative and have fun with mates. As we do occasionally get to make cool things, especially on the D/T and Art side of things I thought I'd actually share some of the things I've made and done with y'all on here.

















This is actually something I made in Science. we were given a making task, with the brief of designing and making a plant. Above is my result - can you guess what it is? And yes it is finished!

It's grass!

I found a piece of pipe cleaner and some string for the roots and voila - we have a blade of grass, made in about a minute and seen here proudly perched on my Science folder. Despite my laziness and cunning I actually got smartest child in the class award for it because I'd ignored the common preconception that all my colleagues and fallen for and not designed a flower.

Fun eh? I'll try and remember to show you some more stuff soon(ish)

Word of the post: Prolific –adjective

2.
producing in large quantities or with great frequency; highly productive: a prolific writer.
3.
profusely productive or fruitful (often fol. by in or of): a bequest prolific of litigations.
4.
characterized by abundant production