Weekly Quote - W/E 29/5/10

"I hate to think I've got to grow up and be Miss March and wear long gowns...it's bad enough to be a girl, anyway, when I like boy's games and work and manners!" - Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

Some Trips Out

I haven't used my camera in a while. I keep forgetting to take it out, perhaps I'm subconsciously used to having a massive delay before the flash goes off and so not being able to capture the action I'd like. Still I've managed to take some reasonably decent photos with it so maybe I should be more forgiving.

I can't quite remember where I took this but I love these plants, they're fantastically weird, I think they could pass for the next Doctor Who villain or something.











Near where I live there is a farm park, which hosts a fairly impressive collection of animals these days including peacocks...










Highland cattle...










And the advantage to being local is you can walk around the perimeter and sometimes be greeted by the odd curious Ostrich!










The place also hosts what is quite possible the creepiest fairground ride ever!










That's it for now - I'll dig some more stuff out of the random cupboard soon.

Word of the post: Yardstick –noun

1.a stick a yard long, commonly marked with subdivisions, used for measuring.

2.any standard of measurement or judgment: Test scores are not the only yardstick of academic achievement.

Some Weekly Quotes I missed

Sorry about the delay, lots of extra work, which is great, but keeping me away from the computer a bit too much!!

Ooh - one of my favourites! This book's vivid description of life in totalitarian rule was so captivating I was ill by the end of the book!!

"The horrible thing about the teo minutes hate was not that one was oblidged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in." - Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell

And another favourite!!

"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them." - The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R.Tolkien

Thanks for your patience, I'll try and knock up some more content soon.

Splinter Cell World Tour, part 5

I've nabbed the demo for the fifth game and I'm hoping to get my hands on the full version soon. In the meantime let's have a look at where Fisher heads next in his first mission.

Myanmar
Country: Myanmar aka Burma
Area: 676,578 km2
Population: 50,020,000
Language: Burmese




After infiltrating the CIA headquarters and investigating a corrupt software manufacturer based also in Langley, Sam's trail takes him to the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar. This is an even tougher assignment than Langley as discovery could cause an international incident, so Sam must remain completely undetected throughout.

I know little about Myanmar other than that it is 'near China' so I'll have a quick dig to find out what might appeal to a novice tourist on his way over there. Seemingly one of the most interesting things to see over there are the massive Buddhist temples seen above, with the lush jungle surrounding it fit for exploring. There are also plenty of beaches as a third of the perimeter is an uninterrupted coastline all the way down.

Myanmar is also a hotbed of controversy with human rights abuses causing strains with the Western States. The country is very deprived, and with tensions with the regime diminishing foreign investment it means that there are signs of the lack of development around, such as the Sakura Tower, depicted below, which is almost empty due to lack of investment. Despite these controversies and difficulties it still looks to be a lush and diverse nation and well worth a visit.












Word of the post: Far-fetched–adjective

improbable; not naturally pertinent; being only remotely connected; forced; strained:

Weekly Quote - W/E 30/04/10

"Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies, do divert me...but these, I suppose, are precisely what you are without." - Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Having a laugh in P.E....

I recently took a class down for some track and field P.E. at a local College where they generously let us make good use of their track and erm...field. We had a good session doing relay, long jump in the sandpit etc.

The pupils also have the opportunity to train in throwing events, namely shot and javelin. Now not being healthy or particularly safe when it comes to these matters we felt it best that I not teach the students with the real deal so we set out to get the foam javelins used for practice and some lightweight balls.

While there I found something fantastic - a lightweight, safe, practice version of...









The Hammer Throw!! It was brilliant. My attempt at 'proper techniqu' was rubbish, but then we just got around to flinging the thing and it went miles - everyone enjoyed it and we had a great time.

I don't know where you get them from and I know they're not toys, but it was just fantastic. I do wanna be fair to the guy in the picture and state that he is using a proper hammer so if it looks like that and weighs a tonne - don't use it!!!

Word of the post: Puzzlement - noun

1.the state of being puzzled; perplexity.

2.something puzzling.