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magic_bryan's LiveJournal:
| Monday, April 28th, 2008 | | 7:32 pm |
Nearly 14 years ago since true 2 party politics died in the UK
Controversial not posting while drunk in December moment. Posting while drunk in April for a change. Pushing 14 years since john Smith died. I got rather maudlin on a thread on YakYak. One of those modern life sucks moments. When I saw the last episode of Life on Mars first time round, I blubbed like a good 'un. I've always loved the song, so in the style of recent posts, lyrics time. It's a God awful small affair To the girl with the mousey hair But her mummy is yelling no And her daddy has told her to go But her friend is no where to be seen Now she walks through her sunken dream To the seats with the clearest view And she's hooked to the silver screen But the film is sadd'ning bore For she's lived it ten times or more She could spit in the eyes of fools As they ask her to focus on Sailors fighting in the dance hall Oh man, look at those cavemen go It's the freakiest show Take a look at the lawman Beating up the wrong guy Oh man, wonder if he'll ever know He's in the best selling show Is there life on Mars? It's on America's tortured brow That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow Now the workers have struck for fame Cause Lennon's on sale again See the mice in their million hordes From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads Rule Britannia is out of bounds To my mother my dog and clowns But the film is a sadd'ning bore Cause I wrote it ten times or more It's about to be writ again As I ask you to focus on Sailors fighting in the dance hall Oh man look at those cavemen go It's the freakiest show Take a look at the lawman Beating up the wrong guy Oh man, wonder if he'll ever know He's in the best selling show Is there life on Mars? Current Mood:  drunkCurrent Music: Last track on shuffle was: Avalon - Roxy music | | Friday, December 14th, 2007 | | 6:24 pm |
Seems this is the day of the year I post now
All that you touch All that you see All that you taste All you feel. All that you love All that you hate All you distrust All you save. All that you give All that you deal All that you buy, beg, borrow or steal. All you create All you destroy All that you do All that you say. All that you eat And everyone you meet All that you slight And everyone you fight. All that is now All that is gone All that's to come and everything under the sun is in tune but the sun is eclipsed by the moon. There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark. Current Mood:  sickCurrent Music: Obv | | Thursday, December 14th, 2006 | | 8:57 pm |
O Superman. O judge. O Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad O Superman. O judge. O Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad Hi. I'm not home right now But if you want to leave a message Just start talking at the sound of the tone Hello? This is your Mother Are you there? Are you coming home? Hello? Is anybody home? Well, you don't know me, but I know you. And I've got a message to give to you. Here come the planes. So you better get ready. Ready to go. You can come as you are, but pay as you go Pay as you go And I said: OK. Who is this really? And the voice said: This is the hand, the hand that takes This is the hand, the hand that takes This is the hand, the hand that takes Here come the planes They're American planes Made in America Smoking or non-smoking? And the voice said: Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds 'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice And when justice is gone, there's always force And when force is gone, there's always Mom Hi Mom! So hold me, Mom, in your long arms So hold me, Mom, in your long arms In your automatic arms Your electronic arms In your arms So hold me, Mom, in your long arms Your petrochemical arms Your military arms In your electronic arms Current Mood:  contemplativeCurrent Music: Obv | | Sunday, December 10th, 2006 | | 4:56 pm |
| | Tuesday, July 25th, 2006 | | 4:55 pm |
| | Thursday, July 20th, 2006 | | 8:47 pm |
| | Thursday, May 11th, 2006 | | 12:45 pm |
One thing sorted
Seems my immediate boss was "having communication issues" and the extended sick pay is still on after all. This was sorted after a word with the divisional boss wo we are thankfully on excelent terms with. Now I can relax and get my back sorted... Current Mood:  relievedCurrent Music: Great Balls of Fire: Jerry Lee Lewis | | Sunday, April 30th, 2006 | | 6:22 pm |
One pissed off Audi salesman
What a nice sunny day it was today. An ideal time to say, test drive an Audi TT. I nipped to town to buy a spice mill today (for masala grinding) and saw so many cars on trade plates, presumably on test drives. I'd left my car on the road, and it was baking when I got back in, so I popped the windows down (still not used to AC!) Heading back home I pulled up at lights besides a TT on trade plates with a mid life crisis style guy in the driving seat (ie, a bit older and more balding than me) and a guy in a cheap suit in the passender seat. This particular set of lights is on a straight which is part of a dual carriageway, which oddly has another set of lights a bit further down the road, after which you get the usual roundabouts etc instead. As it happens, my CD had just changed tracks, and the next track had a very quiet intro, allowing me to hear the conversation. The salesman is giving it large, and I thought he was quoting directly from True Lies or the Swiss Tony handbook: (sic) "Of course, it's not just about the image and luxury, this car has huge amounts of power too. When the lights change, why don't you show this chavved up Clio what a real car can do." I take mild exception to this, as my Clio is entirely original. It is also a limited edition lightened sports model with a 2 litre 182 bhp engine in a car weighing only very slightly over a metric tonne. A TT by contrast is very heavy, and even the V6 will struggle to keep up when two up and cold. Little Ruby at this point is warmed up, with a nicely run in engine and only me, 1/8 tank of petrol, a coffee mill and a phone in it. I go not pay any attention, but give it the beans when the lights change, up to the limiter in first, limiter second, casually change up to fifth and cruise along at 70. Of course, the TT is a dot, but does try hard to catch up. Possibly because it's Sunday, and the timing has changed, the lights ahead change to red. I stop quite easily, but the TT driver seems to have second thoughts, brakes late, have ABS kick in and end up a couple of feet over the white line. At this point, I nudge up level and call over: "Yeah, the ABS kicks in too soon, and it suffers from brake fade, especially on the track. I'd buy an S2000 if I were you. Of course, if you don't want a rag top, you could get one of these, it cost me twelve and a half new. Enjoy the test drive anyway." Mysteriously, they decided to turn off when the lights changed. Do you think the salesman managed to close him? Current Mood: amusedCurrent Music: Van Halen: Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) | | Wednesday, April 19th, 2006 | | 8:05 pm |
Out of office error
Just a quick one which I found sadly amusing. Mel told me that her boss had a slight trauma when she set her out of office this morning. Her normal out of office reads: "I am currently out of the office [optional insert venue for meeting etc]. Please contact me on 07*** *******. For most of the day, this high powered director level business woman had her usual out of office on, except she unfortunately forgot to include the word "contact". When Mel left the office this afternoon, her boss had had 74 mails concerning her unfortunate phrasing. :) Current Mood: amused | | 10:21 am |
eBay and stuff
Well, back's still sore (obv) but I'm trying to sit more and keep mobile. eBaying seems to be going OK, I actually sold my first batches of cards, and have posted some more. I have taken a bit of a risk and bought a bulk load of Rav block dual lands to sell on. Got them quite cheap, but if I'm left with them, it does me no good :( Hopefully I can get takers for them either in person at Donny etc, or by eBaying the little buggers. If so, should make a few quid, and I'll surely have a set for my own use! Wish I knew whan the nationals was this year, I'll need lots of notice to get hols booked. May actually have to look into building some decks and seeing what actually works these days. Current Mood:  soreCurrent Music: Sweet Mary Anne: Quireboys | | Thursday, April 13th, 2006 | | 12:35 pm |
Quality link and more mobility
Well, I still can't sit very long, but I've been OKd for short car journeys and made it to Donny. Good to see people again. Getting to do a few walks up the road which keeps me from going insane, and am going to start Zelda soon. Saw a fantastic link on YakYak today: http://www.pistolwimp.com/media/44210/Quality stuff Current Mood: optimisticCurrent Music: Faith no More: War pigs | | Wednesday, April 5th, 2006 | | 10:30 am |
More pain, boredom and iPods
Well, still rather sore, but I'm trying to spend more time sitting and medicate through the pain. Ironically, the comfiest place to sit is in my car, so I may make a cameo appearance at the Donny tournament this weekend (although won't be able to play) This is as long as my consultant OK's me to drive on Friday, hopefully also get the go ahead for next stage of physio too. I've been playing FE2 to death, and have finished the campaign, but am just going round battering monsters for a bit before I start the next game boy offering. Much reading as well, and was going to start listening to the pod again, but... I foolishly let my iPod stay discharged for too long and I think it did it some harm. When I got back from hospital, I left it in an extremely unaccessible place and could only bend to reach it last Friday). I took it into the Apple store at the weekend and asked them to have a look. It was still in (extended) warranty, so they just said: "Have a new one" and gave me a new replacement 6gig mini. Seems they're not allowed to sell minis or 4th gen anymore, but keep a stock in for warranty replacements. It's much easier for them to swap them than fill out the forms for a repair, so on a busy weekend, that's the preferred option! This is where the trouble started. I have too many CD's and have not ripped them all to my PC, as they won't fit on the 6 gigger. I looked at the new full sized pods at the weekend and was then tempted with an upgrade. I have thus eBayed a cheap new full sized pod and will be flogging my "new" 6 gig mini on eBay. Ironically, they seem to go for more than the nanos, as despite being bigger, they have better battery life, half as much again storage space and are much tougher. I can now restore all the tracks I trimmed in anticipation of my new baby being delivered. This is the trouble. Get bored, spend money. At least Ribbo will be happy that I can listen to the missing tracks from the division bell now! As I'm trying to spend more time sat on my arse now, I'm going to try to update a bit more regularly now (He says yet again) Next time, the terrible tale of the beery boot. Current Mood: boredCurrent Music: Slayer: Raining Blood | | Friday, March 24th, 2006 | | 10:21 am |
Pain and DS lite
Took my dressing off last night (an Opsite, sort of sticky waterproof clingfilm) and it's been a sore old time. Hey ho, I can always sleep at the weekend. You may have seen this, it's a spoof set of subtitles to a Japanese news piece about the DS Lite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GUG21OyNNkMuch comedy. Current Mood: soreCurrent Music: Half Man Half Biscuit: God gave us life | | Thursday, March 23rd, 2006 | | 9:57 am |
Post Op
Yay, I can perch on the edge of the bed for long enough to type a quick update now. Op took a little longer than expected, and I wasn't able to get the cages put into the lowest space, as to do so would have been too dangerous. Stay in hospital wasn't too painful, thanks to the wonderful array of drugs plus a morphine pump. I ended up catheterised for a while after the op, and the morphine meant sh1tting was not an option, so I only had to get out of bed when the physios threatened to take my iPod away. I had some loss of sensation to the nether regions for a while, but that is pretty much gone now, so it's just pain and boredom to contend with now. I spend a few minutes a day sitting to eat (gradually building up) a bit of time standing and walking and the rest lay in bed being uncomfortable and bored. My latest weapons against tedium are a variety of GBA rpg/strategy games, and the entire Babylon 5 on DVD. Currently playing Fire Emblem2 Sacred stones, very nice indeed, give it a go. I have so far resisted getting a DS, but the DS lite looks very tempting. The better back light and battery life are bigger factors than the looks for me, but it does look the dogs danglies. Well done to the England team, you have been keeping me entertained from 5am till noon quite handily of late. Oddly, Michael Vaughan was in the room a few doors down getting his knee fixed while I was in. Private medical through work brings odd fringe benefits sometimes. For obvious reasons, I didn't harass him while he was in. A hooj well done to South Africa for beating the Aussies in the last of the ODI's too. Gotta go now, as the back is knacking, and I don't get any more dihydrocodeine for hours... Current Mood: boredCurrent Music: Radiohead: No surprises | | Tuesday, February 28th, 2006 | | 7:37 pm |
The Op
Looks like I've left it a bit late for the build up to the back operation. As you can imagine, I've been rather busy with stuff. Quick and dirty: Slice back open, pull out what remains of 3 diseased and knackered discs, keep me from flopping about but installing misc' Meccano into the spine. 3 months off work and you're off to the races. Full version, 3 level lumbar fusion with cages, Zimmer kit being used if you're a medic, (Google it if you want the gore). As I'm going to be off work a good chunk of time, hopefully I can update more often and bleat about the pain. Hopefully updating again in a couple of weeks, there is a small but relevant chance of death/paralysis, but the risks are worth a chance at sorting the back out for good. You could get hit by a bus tomorrow, so why worry? Oh yes, have fun in the new car Boomer, hope to see people again soon. Current Mood: calmCurrent Music: Love will tear us apart (again): Joy Division | | Saturday, January 7th, 2006 | | 2:44 pm |
It's been a while
So I thought I'd better put some sort of update on. No joy on the kitten front, as the 2 breedings we were looking at only produced one kitten each, and both were accounted for already. We're looking at getting one of the next litter from Pico and Banjo, which would give excellent bloodline, prolly ready to come home June/July time. Car was picked up and is running very nicely thank you, off for a quick mini valet to get the salt off her. Christmas and new year were very pleasant, with no traumas for a change. Back situation is getting nasty, it looks like it will have to be the surgery this year 8 ( Current Mood: soreCurrent Music: My baby just cares for me: Nina Simone | | Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005 | | 6:06 am |
Dead snake and new car
Yup, dead snakes and new car. For those who don’t know me, myself and Mel keep a variety of snakes, one of whom is (was) a very poor feeding young royal python. We bought him in the full knowledge that he was a poor feeder, and we have been doing everything possible to get him eating and build him up. I won’t go into details for the squeamish, but getting snakes with an eating disorder to take nutrition can be a disheartening business. Sadly Clyde died last week, which was a little upsetting, but that’s the way things go sometimes. All our other beasties are (touch wood) healthy, and we gave him all the possible care we could. Sh*t ‘appen. For those who do know me, you’ll be familiar with my recent umm’ing and ahh’ing over a new car. For those who don’t here’s the summary. As there’s only Mel and myself for a car to accommodate (plus shopping and the odd cat carrier) we’ve never gone for big cars. Between us we’ve owned a variety of small – medium hatchbacks (by European standards) or in North American terms, subcompacts. Mel’s still running her Mk II Golf 16v GTI, one of the original, and still best, hot hatches and up till April last year, I was running a 16v Metro which I’d bought for next to nothing. It was getting to the point that it was going to start needing significant work doing to keep her going, so it was time to start car shopping. At that point I went for a Citroen C2 GT, a lovely little car which is quite nippy and dirt cheap to boot. I nearly bought a similar car at the time, a Renault Clio 182, but found the driving position too uncomfortable for long use. As Renault are changing the body shape of the Clio, they produced a special edition of the 182 with even lower suspension, Recaro seats and even more weight stripped off. I test drove this to discover it is a little faster, much more comfortable and even more agile, not to mention cheap. For our colonial cousins, I won’t mention actual prices because cars are so frighteningly cheap in the states, but will put it in relative terms. The 182 Trophy costs almost exactly half what a Lotus Elise 111R does, has twice as many seats (plus a roof) and was 3 seconds quicker than the Lotus round a test track used by the most popular driving show/magazine over here (Top Gear). Needless to say, I had to buy one 8 ) After a little bit of blagging the dealership into giving me heavy discounts (but then suffering a bit of a delivery delay as a result) I should hopefully be picking her up on Friday. I was rather chuffed to find that although cars tend to depreciate quite quickly in their first 2 years, my current car is so cheap to insure and run, that it has retained a very strong resale value, mainly because teenage chavs can get insurance for them. Mel has bought me a personal plate (vanity plate for those across the water) which will make no sense to anyone who does not play Magic the Gathering, but may raise a smile for those who do. The car only comes in red (she is likely to be named Ruby) is pretty fast, and will be tagged P9 MOX. I am beyond sad and have entered a whole new dimension of fanboy-dom. Wow, looks like the mild Autumn is over. More info on my back issues a some point soon... Current Mood: coldCurrent Music: How many more times? - Led Zep | | Monday, November 7th, 2005 | | 5:09 pm |
I will get used to this system....
Lesson one, make sure that I add new entires rather than comment on previous ones. Well, made it to the cat show, got licked half to death by baby Pico and had a fine old time. Didn't get round to doing the cellar though. Maybe next weekend... So tired today for some reason. Time to cook and drink wine I feel. Current Mood:  tiredCurrent Music: Johnny Cash: The man comes around | | Saturday, November 5th, 2005 | | 9:38 am |
A blog, why not?
Just setting bare bones account up. I'll actually set it up properly and start using it when I get a little time. |
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