[snarl] Another effing company we'll have to boycott.

Bulk of the client site stuff done (except for the BCP local shopping/utilities directory but we already know that's going to take a while). Though more came in while I was watching "24" - yes, I'm hooked - which will have to wait until tomorrow.

There was a suggestion on the Echo forums that having too many posts showing on the blog's main page might be causing the intermittent problems with some people not being able to get it to load, so I've cranked it down from 50 to 25 posts. Please let me know if that helps...

Client stuff, and this evening we watched one of my cheap DVD finds, The International, which is grim and gripping for about two thirds then fizzles rather disappointingly. Still worth a watch though.

Tired. Need a holiday...

Right, what have we been up to?

Busyish day. Got some client stuff done in the morning, then paid Kai to help me in the garden for an hour this afternoon (digging grass out of the bed behind the greenhouse, pulling up the dead sunflowers and deadheading around Roeg's Pool - St John's Wort, sedum and Tyjer's catmint. Cat helped of course, for this latter, overseeing to make sure I left some...) Then I dived out to get some shopping while a wash went through, back, showered, made dinner and we settled down to watch my latest Lovefilm rental, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. It was OK. Mostly harmless. Predictable, but with some chuckleworthy moments. A good braincandy film for a Saturday night...

Ken saw the consultants at the BRI on Thursday, to get the results of his last Hep C blood test. All quite favourable: the two nightmare courses of treatment he went through have kept the virus pretty much at bay. It's still present, but they say it would take about thirty years for it to get back up to dangerous levels. This is very good. The next round of drugs is in its final trials at the moment and should be available by November: Ken's going to ask to wait until January so at least he can spend Yule not feeling like he has bloody awful flu. The next course has three components: the interferon and ribavirin he had the last two times, plus something new and I assume quite powerful. But it's good news! The cure is getting closer all the time.

I'm off to the loom...

Edit: forgot to say: Thompson and Morgan sent my annual £5 off voucher with the latest catalogue, which arrived Friday, so we've ordered a tacca chantrieri, three White Egret Orchid tubers - and they had a special offer on these little darlings, Japanese Butterfly Wing fragrant miniature orchids, so we added three of them to the order as well. (The voucher pays for the postage and packing.) They won't be delivered 'til March at the earliest, but that's OK, I'll have something to look forward to!

I'm b^aaaaack! Didja miss me? (Did you have time to miss me...)

In keeping with the general trend of nothing ever being easy 'round 'ere, the new cable modem arrived while I was up at Broadwalk (having a relatively successful shopping expedition), so I got the next bus back.

And we then spent over an hour trying to get the bloody thing working. Followed the installation instructions perfectly, but cable light was flashing (it's supposed to be solid green when operational). Rang the activation number, got talked through activation - no joy. Operator put me through to tech support - where, typically, I ended up with an operator with such a broad Indian accent I could barely understand her and had to keep asking her to repeat everything (phone line wasn't great, which didn't help). The whole system's been off and on again three times, the cable's been disconnected and reconnected twice, and the router and modem powered off umpteen times. And then, when the line finally connected, I got taken to the Virginmedia 'oops, it looks like you have java and cookies disabled' page. Which was a load of rubbish - both are working fine - although it did make Ken fancy a coffee and biscuits.

Anyway... we now seem to be OK again. Of course, I had several hundred spam emails to delete, and a whole load of client stuff that's come in, and all my Facebook hatchlings are hungry, so I'm going to be busy this weekend...

[snarl] A couple of hours ago we had a microsecond power-cut.

My computer turned off, then immediately rebooted. Fair enough, that's happened before. But the cut also set off house alarms, buggered up Steve down the road's central heating controls - and blew my cable modem.

I have no connectivity at all - no Skype, no email, no web.

AARRGGHHHHHH! [watch Joules run around like a headless chicken...]

Currently typing this on Dave next door's computer (many thanks Dave!) just so I can let you all know I won't be reachable until Virgin media have posted the new modem. Yes, these days they send them through the post and you have to install them yourself. Great service, ne?

Hopefully be back by the weekend. Fingers crossed...


Later edit: it was a power surge, of course, not a power cut.

And a belated happy Imbolc to all...

[sigh] Now poor Ken has a cold... (I'm back on the First Defence!)

What have I been doing? Client site stuff, mainly. Household chores that were left undone while I was ill. Shopping - picked up Phone Booth for £2 at Tesco: hadn't seen it before and we all found it really gripping. Shame about the language but that's New York for you.

Thompson and Morgan were having a 'free p&p' weekend, so I ordered their three-pack of honey berry bushes. Honeysuckle family - if the fruits taste like honeysuckle nectar no-one else will get a look in 'cos I'll eat them all! The company are also now selling their tacca chantrieri as jumbo plants (instead of seeds, which I could never get to germinate). I think Ken might be thinking about getting me one for my birthday. (Also strongly tempted - again - to try habenaria radiata, the White Egret Orchid. I think they've come down in price a bit, and T&M now provide detailed care instructions...)

Tyjer is grumpy again - it's been wet and dull today. He fights his cat toys when he's grumpy - in the lounge, in the kitchen, up and down the stairs, even out here if he thinks he can get away with it. I wouldn't mind but several of them have rather loud bells and he really makes a racket. (And no, I'm not going to to try to take them away from him. If I do that, he finds other things to play with. Like stalks or leaves or potato peelings from the kitchen compost bin, or bubble wrap. Ever had a large cat pouncing on and popping bubble wrap behind you for half an hour? It's... distracting...)

I think we'll all be very glad to see the spring.

Back to the loom if I can shift this headache.

Contented cat is contented...
Managed to get one lot of client site updates done, the other will wait until tomorrow... Also finished a little Swamp Thing fic, which will be posted in The (other) Zone later tonight (I'll post a note on the Updates Blog when it's coded and uploaded).

Two days of managing absolutely soddall, what a waste...

Ken managed to pick up Sinutab yesterday, which made the day bearable, and today the damned cold is obviously on the way out as I've been able to get some client site work done (i.e. my brain is finally functioning again). Remind me not to run short of First Defence ever again, please, I just can't spare the time to be ill.

My Director's Cut edition of Dark City arrived: it was supposed to be for my birthday, but was rattling inside where it had become detached from the spindle, so I had to watch it to check it wasn't damaged. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.) It is very good, much better than the theatrical version, missing that stupid spoiler narration at the beginning and with about fifteen minutes of extra footage that add so much to the story. Wonderful stuff!

My latest Lovefilm rental is Moon, which I listed because Matt Berry is in it. It stars Sam Rockwell, who I absolutely loathed as Zaphod in HHGTTGM film, so I did not have particularly high hopes - but it's a chilling little gem of film, well deserving its IMDb solid 8 rating (I'd have given it a 9, personally). Admittedly I'd worked out the plot before we were more than a third into it, but that's not unusual. It's an amazing film. I'd recommend it highly.

Gorgeous weather today, brilliant sun (even if it was only just above freezing temperature wise) and K&K have been out riding on buses looking for St Anne's wells...


Much later edit re Dark City Director's Cut: it felt like 15 minutes but was probably only about three. Still made the whole thing so much better though.

Sorry about the lack of the usual 'large spider' warning: too short a post to make it work.




Quite why Rosa decided to take a bath in her freshly-topped-up drinking bowl I don't know... Feeding her on the specially-fed crickets seems to be working though, she's a brighter and healthier looking pink than she was before.

Still groggy. Had a stab this morning at seeing how I'm going to revamp the BCP site, but not uploading until I'm happy with it. Spent a couple of hours curled up on the settee this afternoon enjoying an Arcane fest, watching some favourite Swamp Thing episodes. (Forgot to say - the STF seems to have really enjoyed the gift-fic, which is very encouraging. I'll post it in The (other) Zone in the next couple of weeks.)

Distinct lack of energy today. Shall be very glad when the cold's gone.

[snuffly sigh] Bleurgh. I have Kai's cold. Thought I'd avoided it, but no. Partly my own fault as the First Defence ran out and I forgot to get another bottle. Eh well. I may still be able to fend off the worst of the effects.

BCP Comms group meeting earlier tonight - very useful. Will start on the site revisions tomorrow.

Tch', day spent charging madly around like a mad thing. Sainsbug's, then the Sunday market for a rucksack (yes, I know I bought one just a wee while back, I had to give that to Kai as his school one was falling to pieces and his need was greater), a bag for Ken and trainers for me (because I didn't find anything right the first time). Back, very quickly made dinner then headed off into town with Kai to try to catch the 3.30 showing of Avatar in 3D at the Showcase de Lux.

Couldn't believe it - they were sold out (and only had a very few seats left for the later showing). Sold out!! We're used to having the cinema practically to ourselves. And the film's been showing for months! Most aggrieved I was. Apparently all evening and weekend screenings always sell out really quickly and to make sure you can get a ticket you have to book by phone or online. Will have to see about organising it for next weekend. The problem is the thought of sitting in a packed cinema for 2 hours 40 minutes makes me feel positively claustrophobic.

So we saw Sherlock Holmes instead...

Hm. Well, I suppose it's a fun enough film, but it's not Sherlock Holmes. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find purists highly offended. The situation isn't helped by Downey's absolutely bloody horrible unreal accent - if you can't believe the main character is genuine it kinda spoils the effect of the rest. I did like Law though - that visualisation of Watson worked for me. But the rest... it's an action movie, and just plain silly in places. Distinctly slashy subtext too (deliberate, I thought. And if you can call something that unsubtle 'subtext'). I'll probably pick it up if I ever see it anywhere very cheap (much of the banter was funny, at least) but it's certainly not on the 'must have' list.

But there are two films coming up that look, from the trailers, like 'must sees', The Lightning Thief and the remake of Clash of the Titans - the latter looks simply awesome (and the music sounds spot on, even if touring commitments do mean Muse aren't able to be on the soundtrack). It must be the year of the Olympians.

Back, tea, and then I watched the first two eps of 24 (heh, Season 8!) I haven't seen any before, but I've recently been re-watching Kiefer Sutherland films (always found him a consistently good actor and usually enjoy his work) and thought I'd take a look. It's not bad. I'm in two minds whether to make it a regular watch or not. It does clash with Being Human, but since that's repeated every day and readily available on Replay, and in any case is only 6 eps in total, that doesn't present too much of a problem. I can get the earlier seasons of 24 from Lovefilm if I find myself really liking it. I don't mind watching things backwards.

Now I need to catch up on everything I missed today (didn't boot up until after we got back from the cinema - 7.20ish - so have a few emails to answer before I get to anything else...

Probably the most contented cat in the world...




An aerial view of the house and garden, screencapped from Multimap ->

(sorry, this is the highest resolution I could manage). It's recent, no older than last year, as you can clearly see the circle of Kai's railway track, and if you look carefully you can spot the greenhouse and the veg bed at at the top of the garden. (The last time I checked on Google earth their image was from about five years ago.)



<- What's left of Kai's log scramble. This was interesting: it's been hollowed out by a fairly large animal, and it's only happened within the last few days. I noticed that the block that Dave next door had placed against his fence to try to keep out the badgers was askew this morning, so it may very well have been one of them digging for the bugs and beetles overwintering in the wood.

We all spent an hour in the garden this afternoon, pruning the cherry tree at the front and the apple and medlar trees at the back. Still have the bay tree to do before it grows too tall again, and the rockery (and the meadow) is a complete mess so I have a lot of work to do there, but otherwise everything's looking good.

Spaced series one is on at nine - all six eps back to back. Looking forward to that!

Too wet for the garden - it rained all day - but my orchids are now tended (although I need to feed the non-flowering ones over the weekend, a job that usually takes an hour as I let them sit in a bowl of water and feed mixed for a few minutes so they can absorb the nutrients) and the greenhouse plants checked (the problem with keeping them indoors is that any bugs they have love the warmth and wiping the pests off with damp tissues is very labour-intensive. I'm not sure if my systemic house-plant pest treatments are suitable for food plants so won't risk it).

Also finally racked this year's elderflower wine - should be able to bottle it in a few days: I need Ken's help for that as the corks have to be carefully hammered into the bottle necks and I don't have the strength or control to do it safely - and started the generic red wine I plan to use mainly in cooking. So a useful day all told.

We watched A Scanner Darkly tonight. It's good, but strange. Then again, given the subject matter, that's not surprising.

Loom tonight.

Kai is still feeling rough, but coping well, and says his exam today wasn't too bad, so keeping fingers crossed.

Kai and I watched Chemistry: A Volatile History on BBC 4 this evening (my knowledge of chemistry is not good...) It's extremely good, gives a fantastic overview of the subject, and I was surprised to discover how much I actually do know.

Oh - and today I had probably the most inept 419er EVER. It's so bad I thought I'd share... Do feel free to skip to the end if it gives you a headache, but please read the first paragraph, which gives a good taste of the whole. Ostensible sender's name has been deleted in case it is a real member of staff of the company, which does actually exist.

DEAR FRIEND,
FORGIVE MY INDIGNATION IF THIS MESSAGE COMES TO YOU AS A SURPRISE AND MAY OFFEND YOUR PERSONALITY FOR CONTACTING YOU WITHOUT YOUR PRIOR CONSENT AND WRITING THROUGH THIS CHANNEL.I GOT YOUR CONTACT FROM A PROFESSIONAL DATABASE FOUND ON THE INTERNET WHILE SEARCHING FOR A RELIABLE AND HONEST PERSON THAT WILL ASSIST ME TO SAFE GUARDA0 UND INTO AN ACCOUNT OVERSEA. I WAS DIVINE LYINSPIRED TO PICK YOUR NAME AMONG ALL OTHER NAMES FOUND IN THE DATABASE.

I AM WRITING IN RESPECT OF A FOREIGN CLIENT [MASTERPIECE POLICYHOLDER] OF THE ABOVE NAMED INSURANCE COMPANY [ENGR.WILLIAM F. ABRAHAMSON OF AMERICA] WHO PERISHED IN THE U.S 9/11/2001,TERRORIST ATTACK WITH OTHER PASSENGERS ABOARD AS YOU ARE AWARE OF THIS FACT OR CAN CONFIRM IT YOURSELF.

SINCE THE DEMISE OF ENGR.WILLIAM F. ABRAHAMSON,I PERSONALLY HAVE WATCHED WITH KEEN INTEREST TO SEE THE BENEFICIARY TO HIS MASTERPIECE POLICYHOLDER, BUT ALL HAS PROVED ABORTIVE AS NO ONE HAS REPORTED TO CLAIM HIS BENEFIT OF [PERSONAL INSURANCE CASH ACCUMULATION MASTERPIECE POLICYHOLDER OWNERSHIP] OF TOTAL SUM AMOUNTING TO £15,860 000.00...

It goes on like this for another four paragraphs, still all in caps, and ends:

I WILL NOT FAIL TO BRING TO YOUR GOOD NOTICE THAT THIS DEAL IS 100% HITCH FREE, AS THE WHOLE REQUIRED ARRANGEMENT HAS BEEN SKILLFULLY PERFECTED FOR THE MASTERPIECE POLICY HOLDER OWNERSHIP CLAIM.

MY HIGHEST CONSIDERATIONS AND REGARDS AS I AWAIT YOUR URGENT RESPONSE.

etc.

Well yes, of course I'm impressed by scammers SHOUTING at me. And look at the perfect spelling and grammar! I'm even more impressed that this twat sent this out to over forty email addresses, too stupid to even BCC them. How can I fail to respond to such an elegant, eloquent missive? [sigh]

So, Drag Me To Hell...

Heh. Ninety nine minutes long and it felt like it dragged to at least three hours. Absolutely predictable. Basically a remake of Night of the Demon (which is a real horror film). Supposed to have some grimly comic moments: all I can say is this must be some weird American definition of the word 'comedy' with which I am unfamiliar. Characters who seemed to think they were making a comedy. Two 'make-you-jump' moments at the beginning which were then used over and over again until we were yawning. Dire, truly dire, and really boring.

But then, you never know until you try.

[sigh] And sprog has a cold - quite an unpleasant one, poor thing, and his maths GCSE is tomorrow afternoon. Going to have to dose him up before he goes and hope the cold-relief tablets last (the school is, quite rightly, completely averse to kids taking in any kind of medication, unless it's important prescribed stuff).

So I'm on the First Defence again...

I've started updating the Haadri blog a little more frequently, for anyone who might be interested. There'll be a post there in about half an hour.

Just as I was about to head off for Tesco I got a call from Hotter Shoes customer service - terribly apologetic and saying that my first email never reached them. Well, that would explain why I got no answer! I've been assured that they do take complaints very seriously and have now referred it to the Home Courier Service, who handle all their deliveries, and hopefully I should hear back from them soon.

I feel happier now. I still won't be ordering from them, as the shoes won't be wide enough to be comfortable, but I won't be not-recommending them. If you see what I mean.

Shopping...

Odd day. I have another blasted subconjunctival haemorrhage, in my right eye, which feels uncomfortable and itchy. It's not as bad as the last one, fortunately. Both eyes are a little uncomfortable at the moment, mostly due to lack of sleep I suspect. (I've been keeping an eye on my blood pressure and it seems to be slowly coming down, so it's unlikely to be that.) If it doesn't clear up I'll trot up to the doctor.

So I've tried to spend a little less time than normal at my desk today. Managed some client site updates, watched Dark City and Dark Fury (which is interesting), and did a little (very little!) housework.

I also emailed Hotter Shoes. Remember all the hassle I had with the bloody courier breaking the letterbox last November then shouting at me when I complained? I contacted the company right away, but have heard absolutely bugger all. On their website they say:

We wouldn't be able to boast about our first class service and fantastic products if we didn't accept that sometimes things can go wrong. If there is something we can do to make things right for you, then please get in contact and let us help. We want to wow you not upset you!

If that's their idea of first class service they can bloody keep it. I will not be recommending Hotter Shoes to anyone, nor will I be buying anything from them in future. Appalling behaviour.

My latest rental from LoveFilm is Drag Me To Hell: Ken and I are going to watch it after Kai's gone to bed. (It's a 15, but given the content we'd rather check it first. If it's OK he can watch it at the weekend.)

Wow. I did nothing today.

Day trip to Tesco. It's irritating when everything runs out at the same time - like laundry limescale preventative tablets, Ecover laundry bio-tabs and Mr Muscle Window and Glass cleaner. I ended up buying so much I couldn't carry it and had to ring Ken to come and help. I think I'm going to have to accept that with my left arm and shoulder still playing up I simply can't carry as much as I used to (and I'll ask the doctor what could be wrong when I next go to see her, which will probably be in March).

Kai, bless 'im, has been working through hours of maths homework today, in preparation for the GCSE on Thursday. He also gets his German exam details this month: it's spread out over a year as far as I can see and involves four sections (speaking, writing, reading and conversation? Something like that). It's all very tough for the kids but they all seem to be very determined to do well.

But it was such a glorious day today he took a break and went down to St Anne's Well with Ken, who needed a couple more photos for a small book he's working on. While they were gone I opened up the greenhouse for airing and watering: everything's survived quite well, including my big pot of mint, so hopefully I'll be able to make my own mint sauce this year.

We did have another two casualties in Roeg's Pool - two very large frogs (who might have died of old age as much as the weather). I shall feel happier when I know that at least some of our amphibian inhabitants survived (they should have, there's plenty of places for them to shelter in the garden). My poor jasmine is looking very unhappy though - and we haven't stopped the leak in the garden loo. That's going to have to be looked at properly this week. All in all, though, the garden's come through the worst of the cold snap in pretty good shape.

Unfortunately so have the bloody mosquitoes. Arctic temperatures for three weeks and at the first sign of thaw we have mosquitoes over the frewtnog pool? I am not impressed...

Aiming for an early night (yes, well, we know how that usually works out...) Tomorrow I really need to do a little garden work, even if it's just deadheading in the meadow and starting pruning the bay tree, before I dive into Heart.

Later...

Snow all gone. Finally able to get out to Sainsbug's! 'ooray! (Day trip to Tesco tomorrow.)

Major shop accomplished, but my legs are really aching. How can I get so out of condition in just three weeks? Admittedly, I'm normally walking to the supermarkets three or more times a week and carrying heavy stuff back, which actually makes for pretty good exercise, so not doing so is bound to have some effect. [sigh] Will need to get that sorted out over the next few weeks. Mind you, it won't be long and I'll need to get the greenhouse and veg bed ready for this year, and start my cold-resistant tomatoes off indoors. That'll get me moving.

We had our first casualty of the cold snap - one of the goldfish in Roeg's Poool has died. The other two seem to be fine though.

And I've had music all afternoon: the B sprog came over to jam with Kai. They've been practising Muse songs, and sounding great!

Back to the loom.

News in brief: Kai said the exam wasn't too bad.

If Only... finished at 56 pages and emailed off.

The second lot of Rosa's crickets arrived, all alive (with the weather the first order wasn't delivered for eight freezing days and all of them were dead). I've given them some cricket food (it comes as a greyish powder that is mixed with water and shaped into little round balls: they love it) which has all sorts of protein and vitamins and minerals all designed to keep Rosa in top condition. We'll see...

The snow has all gone. Shall go shopping tomorrow (in the forecasted rain).

Kai and I watched Swamp Thing eps Blood Wind, Mirador's Brain (where I noticed that at the beginning, where they're removing the brain, the man is actually still alive - well, his heart is beating and he's breathing - yet later we're told he committed suicide... I could do a Judas Justification I suppose and say well, he committed suicide and suffered brain death while his body was still technically functional - but that still leave the awkward fact that they removed the brain of a living man...), and Night of the Dying. Mostly so we could have fun MSTing them, which is wonderfully easy with those eps. Don;t get me wrong, we love the latter two, they're so deliciously OTT, but they're so easy to mock. Heh. Kai asks to watch eps! He's a convert! (Oh dear, what have I done...?)

Off to the loom now, to make a start on the next instalment of Repercussions. Or perhaps the non-drabble drabbleish shorts I have planned. It's Friday, and tonight I get to play...

And the school buses were running this morning, the water in the birdbath wasn't frozen, and the snow is melting apace: this little part of Briz is back to what passes for normal, at any rate. So childe has just finished his science GCSE and will, presumably, since the school is open today, have to continue with normal lessons. (Seems a bit unfair after an exam!)

This morning there was a fieldfare eating the apples I put out at the top of the garden. The flock of redwings is also sitting in one of the big trees in the communal garden along the lane, I assume waiting for the coast to be clear so they can come down and have some. Tyjer is out at the moment, but as usual keeps coming in - he may be a Bodie-cat but he does like his comfort...

Back to the loom.

Snow. Wet, warm Atlantic snow that settles lightly then melts a few hours later (as opposed to cold hard Siberian snow that settles and freezes solid). School buses not running (there was actually a 'Road Closed' sign at the bottom of Talbot Hill! Never seen that before) so Kai was home again today.

And it was noticeably warmer today, even with the snow. Only problem is it's supposed to freeze tonight. Maybe. If it does, it'll be horrendous tomorrow. We're going to check the websites early and see what's what. Ken's going to try to take Kai in to school for his science GCSE in the morning if at all possible: the exam starts at 9, and if they set off at about 6.45 and the First buses are running (and so far there's nothing to say they won't be) they can get there in time. We're a bit concerned about the pavements around the school - very slippery apparently - but we feel if Kai can get there, he really should. (His opinion is markedly different, of course...) Please keep fingers crossed...

Warmer today - the snow was actually melting. Kai went to school, Ken nipped into town to get skooshes from Robert Dyas, and I cleared some client site work. Ken had an archaeology group meeting this evening, so Kai and I watched the last four eps of Spaced (absolutely brilliant) and Swamp Thing ep Jury of his Fears. Great fun.

But now it's started snowing again, not heavy but relentless. If it freezes tonight the roads will be impassable again in the morning.