Losing it[1]

Weight and Stuff Report – 8 February 2010

Les — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:44:50 +0000

Oops. Up another slight bit today, tut tut, etc.

Today’s special bonus is one more picture from Saturday’s misty walk in the park. Someone had brought some bread to feed the birds, and they all showed up:

Weight: 228 pounds (16 stone 4 pounds, 103.4 kg)

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A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything

Les — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:45:52 +0000

This is nice – a huge flip-book done in ballpoint pen, and made into this nifty video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to the always handy Look at This for that.

Weight and Stuff Report – 7 February 2010

Les — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:09:28 +0000

Up just the tiniest bit today, but never mind.

Had to go to work today to sort out a few things that needed sorting out, and which were much easier to do when nobody else was around. It’s amazing how much more I can get done without the phone ringing and without the general background noise…

Today’s little something extra is this lion:

He’s one of a pair that stand by the door to the cafe at Saltwell Towers – they were probably taken from some old gates by the look of them. I’ve seen them many times, but I hadn’t actually noticed that they’re licking their lips before…

Weight: 227.8 pounds (16 stone 3.8 pounds, 103.3 kg)

Squiggle!

Les — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:32:33 +0000

Whenever I’m in the park with a camera, I try to get a picture or two of the grey squirrels that live there. But being the fast moving, rapidly hiding creatures they are, my efforts have, up till now been in vain. I’ve caught a few grey blurs, the odd bit of a tail, but never an actual squirrel in sharp enough focus to make a good picture. But today, I had some better luck, and this one stayed around long enough for me to get a few pictures. Given the misty conditions, and the need for short exposures, the automatic ISO went up to 3200, so the pictures are a bit noisy, but they do show how well the 5D performs in less than ideal conditions:

and yes, he then ran up the tree:

And I’ve still got some more misty morning pictures to show later…

Weight and Stuff Report – 6 February 2010

Les — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:26:06 +0000

Down again today, good stuff, etc.

When I got up this morning, I was confronted with another bit of surprising weather. Not as surprising as last Saturday's snow, but still interesting. Today’s fun was some quite thick mist. Looking from my front window, it didn’t look all that interesting, but a glance out of the back (where I can normally see further than across the road) suggested that it really was quite thick and atmospheric. So, without even stopping for coffee… Hold on, that’s important, I’ll say it again: Without even stopping for coffee, I quickly washed, threw on some clothes and went to the park. I was hoping for some vaguely spooky shots of trees looming out of the mist, and I wasn’t disappointed. Here’s the island:

And here’s a nearly lost Saltwell Towers:

More pictures from today’s little trip will follow…

Weight: 227.6 pounds (16 stone 3.6 pounds, 103.2 kg)

Robert Rankin – Retromancer

Les — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:27:48 +0000

Yes, it’s time for another Robert Rankin book! Regular readers[1] will be aware than I’ve been a fan of Mr Rankin for many years, and that he’s one of those authors whose books I just have to get as soon as they’re published. This one had been sitting on my “things to read” pile for a few weeks before the ideal opportunity arose to start it – a train trip to Leeds on Wednesday. I obviously needed something to read to preserve my sanity on the journey[3], and as the book I was reading at the time was a bit big to fit neatly in my bag, I took Retromancer along. It’s a sequel to The Brightonomicon, in which Hugo Rune and his acolyte[5] Rizla, who we later learn is none other than a young Jim Pooley, star of the Brentford Trilogy[6], Save The World and all that kind of thing.

The action follows straight on from the earlier book. Rizla learns that despite having spent a year working with Rune, only a day has passed for the people of Brentford. He’s just about managed to get that idea sorted out when he realises that something isn’t quite right. There’s a little problem of time having gone a bit wrong, the Nazis having won World War II, America being a destroyed radioactive wasteland and worst of all, there’s only Bratwurst for breakfast.

And so Rune and Rizla set off on another arbitrary quest. Twelve cases must be solved, selected by the apparent random drawing of Tarot cards, before the Final Confrontation, which naturally involves being in a very high place with the fate of the world hanging on a thread. There’s the usual quota of running gags, and running gags about the running gags, confusion, silliness and innuendo. At least one mystery of history is solved, and much fun is had by all. And there are some pirates, too.

In short, it’s a quite typical Robert Rankin novel, and (in case you had any doubt) this is a Good Thing. Quite wonderfully silly, and a very good way of coping with an annoying journey.

[1] Regular readers are the people who are familiar with me maintaining the illusion that people actually read this stuff rather than getting thrown here by Google[2] and quickly leaving in case the oddness is catching
[2] Other search engines are available, but they’re mostly not much use, or have even sillier names than Google. Yes, I mean you, Bing!
[3] Anyone who’s wondering what level of sanity could possibly be preserved by reading Robert Rankin must be a Robert Rankin fan and not one of those unicorns[4] regular readers I keep imagining
[4] Sorry, getting my mythical creatures mixed up
[5] Good word, that. Seems appropriate.
[6] But this was in the 60s, so he hadn’t done those yet

Weight and Stuff Report – 5 February 2010

Les — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:33:04 +0000

Up just a wee bit today, not enough to be alarmed about, though. I managed to keep my record of not walking to work at all this week. Today’s excuse is that it was a bit damp, so there. I’ll try to do better next week. Probably. Maybe.

Today’s little extra is one more picture from last Saturday’s snowy walk in Saltwell Park:

I should be making some more posts over the weekend, with a new toy report to come as soon as I’ve worked out how to use the toy in question properly. Now that should generate some pointless suspense…

Weight: 228 pounds (16 stone 4 pounds, 103.4 kg)

Weight and Stuff Report – 4 February 2010

Les — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:32:53 +0000

Down again today. Quite possibly more random wossnameness, but we shall see. Back in Newcastle today, so lunch was a BLT bagel (with a little cream cheese to make it extra yummy) from the nice Bagel of the North people.

For today’s little something extra, here’s another picture from last Saturday’s walk in the snow:

It would have been better if the snow was a little less trodden in, but if I’d been there earlier the shadows wouldn’t have worked, so never mind.

Weight: 227.6 pounds (16 stone 3.6 pounds, 103.2 kg)

Weight and Stuff Report – 3 February 2010

Les — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:00:02 +0000

Hmmm. Up a bit today, insert standard remarks about random fluctuations.

I had a slight change of routine today – a visit to Leeds. Quite apart from having a conventional sandwich rather than my now usual bagel for lunch, as I had a bit of a wait for my train this morning, I decided an espresso would be a good idea. And while I was there, I had a croissant too, which led me to today’s lovely picture. No, it’s not a wonderful example of photography, or something spectacularly pretty this time. It’s the back of the little pack of butter that came with the croissant:

Butter? Contains milk? Amazing!

Weight: 228.8 pounds (16 stone 4.8 pounds, 103.8 kg)

Weight and Stuff Report – 2 February 2010

Les — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:03:42 +0000

Obviously my strategy of just having a bagel for lunch[1] is working, as my weight went down again today. I was planning on walking to work today, but as it started snowing, I decided I couldn’t be bothered, so there. This time the snow didn’t stick to the ground, and there’s no trace of it now.

And for today’s picture, here’s one of Saltwell Towers:

[1] Today’s was a delicious duck one. With that sauce that should probably be illegal on grounds of causing addiction.

Weight: 228 pounds (16 stone 4 pounds, 103.4 kg)