Gaz's Random Musings

The blog is dead

2007-01-25T17:02:00.000+02:00

In case you haven't noticed. This blog has died a long and painful death. I have decided to discontinue the random musings, for a variety of reasons. Chief among them being I am sick of feeling guilty for not updating the blog. Instead I am going to try and sort out the website, so watch this space, but I wouldn't check it too often, maybe once a month or so.

There are a number of projects that I am looking at starting/have started/have procrastinated about, and instead of blogging about not doing them in a way that is way to reminicent of EMO angst, I am instead going to start making positive steps to accomplishing these goals. Procrastination is the enemy, and it is time to make a valiant last stand.

So, It's been fun, and I have this strange feeling that it won't be missed. If you need to you know where to find me.

For the last time

That is All

It's the Weekend Yeah.

2006-11-24T08:07:00.000+02:00

So, I'm jumping the gun a bit, but it may as well be the weekend. Not a lot to do, just some christmas shopping, some christmas postage, and 4 Alien movies to watch. Should be fun, hehe.

In other unrelated news, Diablo 2 is going pretty well. Finished act 2 hell with my Necro, only 3 to go, and finished act 1 Normal with the sorceress. Thought I'd keep that character at the same point that Kittychunk's is. Screenshot of characters here.

Also found a few more set and uniques, so the list is getting better. That is here.

The quick update

Character - Level - Last waypoint
Sorc - 17 - Lut Gholein
Necro - 75 - Hell Kurast
Zon - 9 - Cold Plains
Barb - 12 - Stony Field
Druid - 7 - Cold Plains
Pally - 7 - Cold Plains
Assassin - 7 - Cold Plains

Grail - sets 20/127 - Uniques - 30/377

All characters have completed the first 2 quests in act 1. With the sorc and Necro further along.

Enjoy the weekend.

More updates - this is becoming a regular event

2006-11-21T08:30:00.000+02:00

So, with the weekend over and the hell that is Monday behind us, it was time for another update.

So, of the five things that were specified, I have played a little diablo 2, found out where I can get some clothes for exercise, and decided on a layout for the articles for the CMON guide. So things are happening.

In unrelated news, Christmas shopping has started, and is proving a bugger. People who don't know what they want irritate me as then I have to think. Not a good thing.

So the D2 update:
progress
The Necromancer has now finished Act 1 Hell, only 4 more to go, but they get more difficult as they act number increases.
The rest of the characters have all finished the first 2 quests of act 1 normal, but the sorceress has a higher level because I've been rerunning the one area to get her fireball to a decent damage output.

Nothing to report on the item front, and no, you don't get anything for completing it other than the warm happy feeling of having found every item in the game.
Item list

That is all

And in completely unrelated news. It is Spriggan's B-day today. go wish him a good one over on his site

Things and Stuff

2006-11-16T09:04:00.000+02:00

Having realised that the end of the year is rapidly approaching and that my goals for the year are seriously out. (read - never going to happen) I have decided to come up with a list of stuff that I would like to have made a serious dent in by the beginning of 2007. Of course, this may not happen, but miracles do occur.

1 - Get a colour scheme for my eldar and paint the squad of guardians. (11 models) depending on how well this goes I may try to paint more stuff, but diabloing is interferning in this.
2 - Redo my website. I was all excited when I started, and haven't done a thing on it for a year. it's definitely time to add some content.
3 - Sort out the CMON painting guide.
4 - Make some inroads into the diablo 2 goals. This is going to be the easiest one to do. That's why it's on here.
5 - At least start some form of exercise regimen. sitting around blobbing is not all that helpful

So, with all of those set out clearly it will remain to be seen how they pan out.

In other news, it's diablo 2 update time.

I've taken a screenshot of my sept characters. it can be found here Some explanations. The Conqueror title in front of the necro's name means that he has finished Nightmare. Finishing normal gives you Slayer, while defeating hell gets Guardian. All the characters other than the Necro are still languishing in act 1 normal and have either completed the first or the first and second quests.

As far as the grail goes. The printout for that can be found here This lists all the items available in the game, together with all the runse, runewords, gems, potions and quest items. The only ones that are used for the grail are the uniques and set items, but I think I may include the runes as well. just for the hell of it.

in summary
Uniques 25/377 Sets 16/127 Runes 11/33
Total 52/537 or 9.68%
Not great, but almost one tenth of the way there.

And NDE is an accepted D2 TLA. although most of the D2 acronyms are only 2 letters. (CE, LE, MS, ES, DS, RS, SM, etc)

Weekend events

2006-11-13T10:17:00.000+02:00

The weekend was full of stuff. Friday was Nando's and movie night. Watched "Be Cool" Interesting film, but not nearly as good as "Get Shorty". Oh well, the rock was hysterical, as was Vince Vaughn.

Saturday, much Diablo was played. Also much pizza was consumed and some Commitment man was discussed.

Sunday, our dining room table having arrived on Saturday, we had Kim's folks round for lunch. It was fun. i felt real grown up cooking proper food (read not braai) and sitting at our dining table to eat. Also of note we tried our Jamie Oliver T-fal pans. The rest of them are going to be unpacked and used now. If you are into cooking they really are worth the money. They heat nice and evenly even on the dodgy stove that we have.

Anyway, Diablo 2 update time.

Character - Level - Last waypoint
Sorc - 8 - Stony Plains
Necro - 54 - NM Harrogath
Zon - 6 - Cold Plains
Barb - 1 - Rogue Encampment
Druid - 1 - Rogue Encampment
Pally - 1 - Rogue Encampment

Grail - sets 13/127 - Uniques - 16/377

Progress was made with the Necro killing Diablo on nightmare. One more act of NM to go and then it's on to hell difficulty. Only one NDE (Near death experience) so far.

Diablo 2 is evil.

2006-11-09T08:39:00.000+02:00

So diablo 2 is like a more addictive form of crack cocaine, but I can give it up anytime I want. I'm sure of that.

Anyway, played a lot with the necromancer but haven't finished normal difficulty yet, but that will happen soon. here is the brief update.

Character - Level - Last waypoint
Sorc - 8 - Stony Plains
Necro - 31 - Ancient's Way
Zon - 1 - Rogue Encampment
Barb - 1 - Rogue Encampment
Druid - 1 - Rogue Encampment
Pally - 1 - Rogue Encampment

Grail - sets 1/127 - Uniques - 4/377

Still a long way off all the goals, but progress is being made. Basically, I have finished 4 acts out of the 75 total I need to do.

That's it, nothing else of any interest has happened.

It's an update - look out for other omens

2006-11-06T11:25:00.000+02:00

Yes, It's an update. Just keep an eye out for other omens, you know rains of blood, plagues of lawyers, Death stalking the land and TALKING LIKE THIS.

But seriously. Not a whole lot that is blogworthy has happened, or maybe it has and I just don't feel like posting anything about it.

I have started Diablo 2 again. This is a bad thing. Basically, I will have 2 goals this time round. If you have never played diablo these won't mean anything to you. Basically I want to complete a Sept. This means finishing the game (all 3 difficulty levels) with one of each character type, on Hardcore (if you die the character cannot be played again). As you may have guessed, this is not an easy thing. As well as this, I am going to try to complete the grail. This means finding every set and unique item available, also not an easy thing. expect periodic updates on these.

Also, with the release of the new Eldar army book, I have decided that the painting needs to start having some more specific goals. Things like I want to have a colour scheme chosen by November 20. This means painting 2 of the same model in different colour schemes to decide which one will look better. Small specific goals may prove easier to keep than big ones, but we will see.

Hopefully, this update is the start of more frequent updating, but I guess you'll just have to watch to find out.

That is all

Blogs, music and resolutions

2006-10-09T12:30:00.000+02:00

So first up, you may have noticed that dodgyhaiku and beabettergaz no longer exist. I hadn't updated for a while on either of them, and I haven't wanted to do any more with them, so they got deleted. perhaps the occasional haiku or self improvement thing may find it's way here, but don't expect to see them often.

well, the new years resolutions are gone for a ball of chalk. Although I have at least started painting again. I'm not painting well, but that's neither here nor there.

And then music. Having recently made some disparaging remarks about the Arctic Monkeys and certain people raving about them, I went off and got the Lordi cd. It's called "The Arockalypse" and if that doesn't tell you how dodgy it is, nothing will. I stick it in the cd player and I finally realise, that when it comes to music I am a true child of the early nineties. Glam rock/glam metal. It doesn't really matter what it sounds like as long as it has power cords, some distortion pedals, and is loud. At least I know my taste is dodgy. Now all I need to do is find those old metallica, Iron Maiden, AC/DC albums.

The Onion theory of procrastination

2006-09-20T11:26:00.000+02:00

well, procrastination has become an art form. And there are many forms but only a few of these are succesful.

This is the technique I use.

Basically, you have the thing you really should be doing, but don't want to, let's use writing a report as an example. now normally, you'd find one thing to do, like cleaning your desk. But, as soon as that's finished you now have to find something else to do to procrastinate further.

So, what I do is i think of a few things, like clean my desk, post pics to DA, check the forums, go and chat to people, send email, and post a blog entry. now, I prioritise them. This way, I know that even when I finish the one thing, I still have another, and the another thing to do.

You see, Layers of pracrastination. It's a far less guilt inducing method, and also wastes less time on the determining of the specifics for the work avoidance behaviour.

Moving and the demise of the haiku

2006-09-12T09:55:00.000+02:00

So the move has been completed, with the exception of a few odds and ends. this is a good thing.

A complete lack of inspiration has also led to the demise of the haiku. so don't expect any new posts there for a while, if ever.

Not a whole lot else has been happening, but if it does, you'll be the first to know.

That is all

Moving day has arrived

2006-09-01T10:31:00.000+02:00

Woo Hoo.

by the time I get back on Monday I should be in a new house with all my crap unpacked.

YAAAAAAYY

This is a good thing

it's been a while

2006-08-23T11:58:00.000+02:00

well, haven't really had all that much to go on about, but some stuff has come up that I felt was noteworthy.

I finished kohan 2. woohoo. this means my pile of games to play and finish is back down to 2 from 5. This is a good thing. Another good thing is that I haven't really started either of the last two (AoE 3 and Spellforce 2) beyond loading them and going ooohhhh pretty.

Secondly. Salesmen are idiots. I go in PC Game and computer world in cresta to have a look at the games (Their selection sucks) and I get asked if he can help me and i say no I'm just looking. maybe I was wrong and i actually said "Why yes, I'd like your opinion based on cost as to which game I would prefer playing next." He offers me the command and conquer decade pack. which has all the games from the original. Now I've played and finished the ones that I wanted too, and wouldn't buy them again. Then he says how about online gaming to which I respond I don't play online. and he still offers me both World of Warcraft and the Guild Wars. Tonsil. needless to say I walked out and won't be back in there again. I think I'll stick to Zaps in the waterfront. Reasonable prices, massive selection, and people who work there who know what they're talking about when it comes to games.

finally, yet another cricket umpiring controversy has Darell hair at the centre of it. Why doesn't the ICC learn. This man should not be allowed to set foot in another cricket stadium ever as part of the umpiring/match refereeing team. Hell, I don't think he should be allowed to have anything to do with the sport whatsoever.

That is all

Movies and Concerts

2006-07-31T09:27:00.000+02:00

So I had an interesting weekend. Did some painting, went for a couple of runs, watched some DVD's and went to a show.

First, the show. Johnny Clegg's One Life. It was fantastic. Having seen him recently, we were a little concerned, but the man is incredible. The fact that I really like most of his stuff also helps. The Soweto Gospel Choir basically did back-up singing and everything that has been said about them is well deserved. Next time they perform in Joburg I will be trying to get my grubby little hands on the tickets.

Now onto the DVD's. Watched Maverick again. Still a great movie. I only realised that Alfred Molina was in it now, having already seen it a dozen times. Boy can I be slow on the uptake.

Also watched was "The Wedding Crashers" Still funny, although the redhaired chick kind of freaks me out. But then I think she was meant to. So well acted on her part, if it is acting and not just who she is.

On things I haven't seen before, watched "The Man" with Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy. Anything with Samuel L. in it is worth a watch, and combine his bad motherfucker attitude with the comedy of Eugene Levy and it is a worthwhile watch. enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. Maybe I'll even consider owning it, But we'll have to see. There are other movies I need to get hold of first.

That is all

Things Are Going to change

2006-07-26T12:28:00.000+02:00

Right. So I've started a new blog. This one with a very specific purpose. Well, have a look here. It's not just going to be random thoughts, but is going to track progress towards certain things that I feel are of importance. Basically, I am using it as a tool to change certain things I don't like about myself.

Read it, don't read it, i don't really mind. I will still keep this blog going, as I will need some outlet for random thoughts and other odd stuff, but we'll see if this works.

Wish me luck.

edit: The link should work now. Had the wrong URL. My Bad

Freaks and stuff

2006-07-17T10:16:00.000+02:00

So Saturday I went to Icon (Roleplaying convention).

Mainly I went there to drool at the pretty models that Smelly Troll sells.

Also, we went to look at the freaks, of which there were a surprisingly small amount. maybe I just went at a bad time.

The upside of this whole affair is that I really want to paint models again. The downside is I have no time or space to do it in. Will have to make a plan.

Update time

2006-07-13T13:23:00.000+02:00

So, seeing as half the year is gone I figured an update on the new years resolutions was in order.

So here it is

Goal 1: Failed at the whole 95kg thing and I seem to be back to 3 figures. not looking so good.

Goal 2: Painted 3, bought 20. Man i gotta stop that shiny toy syndrome happening

Goal 3: Highest score to date At least it's above 5, but still a long way from that 6.

Goal 4: Well, the website is crap and I haven't been to the club in months, so this one is being written of as a non-starter. Maybe if my apathy wasn't quite so pronounced I'd do something about it.

That is all

I have the plague

2006-07-06T08:54:00.000+02:00

As the title suggests, I have the plague. While this is making my voice reminiscent of Barry White (not sure if this is a good thing) It is not enabling me to act on it.

The plague sucks.

News. News you can choose to use, lose or abuse

2006-06-29T09:26:00.000+02:00

So, I know I promised to update more regularly, but due to general ... how to put this ... apathy, this has not happened. Maybe I'll be better in the future, but I ain't promising anything.

So, much has happened since the last posting.

I completed Dungeon Siege 2. This was a good thing.
I found out that there is an expansion to Dungeon Siege 2. This was not a good thing.

We bought a really nice house. Again a good thing.
We'll be in debt for the next thirty years. Not a good thing.

Our dog got icnredibly sick and was in the vet for over a week. A very very bad thing.
Dog is home and seems to be back to normal. A good thing.

I made a rule about only playing two games at any given time on my computer. A stupid thing
I broke the rule and acquired more games. A realistic thing.

We strive to complete our collection of Russel Hobbs appliances with the acquisition of a slow cooker (good), coffee machine(very good) and cookie maker (Evil)

Lan gameage occured in which my mastery of the counterstrike shotgun was established (Head shot at 100 paces anyone) Good thing for me, bad thing for everyone else, especially people on the same team.

Other than that not a whole lot has happened.

That is all

(P.S. there might be movie reviews coming in future)

Stuff

2006-06-06T16:20:00.000+02:00

not a whole lot has happened recently.

I've made a few posts on dodgy haiku.

played a lot of dungeon siege

and bought a house.

that is all

Woohoo, the car has returned

2006-06-01T10:58:00.000+02:00

So, after all the crap with the insurance/towing/incorrect panelbeater, I finally have my car back. And more importantly, it's fixed and runs as well now as it did before the prang. This is a good thing.

Also, DS2 is pure unadulterated evil in code form. If you could turn it into a drug you'd make a fortune. And now I find out that there is an expansion due for release in August. This makes me happy.

That is all

Dungeon Siege 2 Ate my Weekend

2006-05-29T11:22:00.000+02:00

SO, I got my new PC. I put it together, installed all the drivers, windows, office, I-tunes, and Dungeon Siege 2.

Then my weekend disappeared.

News

2006-05-24T09:44:00.000+02:00

Yes it's a boring title. But then this will probably be a boring post.

First: House. Still no news, but we should hopefully know in the next week or so. Then we can go buy another place. Yay.

Second: Car. This be a long story that I don't feel like going into now. On the plus side, it is now at the correct panelbeaters and is busy getting fixed. On the down side, said panelbeaters do not have courtesy cars and it will take another 2 and a half weeks. So transport is an issue, but I'll make a plan.

Third: No painting has happened, but hopefully I'll get back into it and start making progress on the new years resolution. currently at 3 painted 20 bought.

Fourth: so I couldn't hit the target weight before the wedding, but i will still be trying. I don't like being 3 figures.

Finally: I'm getting a new PC today. Woohoo. Games here I come. First on the list is Dungeon Siege 2. Also on the list is Shadowforce 2. I have a demo for this and will be trying it before I go with the whole purchase thing.

That is all

The saga of Woodlands Gardens

2006-05-18T12:06:00.000+02:00

So, the saga of Woodlands Gardens is coming to a close. While it was amusing to read about and cathartic to write about, it was not an enjoyable experience.

However, we should be able to get out of the contract with no loss, and we have learnt our lesson. No more buying off plan.

So now, we are going to be looking for a place that is already built, and we will see what happens.

Fucking Insurance companies

2006-05-17T13:04:00.000+02:00

AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is all

new and exciting stuff

2006-05-11T16:14:00.000+02:00

For those few of you who don't know. I have a Deviant Art account. this allows me to post some stuff that you may find interesting. Specifically, some photo's from the recent honeymoon to Argentina. (No, not that sort of photo, get your minds out of the gutter. Like I would ever share those. They're mine I tell you, all mine... Muahahahaha...)

Got a bit carried away there. But back to the post, I am going to be gradually uploading the best shots from the trip, so keep an eye on the page. If you're lucky, some of them might even get borders.

More news tomorrow.

That is all

I'm Back

2006-05-10T14:02:00.000+02:00

just a quick post to let the people know that I am back in the land of the internet connection (read: at work) and regular programming will be resuming shortly.

I'm still standing

2006-04-05T13:40:00.000+02:00

Yes, I am still alive, despite what the activity on my blog says.

so this is just a quick update to tell you not to expect any more updates until the middle of may.

That is All

Birthday

2006-03-31T08:25:00.000+02:00

Yes, today I stopped being 26, a shitty number with nothing going for it, and became 27 which is three cubed, and is altoghether a whole lot cooler.

CMON update

2006-03-16T14:02:00.000+02:00

Right, so now that the comptition at Wyrd Miniatures is done, I have posted my entry on CMON. I think I am slowly getting better, but my resolution doesn't care about what I think now does it.

anyway, the assassin is here.

Enjoy

Traffic orifices

2006-03-15T14:10:00.000+02:00

After some particularly annoying dealings with traffic orifices and security guards this weekend, I have made a startling realisation. They are all part of one giant alien organism. Similar to the borg or the buggers. except, they're fucking stupid. It's like this alien being is trying to control thousands of independant entities with a single braincell with ADD. This at least explains the cockup they make of whatever they are doing. It also explains why when there is clearly a problem on the road, they sit in the cars doing nothing. They are waiting for instructions from the hivemind.

Friday and F1

2006-03-10T12:49:00.000+02:00

So, a few more haikus have appeared here. I can't take sole credit for these, but that's Ok.

Also I have managed to get somebody who is willing to help me out with the painting goals, so I must just make sure to pick something to paint this weekend and at least get it prepared.

The remainder of the weekend is pretty busy. Movies tonight, Wedding Jobs on saturday, and sunday is just full of stuff, with a lunch for the GP start and the Bryan Adams concert. It is amazing how quickly this has arrived, but I am really looking forward to it.

Hoping to have some more updates on Monday, but we will see how the weekend progresses.

That is All

Little Mans

2006-03-09T10:36:00.000+02:00

So, more little mans was played last night, and after a poor showing by Ripley's Minions previously, they managed two wins last night. Although they are a small gang, my concern is that they are starting to become quite hardcore.

The Giant Pansies continued there outstanding run of form with 2 losses. However, most of them are also slowly picking up experience, and with a massive nine members are going to start to be a real problem.

The sneaky gits started last night. This is a gang I plan to build up, only recruiting juves and possibly a heavy or two depending on how things go. They had a pretty bad run to begin with. With a total of three members, one died, and had to be replaced immediately. The other two got some interesting skills, and we will see how they do as things procede.

A point I must mention. The games played did not really favour the larger gangs, but rather the small gangs with lots of experience, hence the reason Ripley's Minions did so well.

Next week however, I think the Sneaky Gits and Giant Pansies may team up and ambush Ripley's Minions. Should be interesting.

I'm too lazy too think up a title for this one

2006-03-06T13:16:00.000+02:00

So, an eventful weekend. Braai on Friday night, which was amusing. Although I did get much berated for forgetting about the kebabs and allowing them to burn. Oh well, next time will be better.

Hobby-X, which will never be visited again, may as well have been called Scrap-X, or Crap-X as it will henceforth be called because of the sheer amount of scrapbooking crap that was available. Oh, and ironing board covers. In fact, the 15 minutes I spent in the PC shop atNorthgate was more enjoyable and interesting than the entire expo.

Saturday night was supposed to be movies, but ended up as dinner instead. Sushi was had. This was good.

Sunday, lots of wedding jobs completed, infinite wedding jobs remain.

No scoreboard update today as nothing has changed.

In unrelated news, my PC went boom. This is incredibly unfortunate timing. on the plus side though, it does mean that I will be able to replace it with a machine that can run Dungeon Crack. Maybe this is not a good thing.

As a result of red wine and dodgy conversation, we have started a Haiku blog. It can be found here Updates will be infrequent at best and nonexistent at worst. but it should at least prove vaguely amusing.

That is all.

The weekend approaches

2006-03-03T13:18:00.000+02:00

Once again Friday has arrived. They seem to get here with alarming frequency. At least this weekend isn't abnormally busy. In fact, I may have some free time scheduled between 12:00 and 12:15 on sunday. Let's hold thumbs.

In other news. it's the hobby expo this weekend. I'm going to go and see what it's about, and then come home and start a one man crusade against the horrors of scrapbooking. But, if they have a lightcube, I may be a little more tolerant.

I also submitted my entry to the Femme fatale miniature contest it will be easy to spot by virtue of being the worst one there. once the contest is over it will be posted on CMON.

I might also be going to movies this weekend. Let us hope that it is better than the last POS film I saw. In fact, it's hard to imagine how it could be worse.

That is all.

Movie Review: Aeon Flux

2006-03-02T15:17:00.000+02:00

Short Review: I wanted to pull my eyeballs out and stuff my ears with them
addendum: So did everybody else.

Long review. It was bad. Now I've seen some real stinkers in my time and pride myself on being able to take enjoyment from even the dodgiest of films. Not this one. Between spending time with my family and rewatching Aeon Flux. i'd definitely pick the former.

I can't decide what was worse. The terrible costumes, wooden acting, lack of plot, or the directors ADHD. If I was forced to single one out, the director would be it. If the film ran more smoothly it may have been easier to watch, but no, it was like a ferret confronted with an array of flashing lights. "oooh oooh, the red on, no the green onem no the blue one, poing"

In conclusion, I think that films like this should be banned under the cruel and unusual punishment of the Geneva convention. Not only was it abysmal, but I paid to see it. Maybe I can stop this madness, but judging from the large amount of people in the theatre it's too late.

That is all.

Monday update time

2006-02-27T09:14:00.000+02:00

So, another weekend has past. Man these things just disappear, and it appears that Monday is upon us. This weekend was a little busy with Mike and Francis' engagement dinner on Friday, much running around and organising on Saturday morning. More Little mans on Saturday afternoon. Takeaways and "The Terminal" on saturday night. Homemakers Expo on Sunday Morning. Painting of Little mans and cricket on sunday afternoon and more takeaways on Sunday night. Man just typing all that made me exhausted.

Dinner at Wombles was great. Definitely the best steak around, and the leftovers make really good sandwiches.

Got some wedding and other stuff done saturday morning, including tickets for Mama Mia. Should be interesting.

Little mans on Saturday afternoon was a bit of a mixed bag. 1 win, 1 loss. oh well, at least it was a win. This was for the paint and play league, so I'll get an update of that on the games club website soonish.

"The terminal" was actually pretty enjoyable. Instead of Tom Hanks pplaying an annoying American, he played an annoying Krakhozian. an improvement, but the movie was still worth watching.

The Homemaker's expo was very useful if you have a place that's built and wnat to put more stuff in it. Not quite so useful when your place is still a patch of empty ground. Still there were some good ideas, and we may be able to do something with the vast expanse of balcony.

Cricket: Yay we won. Painting - finished another model, but can't put pictures up as I am going to enter it into a competition. will keep you updated on how the comp goes and when I can put the pics up on CMON.

And the regular Monday Scoreboard

1: Back to 99kg. not great, but at least it's double figures again.
2: Painted 3 - Bought 16. Yay, I'm closing the gap. Also started painting the enforcers, so that should keep me out of mischief for a while.
3: Will have to wait for the comp to end, but this one should crack the 5 barrier.
4: the fantasy league started and the 40k league starts on saturday, so the club seems to be coming right slowly.

That is all.

Little mans and weekend update

2006-02-24T14:15:00.000+02:00

So little mans was played on Wednesday (Necromunda just in case you were wondering) and I have decided to start writing up the battles. In time there will be pictures to go with, but that will only be once the models are painted. The write-up is included at the bottom of this post.

This weekend is again hectic, with so much stuff planned that I can't remember all of it. oh well, guess I'll just have to go with the flow. Report back/scoreboard on Monday, and maybe even a website update or two, provided we have power over the weekend.

On with the report

Date: 220206
Encounter: Goliath (Giant Pansies) + Van Saar (Ripley’s Minions)
Patrol Members: Sergeant Dirty Harry
Enforcer Sledgehammer
Enforcer John McClane
Enforcer Vic Mackey
Handler Eddie Munroe
K-9000

Report
On a routine patrol we came across a gang fight between Ripley’s Minions and a new Goliath gang we have not encountered before. Immediately we set about to quell the unrest, even if it meant breaking a few heads.

Immediately Enforcers McClane and Mackey were dispatched to protect our left flank from the Goliath gang. Enforcer Sledgehammer provided cover fire, while Sergeant Harry and Handler Munroe and his cyber mastiff took the right flank, facing Ripley’s Minions. Those Goliaths must know about tunnels under the area, as one appeared right in front of us. Handler Munroe responded by unleashing the mastiff, which managed to dispatch the ganger. Enforcer McClane also dispatched one of the Goliath’s with his trusty combat shotgun upon which they fled the scene.

Enforcer Sledgehammer provided covering fire, and with an excellent shot prevented Ripley’s Minions’ heavy from reaching a firing position. We weathered a hail of fire, but continued our advance. The cyber mastiff was set on one of Ripley’s minions who had achieved a forward position and was drawing aim. He too was swiftly dispatched. The mastiff however fell casualty during its next assault. We request that another one be dispatched ASAP as it has proved most useful. Enforcer Sledgehammer managed to wound another one of the Van Saar’s preventing us from being surrounded. Finally, Sergeant Harry managed to grapple with the gang member that destroyed K-9000 and dispatched him with a well placed blow from his power maul. At this point Ripley’s Minions disappeared into the underhive leaving behind two bodies.

We succesfully quelled the unrest while sustaining no injuries, although the loss of K-9000 seems to have affected Handler Munroe. I am sure, though, that a new cyber mastiff for him to train while snap him out of his depression.

Signed:
Dirty Harry (Sergeant)

People are funny

2006-02-22T15:38:00.000+02:00

So, we have these people that we visit, and they stay in an uber-dodgy area. The sort of area that if you pulled into accidentally, you'd handbrake turn and drive straight out. Now about a month ago we went for a braai, and told them that we were unhappy parking the car on the driveway, which is not fenced off, and is effectively just a spot to get your car off the road. The impression I got from them was that I was being completely paranoid. The exact response was "Can't you just bring the older car?"

Now, what the fuck. So, if something happens it will be okay because it was the cheaper of the two vehicles, never mind the fact that we can't afford to replace either of them, so they are both effectively priceless. Now, I want someone to visit me, and they say they're not happy parking their car outside, I'll move mine onto the road so they can park in the garage. If only so that at least if anything happens it's to my car. So anyway, we go, fortuneately nothing happens to the car.

Now earlier this week, I went round again, and the intercom had been stolen. Yes, that's right, the little white box that you speak into had been ripped off the wall. I then find out that someone tried to break into their garage just after they moved in, but before I voiced my concerns. And they wonder why I don't spend more than half an hour there.

Monday, and another week begins

2006-02-20T11:37:00.000+02:00

So, this weekend was interesting. No electricity so that kind of sucked, but otherwise it was interesting.

Watched Mindhunters. Man this was really good. A nice edge-of-your-seat thriller with a fair amount of gore thrown in. Definitely worth watching. And Kim agrees. So that just proves that it's not one of my dodgy movies.

Scoreboard time.

I have decided that this whole scoreboard thing is getting depressing. This is more because of the vast number of wedding jobs that are being completed, leaving little to no time for scoreboard related stuff to be done. So, an additional goal has been added. Goal 5 - get everything ready in time for the wedding.

So, onto the scoreboard.

Goal 1 - Well the diet has been on hold for 2 weeks, and the scale has decided to start pissing me off again by showing three figures. Aaaarrrrgghhhh. Diet begins again today.
Goal 2 - Mini's bought 16. Mini's painted 2. Mini's ready to be painted - 8. Mini's that need to be painted to be entered into a competition that I have no chance of winning - 1. We'll see how that one goes.
Goal 3 - the 6 is not going to happen any time soon, but hopefully, I can crack a five with the next one.
Goal 4 - Again, nothing has happened here. I feel bad as I really should have updated the site over the weekend. Perhaps I'll do it tonight.
Goal 5 - Wedding Jobs completed. This past week, the following was accomplished. Passport collected. Honeymoon Booked and paid for. wedding shoes bought, waistcoats and cravats chosen, and stones washed. Yes, I know the stones don't mean anything now, but they will. New list of jobs. Too long to mention.

Also, got some more stuff uploaded to Deviant art. Check it out, leave comments, and let me know just how sucky my compositions are.

That is all.

Boredom, The Friday edition

2006-02-17T11:01:00.000+02:00

So, After a brief flurry of activity, there is not a whole lot to blog about today.

I haven't done any painting, web design, or anything else of real consequence this week. It's actually been quite pleasant. Although having said that, this weekend has become fairly busy. Nothing really planned, just a lot of stuff to do.

Hopefully, I'll be able to make a start on my Enforcer's, they're just primed at the moment. I have much shopping, to be done, and I have some work to do on a website. On top of all this I need to find time to relax. Not much chance of that happening.

Anyway. There will be another scoreboard update on Monday, hopefully with something worthwhile to report.

That is All

I have become a deviant

2006-02-14T09:38:00.000+02:00

So, following much pressure from certain people, I have decided to start sharing some of my poor photography skills with the rest of the world. Fortuneately, I have already inflicted my badly painted miniatures on people, so this has to be an improvement.

so with that. there are some decent pics up on my deviant art page, and I have become a random deviant art trawler. oh well, so much to see, and so little time.

That is all

10km races and other madness

2006-02-13T14:45:00.000+02:00

So, as expected, it rained on the Valentines 10 km night race, although this did not prevent us from taking part. Considering I have not managed to do any serious exercise since the race last year, and I still managed a better time, I don't feel too bad. 71 minutes for 10km. I don't think that's too bad. of course, the not being able to walk for the next two days was not pleasant, but it's all good.

In other news, picked up the models I ordered at the beginning of the year. More Necrromunda stuff. It's such a bonus. Now I have Enforcers and Delaque. So the one gang is corrupt law enforcement types, and the other is sneaky underhanded spying types. man you gotta love the game. The enforcers are all going to get cop names from movies, things like Dirty Harry, Alex J. Murphy, Sledgehammer. That sort of thing. And the Delaque are all going to be named after second rate mobsters, like Jimmy "the tulip" Tudeski, and Mickey Blue. Going to start painting the Enforcers as soon as they are primed. Spent yesterday getting all the weapons to fit and removing mold lines. Hoping to prime them tonight, if the weather plays along.

Also saw Dreamer. Quite a good movie. I might decide to do a longer review at some point. but the short versions are I enjoyed it, and Kim enjoyed it. Not really my normal sort of movie, but definitely a feel good movie, and it was what I was in the mood for.

And now, the moment none of you have been waiting for. Scoreboard update

1) Took a week off from the diet, and still only at 99kg. Woo hoo. Back on diet this week though
2) Minis painted 2, Minis bought 16. But I now have plans as I have finally received the ones I bought.
3) Well, I actually have to paint something new before this one goes anywhere
4) The club looks like it might get off the ground. Need to update the website though.

That is all

Aay-yi-yi-yi it is a friday

2006-02-10T16:36:00.000+02:00

I feel the title deserves some explanation. The rude awakening plays a friday song. Normally, I sleep through it, but today for some inexplicable reason I was awake and the song got stuck in my head. So I have been whistling it all day long.

In other news. I am getting some more little mens this weekend. This will help in the Necromunda evening I plan on having regularly. More details to follow.

Also on the cards for the weekend is to be doing a 10 km walk/crawl/fall over and beg for someone to end my suffering tonight. This is maybe not such a good idea, but we will see whether I can walk tomorrow or not.

Possible movies tomorrow, although, every time I think movies are going to be happening something gets in the way.

And finally, another scoreboard update on Monday. Hopefully this time there will be something to report.

That is all

Nothing much happened, and yet I feel compelled to blog about it

2006-02-08T16:42:00.000+02:00

Well, seeing as I am starting to be known for inane prattle, I figured why stop now.

So, I thought I'd check on the progress of our house with the developers today. Turns out it won't be ready before November. This is good as it allows us more time to save money for furniture. This is bad as it means another year that we have to store the stuff we already own. Oh well. I guess it means a quiet christmas in our new place could be expected, maybe, if the rain stops, and the builders hold to a deadline, and .....

In other news. The models that I bought are going to be collected over the weekend. Woo Hoo. Time to get motivated to do some painting and bring that score up. Also going to play some Necromunda tonight, so that should hopefully get me some reports to write up for the campaign.

That is all

Random Weekend Stuff

2006-02-06T17:09:00.000+02:00

So the weekend was amusing.

much pizza was consumed, a couple of warhammer games were played, and a new watering hole was located. This is known as Q. ba. It is very news cafe like, but so much more casual.

Then, I spent much time putting together a website for this guy I know. You can check it out here. This was actually a lot of fun, but I realise I need to know a lot more web code than I do now. I also have to learn how to use photoshop, corel, and other graphics programmes if I want to do better sites. But, it looks like I may actually start getting people to pay, even if it's not a whole lot.

And now, Scoreboard update:
Point 1. down to 99kg. It's so good to look at the scale and see double figures again.
Goal 2. still only painted 2 mini's. but I haven't bought anymore, and the ones that I did buy are arriving on Saturday. yippee.
Goal 3. Well, the grimlock trooper went downhill quite badly. However, it still brought my ranking up another 3 places. solwly I will gain on the top positions.
Goal 4. The necromunda campaign died a horrible death, so I think I'll just run this one privately. The 500point fantasy league looks like it will do quite well. otherwise, the site is still lacking content, but hopefully that will sort itself out soon enough.

That is all

Another fun filled weekend ahead

2006-02-03T07:57:00.000+02:00

It's truly amazing how quickly the weeks pass. But then, the weekends go by even faster. Again, my weekend is full of things to do and people to visit, but at least this time I am not filled with a sense of dread.

In other news, one of the guys at CMON has decided to start doing commission work and selling painted miniatures. I offered some help, and this is what I have come up with. It's not yet finished, and it was done in just over an hour, so it does still need some work, particularly in matching the colours properly. However, if you guys would take a look and let me know what you think. It's here

Again, the scoreboard will be updated on Monday, and hopefully this time the number of painted mini's will increase, but we will see what interferes in this glorious plan.

That is all

Stress relief is a wonderful thing

2006-02-01T10:49:00.000+02:00

So after seeing this comment on Satan's poodle it was decided that flame grilled jesus freak was the order of the day. As a result, this guy was born. He is an outlet for frustration and other such venting that can be used with impunity.

See his first post on the comments on this blog. And if any of you have anything you wish to add, or anyone you wish to grill, let me know and I am sure it can be arranged.

Defending the Caveman and other fun stuff

2006-01-30T13:53:00.000+02:00

So, we went to watch "Defending the Caveman" this weekend, and were both astonished at how accurate it was. It was hysterically funny though, but both Kim and I found ourselves going, "we've had that discussion."

We reckon that had we seen this show when we started dating, it probably would have saved us a few arguments, but then, we probably would not have found the show as funny as we did.

The Sunday braai was a lot less painful than I expected. In fact it was almost pleasant. Hopefully this trend will continue.

Scoreboard Time

1: Down to 100kg. only 7 more to go.
2: Still painted 2 bought 16, so no change here.
3: The grimlock trooper is sitting on 5 after the weekend. This does not bode well for breaking the 5 barrier. It's current score is

4: The games club website is now running, but it still needs a few more tweaks. of course, I'm going to need content for those pages, but that should happen soon.

Friday and the weekend is upon us

2006-01-27T16:07:00.000+02:00

All I have to say is TFIF.

Although, this weekend is going to be a little busy. Movies tonight, Defending the Caveman tomorrow and then a birthday braai for my niece on Sunday. I'm going to be happy to get back to work just to have a rest.

Scoreboard update on Monday.

That is All

Diet news and other boring stuff

2006-01-25T15:30:00.000+02:00

So, the diet took a bit of a hit last night. The craving for Pizza does that. But on the plus side....nope there isn't one. Back on the diet from today.

Managed to get 50 votes on the undead pirate, so it now contributes to my ranking on CMON. Moved me five spaces up the rankings, so instead of being the 10th worst ranked painter, I am now the 15th worst ranked painter. Improvement.

The website continues to the point of completion. Should be done fairly soon, and with the launch of the WFB league and the Necromunda campaign, the club should start coming right soon.

Anyway, nothing else interesting to say so...

That is All.

Scoreboard

2006-01-23T15:58:00.000+02:00

Scoreboard time

Goal 1: Current weight 101kg. loss 2kg, 8kg to go. "I'm on my way, from misery to happiness today." (ten points for the song title and artist)

Goal 2: Minis painted 2. Mini's bought 16. Net -14. Hmm, still losing here, but at least I have got back into the habit. you can see the latest one here.

Goal 3: I thought the undead pirate had a good shot at breaking 5, but it looks like I was wrong. It's currently at

Hopefully the new one can do it. Its at

Goal 4: Well, the website is going slower than planned, but it should come together any day now. busy trying to get a decent background image, and I need to finish the content on all the pages. but that should hopefully be done tomorrow.

In other news, our house is not even at the ground having been cleared stage, but some of the others are finished. So we snuck in with a tape measure so we could se if our furniture would fit. Man I love corel draw. So, after messing around with scale models of couches and bookshelves and stuff, we decided that we need to buy a PC stand, smaller couches and a smaller bookshelf, along with myriad other things. At least we should still have a long time.

That is all

Treachery and other things

2006-01-21T07:44:00.000+02:00

Yes, for the first time ever it's six in a row.

But onto the matter at hand. I play a strategy game by email, it's kind of fun, and up to this point in the current game I was in a pretty strong position, sure of my allies and basically gearing up to send an invasion force across the map.

I looked at the current turn, see two of my allies have cancelled their alliances and massed troops on my border. Now the fun begins. hehe.

There will be a scoreboard update on Monday along with a new mini at CMON. Hope you all have a good weekend.

That is All

Friday is the best day

2006-01-20T14:39:00.000+02:00

So. Five in a row. Will wonders never cease.

Once again the whole lose weight get fit thing is taking a bit of a hit with squashing not happening last night due to work. But, I decided to swim when I got home. 50 lengths of the pool. Admittedly it is only a 10m pool, but 50 laps still sounds impressive. I'm hoping to be up to 100 laps by the end of the month.

Painted another mini last night, so the scoreboard tally goes up. Painted 2 bought 16. Still a minor discrepency, but we can fix that soon. The picture will go up on monday. Maybe it will get a better score than the undead pirate, but I'm not counting on it.

As far as the club website goes, I'll finish it up this weekend, all ready for the grand launch on Monday. or at least, that's what I'm saying now. This could all change with how I feel tomorrow.

That is All.

Even I don't believe it's four in a row

2006-01-19T12:56:00.000+02:00

So I thought I may have to give today a skip as I wouldn't be able to find anything newsworthy, but then, the friendly folks at CMON came through.

This is a andy guide for anyone who frequents forums, especially tech related ones.

I have yet to find the picture that describes me and hopefully I won't but maybe you guys can. I did find the one that nails hokemon. It's this one.

hehe.

On the scoreboard front, the club website will not be finished tomorrow, but should be done by monday. After faffing around last night, I managed to get a logo idea, Now if only I could find a decent picture of a dice with a three on it I'd be sorted. We will overcome.

That is all.

The amazing run of news continues

2006-01-18T10:34:00.000+02:00

So, bet you never thought you'd see three in a row again, but here it is.

So squashing yesterday was a complete blowout, and instead we sat and had a drink. On top of this I went past Woolies and bought chips as I had a shitty day. So that would be blowing the diet right out of the water.

But, after showering, I thought, hey, let's see if this whole starving myself kick is working, and low an behold the scale showed up at 102 kg.

W00t. a loss. yes, so the plans seem to be making progress.

I also managed to get some painting done on Monday night, and should be able to hopefully get that model close to completion tonight, which will be a real bonus. And the Undead pirate looks to be the highest score yet. Still only on 10 votes, and will need to get the number of votes to 50, but It's a start.

In other news, apparently Mintek is thinking of changing one of the tennis courts to a basketball and rollerhockey court. Should this happen, the purchase of roller blades will be mandated. Then I may even consider going on the skate park which has many sharp corners, after all, my medical aid is paid up.

Two in a row

2006-01-17T13:09:00.000+02:00

So, I managed two posts in a row. After recovering from the massive shock that this will have given you, you can see why.

So, I have decided to try and be a little more consistent with my posting, and will attempt to post every weekday. A noble ambition, especially given previous promises, but we will see.

So having now set out the scorecard and decided that this is the way to go, I immediately found new miniatures that I want to buy. Fortuneately, I don't have the cash to spend on acquiring large amounts of lead at the moment, so this should be able to wait for a while.

But I have now decided on ways to achieve the goals that were set out previously.

Goal 1. Well I have started on one of these body for life type programs, but am failing to put the exercise thing into practice, mainly because I cherish the hour of sleep from 5:15 to 6:15, and removing that to exercise is not necessarily a wise option. However, we are planning to start squashing, so hopefully that will kick the exercise regime into place.
Goal 2. This is a little more tricky and is going to rely on me getting home at a reasonable hour from work. I am going to try paint for at least 1 hour twice during the week and try and get a good couple of hours in over the weekend.
Goal 3. Well this one is going to require me to practice new methods. Hopefully, If I paint on a consistent basis, my skill will improve and the scores will show that.
Goal 4. This should be fairly straightforward. Get the website up and running, and then from there just make sure to update it consistently.

well, now we have the goal and the plan. Anyone willing to offer me odds on whether I make any of them?

A new year, and new plans

2006-01-16T12:09:00.000+02:00

So it has been a while since I made any reasonable sequence of posts. This I am hoping to change. They may not be long or humorous, but at least they will be plentiful.

First thing. I have decided to keep a scorecard for new years resolutions. This is only possible with the tangible ones, but by a sheer conincidence, all my resolutions have tangible outputs. Yay.

Right - the resolutions are

1. To lose 10kg by the wedding, and then keep the weight off for the rest of the year. (The exact output of this may change if I find that my weight is staying the same, but I can get into smaller clothes)

2. To paint more miniatures than I buy. I say this every year, and every year I fail. Maybe I can pull it off this time.

3. To get a mini rated above 6 on CMON. This means I am going to have to improve my painting standard. If by some miracle this happens soon, I'll revise the score.

4. To run a campaign and league at Three Plus and possibly a few other events to try and get some interest in the club going. This is a little more intangible, but at least I have started by putting the website together. Check it out and leave comments here. Three Plus

So, current scores are

Weight 103 kg. Weight lost 0.
Mini's painted 1, mini's bought 16 (I see I am already off to a bad start with this one)
Current score of most recently posted mini , which can be seen here
Games club, well the website needs to be up and running by this weekend so I can go and talk to some people at the club.

The New years Scoreboard will be updated about twice a month, maybe more frequently if anything significant happens.

Merry Christmas

2005-12-23T08:44:00.000+02:00

So, having not been updating recently for many resons. I decided that I had better do something about it before christmas.

So here's a quick message

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

See you all in 2006

HTML

2005-11-28T17:58:00.000+02:00

So, after much frustration with tables in NVU, which is a nice open source html editor, I decided to start using notepad. So I got a book, and sat down on Sunday to see what I could get done.

What I managed can be found here

Hopefully, this will be the site for the wargames club. Please let me know what you think, either in the shoutbox on site, or on the comments page here.

In addition, my webpage will be completely done come January, complete with eeyore pictures and all.

That is all.

Kalahari and customer service

2005-11-25T13:18:00.000+02:00

So, after reading about Chris' trials and tribulations with Take 2, (read about it here). It was with some surprise that I opened my kalahari parcel and found that there was one item missing.

So I duly phone them. They take my complaint and the guy says he'll check with the warehouse, and if it's in stock they'll ship it straight away, for free, gratis and for nothing.

Sure enough, a short while later, they phone me back, (yes, I was very surprised by this after dealing with some other incompetent people like the GPF)

Advertising, the good and the bad

2005-11-24T11:36:00.000+02:00

So, I was sitting down watching TV last night, and an ad comes up. Not just any ad. but an ad that almost had me rolling on the ground with laughter, and this is inspite of having seen this on numerous occasions. The ad in question, was for Sasol with the child at the wedding. Now this got me thinking about good and bad ads that have been seen.

For Sasol this was another in their line that started with the kid and the toy car. Still one of my favourite. Nice to see that they got away from trying to promote their brand and went back to trying to sell petrol.

Standard Bank is a bit of a hit or miss affair, with their 101% South African ads holding both places. The Pirates/Chiefs one is great, but the camping with the spit braai leaves a lot to be desired, still, at least they are making an impression.

Another one with hit or miss tendencies is Musica. The current incarnation with the snowman decoration setting the christmas tree alight brought much laughter the first second and third time that it was viewed. Not sure how much longer it will last, but I love christmas, so I think this one may have some longevity.

Another series of ads that is amusing when you are not sitting next to women that know you, is the ads for temptations lingerie stores. whoever came up with that concept is having a great time with the ads.

Of course, no discussion of ads would be complete without the brilliance that is Nando's. I look forward to any of their new ads. It's a pity this eagerness doesn't translate into wanting their food.

At the moment, there are also some pretty dismal ads. Who would have thought that an ad with Can-Can girls would be boring and annoying. I certainly wouldn't, and I guess the execs at Puma thought it would work too. It doesn't. Maybe if they had dancing girls only wearing shoes, it might work better. Of course, one could argue that the mere fact that I am discussing this ad means it worked, but I am never going to own a pair of Puma's, so that would counter it.

That is all.

More randomness

2005-11-14T15:36:00.000+02:00

Well, It's been a while and I have pages to post, and not enough time to make them. So i figure I'll start with something small.

Idiots on Motorbikes.

Now admittedly, I'm not the best driver, but something about motorbikes really makes me want to open my door as they come past. For instance, yesterday, we're driving along Rivonia Road, when this guy comes past us on the inside, overrevving something horrible and then slamming on brakes at the robot.

OK, he's in a hurry, but his motorbike sounds like a 50cc offroader. The light turns green, he screams off, the engine whining at this treatment, only to come to a stop 500m down the road at the next red light. We calmly take off, accelerate to about 40 and still have to wait next to him.

We take this opportunity to look at the bike. It's a Suzuki 250cc. Hmm. He's really fucked his bike up then for it to sound like that. Anyway, the light turns green, and you can see the light ahead is red, but this doesn't stop him from haring off again, and us catching him at the next light. This went on until we turned off the road, but if we haven't, we probably would have managed to stay next to him the whole way home.

Been a while since my last post

2005-11-03T17:05:00.000+02:00

Well, the whole promise to update daily really didn't work out. This is because I have been working on a website, which finally has some content, so I don't feel bad about unveiling it.

Most of the links don't work yet, but there are some photos from our last trip to hermanus.

http://www.gazandkim.com/

Please comment on what you like and more importantly, comment on what you think is ghastly.

Have fun

Smoothie of the week

2005-10-28T15:32:00.000+02:00

These are becoming fewer and further between, so this could well be the last.

Chocbanana shake.

1 banana
milk
ice cream
chocolate syrup

Throw in smoothie maker. blend until smooth. For a little something extra, throw in some Peanut butter as well.

Clubbing Feedback

2005-10-27T07:49:00.000+02:00

So last night was my first night out clubbing in what must be at least 2 years. And it brought a few things to light. Some good, some bad. Lets start with the good.

Good thing 1: After some reminiscing about the evil nights involving much alcohol, I am quite glad to have left those behind. And more than a little surprised that I actually survived them all.

Good thing 2: The band was pretty cool. Difficult to describe, but clever lyrics and catchy chorus lines seemed to be the order of the day. They do apparently have a website, but I can't find it or the link, maybe fractional haggis or bits-o-cat(tm) will help me out.

Good thing 3: The chip sauce at Cool Runnings is still the best sauce ever. I wish they would bottle it and sell it.

Now onto the bad things.

We'll start with Cool Runnings.

Bad Thing 1: Now, the service at Cool Runnings never was the quickest, but it seems to have gotten exponentially slower since the last time I was there. Maybe it is the same speed and I had consumed less alcohol and so was able to notice the ineptitude.

Bad Thing 2: Cool Runnings is traditionally the haunt of the stoner varsity student. This is cool. When we go, and we are the youngest people there by at least 10 years, this is vaguely disturbing. What was more disturbing was that these people all looked like regulars. If I am ever a regular at a dodgy place like that, you have my permission to drag me out into the street and put me down like a rabid dog. I'll deserve it.

Next up, Roxy's.

Bad Thing 3: They have redecorated and done some quite serious alterations. Now Roxy's was always a dodgy student place, and they thrived. They have now decided to become an upmarket trendy Melville joint and redecorated accordingly. It was incredibly disturbing, kind of like meeting a friend you haven't seen for a while and finding out that they had had a sex change. The pool tables were gone, they had put mozaic tile things on the pillars. It was just strange.

Bad Thing 4: The prices at Roxy's have gone up in accordance with there now trendy Melville club image. Two Windhoek's and a Savanna was 40 rand. Now I know you should expect to pay more in a club, but that's ridiculous, and one of the reasons I stopped going to clubs in the first place.

Bad Thing 5: I'd forgotten just how much I love second hand smoke. The breathing it in the club was fine, but the stench of it in my clothes and on my skin was pretty disgusting. It was all I could smell on the way home, and almost interfered with my enjoyment of the Woolies lasagne that was waiting. The clothes still smelt this morning.

So all in all, 3 good things, 5 bad things, the band not being quite as dodgy as I was led to believe, all contributed to it being an enjoyable evening out, but not one I am going to be repeating any time soon. In spite of the encouragement that I may be getting to go to The Doors.

Roxy's Rhythm Bar

2005-10-26T15:26:00.000+02:00

So, it's been a long time since I last went clubbing, with good reason. But tonight, that drought ends. Not only am I going to Roxy's to watch a dodgy band containing one of half-haggis' friends. But I am going to Cool Runnings for a drink first.

Now doesn't that just sound like a regular varsity night.

incidentally, the band is called skyscraper if anyone wants to know.

Bizarre Movie Moments

2005-10-25T08:23:00.000+02:00

So, it's been a while since my last update. Holidays will bring out that sort of lethargy. I am going to try to update the blog every weekday from now on. This does mean that there will be many fewer multiple posts, but that shouldn't be too much of a hardship, after all, who really reads this thing anyway.

So today I was driving to work when they played "Footloose" on the radio, and that got me thinking about the movie, and in particular one scene. No, not Kevin Bacon dancing, although that did make me worry, but the chicken scene with tractors. That was a real WTF moment. I then realised that most movies had them. They are not necessarily the most memorable, or the funniest, but they can be incredibly bizarre.

One of the first WTF moments to spring to mind was the whole "You're to big to fit in here" dance sequence from the movie "The Sweetest Thing". In truth, the whole movie was pretty warped, but that scene stood out the most.

Going through my DVD collection I found the following WTF moments. Short descriptions are given below.

Blade: This had to be the opening scene with the blood from the sprinklers. Yes it was a vampire movie. Yes, I was expecting a lot of blood. Yes, it made a really good entrance sequence to introduce Blade. But, and that's a big but, what kind of a mind comes up with blood coming out of a sprinkler system. That's pretty fucked up.

Evolution: This one is easy, it goes "Ca-caw, Ca-caw". The whole Head and Shoulders enema at the end was also right up there.

Indiana Jones: I'll just take one scene from the movies here. Temple of Doom, when the shaman pulls the still beating heart out of the guys chest and holds it as it bursts into flames.

I can't think of a whole lot more off hand, but I am sure all of you out in internet land can.

That is all

Smoothie of the Week

2005-10-13T08:26:00.000+02:00

Yes, it's a day early, but I am going to be in Hermanus from tomorrow, so I thought in honour of that It would be a sundowner smoothie, otherwise known as a strawberry daquiri.

Fresh Strawberrys
Strawberry juice
Bacard light Rum
Strawberry liqueure
Ice

Proportions, I'll let you decide, I like them strong, others don't. Once again, chuck it all in the blender until smooth. Pour, drink, and repeat until you can't operate the blender anymore. Then mix the Strawberry juice, rum and Liqueure together, pour drink and repeat until you pass out.

Enjoy, and drink responsibly

Africa, what a great place

2005-10-12T14:16:00.000+02:00

So, South Africa doesn't make the World Cup Finals in Germany next year, but Togo does, and its for the first time ever. So what does the government decide to do. They declare Monday a public holiday to celebrate this. Great plan everyone is happy. In fact, it is such a good party that they declare Tuesday a public holiday as well.

Only in Africa

Movie Review: Sin City

2005-10-11T10:39:00.000+02:00

Short Review: Good but very strange
Additional Info: Kim won't like this, Quinn Liked it

Long Review: This is probably the toughest movie to fit into a short review category. When I watched it I enjoyed it, it was a little strange, well actually it was very strange. Despite this I thought it might find a way into my collection. Then having thought about it a bit, I don't know if it is a film that I could watch repeatedly.

The plot isn't so much a single story as a collection of shorts strung together that are only barely related. But then, that is to be expected. The film is incredibly stylised, but this works well. The film has quite a lot of WTF moments, but again, that is to be expected. It is really difficult to categorise this one, but if you are a fan of Tarantino-esque fils, you'll love this.

Movie Review: The Perfect Catch

2005-10-10T13:49:00.000+02:00

Short Review: Good
Additional Info: Kim liked it. Quinn might like it.

Long Review: Well this was your typical romantic comedy. And if you like those this one should go down fairly well. If you don't like "Chick Flicks" then avoid this one like the plague. I found myself identifying with the sports fan far too often for comfort. Just as well I didn't have a popular sport to follow.

There isn't a whole lot else to say about this one, or at least, I can't think of a whole lot else to say. I enjoyed it, and that's what counts.

Smoothie of the Week

2005-10-07T14:41:00.000+02:00

It's Friday again, and that means it's time for the second Smoothie of the Week.

The Quick Breakfast Smoothie (Serves 2)

Milk to cover the blades
2 bananas
Yoghurt

Blend

That's it. Chuck in other stuff if you want to improve it.

Interesting conversations

2005-10-06T13:53:00.000+02:00

So anyway, I've found this interesting online game thing Tactics Arena. It's kind of like chess but more interesting, and you play against real people. so you get to have the odd conversation during the game. Most of the people are annoying thirteen year old kids who have to win and just leave when they are losing, but occasionally you find someone worth playing against.

One of the conversations went something like this

Mumphred: I don't play to win at all costs, I play for fun.
Carlo1968: ah, so you aren't 13 then
Mumphred: What gave it away?
Carlo1968: The ability to form complete sentences.
Carlo1968: Where you from?
Mumphred: South Africa
Carlo1968: Cool, what city, I only know one. We Americans sure are ignorant.

One person like that makes up for any number of annoying kiddies.

If you want to give it a go, look for Mumphred on Great Lakes. That's me.

Celebrity children, you gotta feel sorry for them

2005-10-04T15:29:00.000+02:00

So, as if the children of celebrities aren't going to have a hard enough time, most celebrities decide to really fuck their kids up. This is done at birth, with the name. Just check out this site if you want a really good, "What were they thinking?" moment. it includes such gems as Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa, son of Frank Zappa, and Speck Wildhorse, son of John Mellencamp. Hey, maybe they were bored with the normal names like Frank and John and decided that their kids deserved a more interesting childhood. That must be it.

In the latest round of stupidity, Nicholas Cage has named his son Kal-el. Yes, that's right, Superman's birth name. As if the kid isn't going to have a hard enough time with all the bunny in the box references.

And just in case you thought bad names were limited to celebrities, think again. Not without my handbag is always good for a laugh or 10.

The Saga of the House continued

2005-10-03T14:06:00.000+02:00

Ok, so we bought a house from plan. We thought it couldn't be too bad, after all a lot of other people have done it. We thought we would move in in December and everything would be happy.

Then stuff happened, and some more stuff happened. Anyway, this morning there is a fax waiting for me at work telling us that we have to go and choose tiles and carpets for occupation by 1 January 2006. Now we had looked at the property on Sunday and ours hasn't even started yet. Hell if they finish the ones they have started by January 2006 I'll be surprised. So I phone the estate agents, and they say that they sent that fax to everyone, but if you are in phase 3 , which we are, then we don't have to worry about it because she thinks that we will only take occupation in June/July.

At least we get to save more money for furniture before we move in.

Movie Review: Valiant

2005-10-03T11:57:00.000+02:00

Short Review: Meh
Additional Info: Kim thought it was meh, Quinn will probably find it meh.

Long Review: This was watchable and little more. There was very little that was memorable, the plot was fairly basic and the animation was average. With a cast of voices including Ewan McGregor, Tim Curry, John Cleese and Jim Broadbent, you would have thought that it should have been great. Instead it appears that they tried to use wll known actors to cover up for a mediocre script.

The most memorable character in the movie was Rollo, the mouse that was an ecpert in sabotage, but that really was it. There were a few moments that raised mild chuckles, but that really was it. In fact, I can't even bring myself to write a longer review of this one.

Recommendation: I wouldn't bother unless you are really bored and have seen everything else.

Smoothie of the Week

2005-09-30T10:07:00.000+02:00

So for the inaugural Smoothie of the week, I thought something that we struggled to make before the smoothie maker was owned. Kim loves these.

Frangelico Dom Pedro.

Ingredients
Ice-cream (No-fat Frozen Desert works just as well, and it's better for you)
Milk (Also Low Fat because it's better for you)
Frangelico (Ok, so this isn't good for you at all, but damn it tastes nice)

Quantities.
This here is a little off because it depends how you like them. For a thicker Dom Pedro use more ice-cream, for a runnier one use more milk. The amount of Frangelico is also variable depending on whether you want a "Gareth" (3 to 4 tots per dom pedro) A "Gareth lite" (1 to 2 tots) or a "Kim/Kim's mom" (1 tot or less split over 2 dom pedros). Certain things can influence this like how many dom pedro's the "chef" has had.

Method:
This is the easy bit. Stick it all in the smoothie maker, remember to put the runny stuff in at the bottom and the ice cream at the top. Put the lid on, the most important step, switch it on and blend until it looks smooth. Pour into whatever size glass you want and serve with a straw.

Makes a great desert for a Braai.

Variations:
Well, you can pretty much use anything here. Nachtmusic, Kahlua, Brandy, all work well if you are into that sort of thing.
Also nice is strawberry liqueur and strawberry ice cream blend. Although this is more of an alcoholic milkshake than anything else.

Random Thoughts and stuff

2005-09-30T09:43:00.000+02:00

Here's a warning up front. This is likely to be a little disjointed so if you lose the plot or it doesn't make sense. Don't worry about it.

Jo'burg has not had any decent rain yet. This is abnormal. As a result, there is so much dust and crap in the air that it is settling on everything. Now normally this is not a problem, but when the small spattering of drops, that might be considered rain in the desert, descended on Monday night, it took all the dust and concentrated it on my car. This led to me taking it through the Wash-and-Go yesterday. I love these things. I could take my car through them repeatedly just to watch the cleaner things spin. Yes, I know that small things amuse small minds, but I have never claimed otherwise. So now, while my car isn't clean, I can at least see out the back window again. Until this morning. Not only was there a large quantity of dew on my car, but the cat had slid down the back window, so now I have dusty rain drops and two streaks of mud up the middle. I don't know why I bother.

Also, the weather has been a little unpredictable. Winter decided that it wasn't quite done with us, and this morning there was frost on the grass next to my car. Frost, in September. No wonder I'm cold.

The Spelling Nazi (See this post for the cause of this issue) has returned. but this time it is not to nitpick at spelling on my site. Instead it is to do with the phrase "U prolly" which can be seen on his website here. Now isn't it nice to know that the Spelling Nazi has the writing style of a 14-year old AOL script kiddie. I thought that would have been beneath him, but clearly not.

Now that at least two people I know own a smoothie maker (one of which is me), I have also decided to include a smoothie of the week on a Friday. This will not always be healthy and will in some cases be alcoholic, and may not match the definition of smoothie but I will at least like them, and it's my blog so I can do what I want.

Finally, after much talking about commitment man, I am finally going to get around to sketching out some storyboards for Fractional Sheep Gut and Bits-o-Cat to look at. And if I say it here it must be true.

That is all.

Book Review: Thud - Terry Pratchett

2005-09-29T10:33:00.000+02:00

So, I was trying to figure out a way to post comments about this book without sounding like Spriggan and Hokemon did when they read the latest pile of crap that is Harry Potter 6. Then I realised that this wasn't possible because I am a Pratchett Fan boy. This book could have been as bad as HP6, and I would still have enthused about it. So what I decided was that I would rate it relative to other Pratchett books. This should ensure a reasonably fair rating system.

Thud is the thirtieth book in the Discworld series. It is a Watch book, and as a result includes such favourites as Captain Carrot, Sergeant Angua, Nobby, Colon, Detritus and of course Sam Vimes. Also included are a cast of hundreds of miscellaneous Dwarves and Trolls as the book is about the animosity between these races.

I loved it. I thought it was one of the better ones, and in terms of his recent stuff (from The Truth onwards) is better than most. I would put it on the same level as The Truth and Going Postal. Not my favourite, as it will take a lot to knock Small Gods out of that position, but definitely up there in the top five. The book is witty, the plot like most of them is rather broken at first but comes together and ties up most if not all the loose ends.

The main thing that the book made me want to do however is go and get hold of a copy of the game THUD. Also, there is a reference to Poosticks, a common phrase used by Kittychunk to express annoyance.

If you like Pratchett, you'll love this. If you don't like Pratchett, don't waste your time. If you haven't read any Pratchett this is almost as good a place as any to start. And if you haven't heard of Pratchett, it's time to come out from under that rock you've been living and interact with the real world.

Movie Review: Cinderella Man

2005-09-27T08:35:00.000+02:00

Short Review: Great (Not sure how rewatchable it is though)
Addendum: Kim liked this movie, Quinn will probably like it.

Long Review: To be honest, I wasn't expecting much going in. The trailer didn't inspire me to go see this one and if it wasn't for the free movie tickets, I probably wouldnt have seen this until it was on TV. This would have been a real shame. I really enjoyed it, and this means a lot coming from someone who's DVD collection includes such classics as Evolution and Van Helsing.

The plot, while not original, being based as it was on a true story, was realistic, and you cared about the characters. I have watched enough "underdog" films to know that this is a rare thing. Most of the time you root for the underdog just because that is what you do. In this one you root for the underdog because you want him to succeed.

The film isn't really about boxing. It's more about a family man who happens to be a boxer. This is not a bad thing, if like us, you don't really consider boxing a sport. But, what boxing there is has been very well choreographed and you find yourself wanting to cheer every time James Braddock (Russel Crowe) lands a punch.

For a movie set in the Great Depression, this one is surprisingly uplifting. Definitely go see this one. It will be worth it.

Fucking Comment Spam

2005-09-23T11:17:00.000+02:00

I hate it. Damn people have given their spambots Blogger ID's. I apologise to all those four people who actually comment, but you are going to have to use word verification.

Now I wish I knew how to hack.

Movie Review: The Dukes of Hazzard

2005-09-23T10:53:00.000+02:00

Short Review: Good, dodgy, but good.
Additional info: Kim won't like this. Quinn will never admit to liking this.

Long Review: Ok, I enjoyed it. It had car chases, hot woman, and shit blowing up. All the really important elements for a dodgy action comedy. However, it has been pointed out by parties that shall remain nameless, that I have the ability to disengage my brain at will. This is a necessary skill to find the Dukes entertaining. It could be the same reason I find WWE so amusing, or I could just be a dutchman in a really good disguise.

Back to the review, as far as plot, character development and continuity go, there was none. But, as I don't really pay all that much attention to crap like that, it didn't make a whole lot of difference to me. Johnny Knoxville played a womanizing hillbilly, not really a strecthing role. Sean William Scott played a hillbilly in love with his car, also not a stretch. Jessica Simpson played a Blonde Bimbo with a modicum of intelligence. This was probably the most unrealistic portrayal in the whole movie. After all, this is the woman that thought tuna was a type of chicken. But to be fair, she isn't in the movie for her acting, as evidenced by the large number of slow motion entries she has.

The one overriding thought I had while watching the interplay between the Luke and Bo Duke was "Oh my God, that's Ed and John-Roy." If you have no idea who these people are then watch the movie and you'll understand. These are the guys who thought that it would be fun to lick an electric fence. Also of note in the movie was the Armadillo Helmet. If Mel Gibson had've had one of these in Signs, I might have enjoyed that film more.

All things considered, It was enjoyable and I would probably consider watching it again, but I doubt if I'll ever own this one.

The Bunny is back

2005-09-22T11:05:00.000+02:00

The bunny is back, the bunny is back.

I am so happy I do the dance of Joy. (Bonus points if you know where that quotation is from and who says it.)

Food, Hotels and Sunglasses

2005-09-19T12:36:00.000+02:00

I have had the pleaseure of eating 5 meals in good restuarants over the last few days.

First up was Willoughby's in Hyde Park. We went there for Sushi, which as always was excellent. The sushi is right up there with the best I've had, and the value for money is the best around.

Next was lunch at Wombles. This is fast becoming my second favourite restuarant. But I only ever order one thing. Steak. And they do it exceptionally well. Unfortuneately, I now cannot order steak anywhere else as I am invariably disappointed. I couldn't tell you what other food they do, because I never look at the menu.

The next three meals were all at the Westcliff hotel. This was part of a package deal including a night at the hotel, but more on that later. High tea came first. This is incredibly civilised with sandwiches with the crusts sut off, fresh scones and muffins, and numerous sweet things. Kim and I ate ourselves sick, but it was worth it.

Next up Supper at La Belle Terrasse. This is my favourite restuarant for 2 reasons. The food is exceptional, by far the best restuarant I have ever been to. The second reason is sentimental. On to the food. Ostrich carpaccio for starter. Basically, thinly clised raw ostrich with assorted green bits and an interesting balsamic based sauce. Next up was a Kingklip fillet with shrimp and ginger sauce. Oh my God is the only way to describe this. Finally desert was an apple mousse with apple espume. I still don't know what this was, but it too was delicious.

Finally, we had breakfast at the Westcliff. Now this is both Kim and my favourite meal and they sure know how to do it properly. Fresh fruit, shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon, more pastries than you could try never mind actually eat, along with other assorted breakfast items. After eating as much as possible we waddled back to the room and got ready to leave.

Now, about the whole Westcliff experience. Kim happened to see a special at the westcliff and we decided that we could live with slightly less furniture and we booked it. It consisted of three meals, a luxury room and an hour long swedish massage. All I can say about the room is, I could get used to living like that. The bathroom was the same size as our bedroom at home, and the rest is just undisguised opulence. It was a real pity to have to leave when we did. As far as the massage goes, I was a little sceptical at first about the whole massage thing, but now, I think I could get used to it and it could become a reasonably regular occurence, even if I have to go to "the Spa" to get it done.

You would have thought that at this point we had spent enough cash for the weekend, but no. Kim and I decided that we needed new sunglasses, Kim because her old pair was really old, and me as a reward for actually wearing my contact lenses. So, we had a look on Saturday and decided that we could be Oakley people. Sunday came and we went back and had another look, and the Oakleys just didn't suit us, so instead, we are now Ray Ban people, which, we think, is a much better look for both of us.

Tune in later this week for more dull and boring tales

Shameless plug for Me

2005-09-15T11:15:00.000+02:00

So, I've been trying to sort out a hit counter for the site. Why? No reason, I just wanted to see if I could get it to work. So hopefully by the time you read this, there will be one on the sidebar. If not, check back later.

But that's not the plug. This is the plug. As you all should know, I have a stupid hobby. Hobby in that it consumes large amounts of my time and money, stupid because I am not very good at it. But I enjoy it so I persevere. If you don't know what I am talking about, it's miniature wargaming. Or as it has been known, playing with little men. You are supposed to buy models, paint them and then put them on the tabletop and roll dice while moving them around. This doesn't happen for me. I put them on the tabletop, roll dice and then take them off the table again.

But I enjoy it and that's what's important, or so they tell me. Anyway, I am trying to get a ranking on Cool Mini or Not. It's not going to be very good, but I need something to improve from. So go there browse the galleries for images by Hoblit, and vote. Vote once, vote twice, hell vote as many times as you feel you want to. Just a warning, my painting sucks so if I get any votes more than a five, I'll know you are just messing with me. There should be five images, and I need fifty votes on each of them. And if you want to see some good miniature painting just sort all the images by descending score. some of the stuff there is really ipressive.

That is all

Not everything Australian is Bad

2005-09-12T12:10:00.000+02:00

Ah, Australia. The country everybody loves to hate. Well, I suppose the country would be quite nice if it wasn't full of Australians. After much amusement being caused by their poor effort in the Tri-Nations (hehe losing all four games) and their equally dismal performance in the ashes series (first time they are going to lose the ashes in 28 years), you would think that everything coming out of Australia would be abysmal.

But then, enter Tap Dogs. I saw this on the weekend and i was impressed. In fact, I might almost say I was blown away by it. The whole show was really well done, and the guys on stage looked like they were enjoying it, which always makes it better. If you get a chance to see it you should. And try and sit in the front two rows it's just much wetter.

The whole tap dance thing got me thinking. What would possess a guy to take up tapdancing while still at school. As if there aren't enough things to be teased mercilessly about at that age, and then you want to add dancing on to that as well. I can understand doing it once you hit varsity/work and realise that you can meet women this way, but to get to the point where you can perform, you have to do it for many many moons. I suppose, it's a good thing that some people did, otherwise things like Tap Dogs would never have been made.

Pastafarianism, I'm thinking of converting

2005-09-07T12:15:00.000+02:00

The things people do to piss off religious nuts will never cease to amaze me. Take the flying spaghetti monster. Now this is a direct result of interference in the teaching of science at schools by the Kansas School Board.

And hey, this theory is as good as any other. Give it a look, and be sure to check out the game

Just remember, if you find yourself unable to come up with a solution to an ethical or moral problem, just repeat WWFSMD.

That is all

Movie Review: The Longest Yard

2005-09-07T11:23:00.000+02:00

Short Review: Good, will most likely be added to the DVD collection
Additional Rating: Kim enjoyed it, I think Quinn will enjoy it

Long Review: This is a remak of a film that has been remade more than once. And again, a fairly formulaic underdog sporting story. But I like those and it's always nice for the underdog to win. It would appear that I am not the only one as at the end of the game in the movie there was some applause. Why people do this is beyond me, but they are probably the same people who think that Soap Opera's are reality TV shows and the people actually exist. I also thought that putting Adam Sandler and Chris Rock into the same film might be a bit of overkill, but strangely enough, it seems to work. One last thing. The cheerleaders for the prisoners team are very funny, if a little disturbing. If you want a nice mindless film that you'll come out of feeling good about everything, then this one's for you.

Movie Review: Wedding Crashers

2005-09-07T11:07:00.000+02:00

In light of recent disparaging comments made about my DVD collection, by just about everybody who knows me, I have decided to add a second tier to my rating system. (The specific comment was "Gareth, you are going to have the definitive dodgy movie night collection" and this came from the person who owns Stargate)

The additional rating is:

I think Kim will like this
I think Quinn will like this
I think Quinn will like this even though he will tell everyone how bad it is

So on with the review.

Short review: I am definitely going to own this one
Additional Rating: Kim and Quinn will both enjoy this one

Long Review: This one is a romantic comedy of the boy meets girl variety. Fairly formulaic with a few fairly obvious twists. But then, that is a formula that works, and works well. Throw in 2 great comedic actors like Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn and you're all set for much hilarity. My greatest concern about going to see this was that the trailer had given away all the best jokes in the film, but much to my surprise, it hadn't. There's not a whole lot else to say. If you have a significant other, go see this, and if you don't, go watch it anyway. You may pick up a few tips.

Elephants and Lions

2005-09-07T10:46:00.000+02:00

This weekend we decided to go and walk with the elephants. Well we decided about two weeks ago, but it happened this last weekend. The farm is about 45 minutes away up near hartebeesport dam.

We went up bright and early on Sunday and went walking with two elephants, a 17 year old male and a fifteen year old female. You will have all seen the male, he's the elephant in the plascon add that sprays mud on the wall. We walked next to the elephants for about an hour. saw some Zebras, impala, hippo, wildebeest, all from not more than about 20m. They also have a tame Nyala. this thing comes up to you to see if you are carrying food.

Highlight of the walk with the elephants was watching them have a mudbath. I got some great pictures which will be put up at some point.

After that we were taken to see the Lion cubs. They had a 3 month old cub, and 4 three week old cubs. They were the cutest things I have seen and played with, and if it wasn't for the fact that I didn't have a bag big enough to hide them in, I would have tried to take them home. This was something that I am never going to be able to do again, and I would have paid a lot more than I did to do it.

That is all

Not much to say, and a whole blog to say it in

2005-08-30T12:19:00.000+02:00

Well, there have been a few reasons for the lack of anything interesting to say recently. The main one however is this. Be warned that this is incredibly addictive. If you lose much productivity, It's not my fault.

Secondly I have been playing around with blogger to see how it would work for a newsletter for the gaming club that I belong to. If you don't know, and you really should, I am into playing with little men (as Kim puts it) Notably games workshop's Warhammer Fantasy range. The game club is called 3+ and we play at Roosevelt Park Bowling Club. If you pop along on a Saturday you will generally find some games happening.

I have also been looking into running a campaign for the club. This will take much time and effort, and so some time was spent trying to get the damn pictures to load into blogger off my PC. That didn't happen, so instead I had to create an imageshack account. More on both of these once we get them up and running.

Finally, I was shopping for books yesterday, and much happiness and unhappiness was caused by seeing the new book by Robin Hobb, Shaman's Crossing. Happiness because I really like her stuff and she is one of the few fantasy authors that Kim will read. Unhappiness because it is the first book in another trilogy and so much waiting will be occurring. That is now three authors that I have to wait for. Robin Hobb, Terry Pratchett(Thud) (Coming in september) and George RR Martin (A feast of Crows available in November). Damn

That is all

Webcomics galore

2005-08-19T12:22:00.000+02:00

ok, I read webcomics, in fact I really enjoy reading webcomics. This blog came about because I found two new ones today.

Right here they are:
Sluggy Freelance
A comic about a boy, his friend, the alien they find on their travels, a talking ferret, a homicidal bunny who is addicted to Baywatch, and a Femal Robot Assassin type thing. It's very cool. Try it you might like it.

College Roomies from Hell
This one has definitely faded a bit recently, but the first couple of years are pretty good.

User Friendly
A comic for geeks. Deals with topical issues like firefox losing market share to explorer and the multibutton mouse. Home of Crud puppy and includes Cthulhu. Might be an acquired taste, but you're reading this so I figure you'd appreciate it.

Partially Clips
Comic using clipart. The art isn't great, but the humour is. Especially if you like things that are a little bit off centre, or in the case of this one, quite a lot off centre.

Comet 7
As it says in the title, Super Kicky Webcomic goodness. And it really is.

Able and Baker
A monkey and a sheep go into space and return. It's cool, check it out.

Finally, and my new favourite, at least until the bunny returns.
Questionable Content
It's about a boy, a girl and a small robot called pintsize. Also included is the Underwear Ninja and the Bra Pirate. You have to look to understand.

That is all

Anouncement

2005-08-16T08:18:00.000+02:00

Unfortunately, due to the large amount of comment spam, I have had to retsrict the comments to registered users of blogger only.

Hope that doesn't cause too much inconvenience.

Movie Review: Shall We Dance

2005-08-15T09:14:00.000+02:00

Short Review: "I am going to have to consider owning this one as it is already available on DVD"

Long Review: Surprisingly, I enjoyed this one. I say surprisingly because it has Jennifer fat ass Lopez in it, who I can't stand. However, she didn't sing and there wasn't a single song inthe soundtrack done by her, so that torture was spared. It's not really a boy meets girl story, but it is still a romantic comedy. You know, things start out happy, things hit a rough patch, but everything works out in the end.

There were a few quirky characters which made the film more than what it should have been. Stanley Tucci plays a miidle aged bald man who dances with a massive wig in an effort to score with younger woman. There is also a private investigator who has some of the best lines in the film, and his sidekick who quotes philosophers.

All in all, if you haven't seen this one, get it. It might surprise you.

Movie Review: Herbie Fully Loaded

2005-08-15T09:02:00.000+02:00

Short Review: "I can't wait for this to come out on DVD"

Long Review: I went in to this one expecting the worst, and was very pleasantly surprised. I loved it. They pretty much stick to the formula that they used for all original Herbie movies, and it works. Herbie was done pretty well, considering that it must have been incredibly tempting to overdo the CGI but restraint was shown and the movie is better for it. The best scene in the movie is where Herbie is involved in a demolition derby.

"Ten cars enter, one car leaves"

And for those Nascar enthusiasts, I'm sure you are out there, the film is lent some credibility by the cameo appearances of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

This one will be added to my movie colloection once it is available.

Parody, or not

2005-08-12T11:17:00.000+02:00

Well after yesterday's blog, Chris posted these guys. Now this site is outstanding. They apparently have a bumper sticker asking Who Would Jesus Bomb. And it looks like they actually sell these. I know I would consider buying some of them.

Then, I went back to the Truth for Youth bible, and looked at the evolution comic. Two things came to mind. The first is from Mean Girls.

"And on the fourth day god created the remington bolt action rifle, so man could fight the dinosaurs...
and the homosexuals"

That has to be one of my favourite movie lines of all time. Gotta love redneck America. At least they are good for some things.

The second is from one of my all time favourite comedians, Bill Hicks.

"So you believe the world is only 10 000 years old. I've got a question for you. It's a one word question. Dinosaurs?

God put those here to test our faith."

Enough said.

Unrelatedly I'm off to watch Herbie: Fully Loaded tonight. Lets hope it doesn't rape my childhood memories.

That is all

Putting the Fun back into Fundamentalist

2005-08-11T16:07:00.000+02:00

Well, I wasn't going to post today, but then, I came across this gem while surfing.

The Truth For Youth

I have no words for just how fucked up I think this is.

I try, and I just can't seem to articulate my true feelings about this. Maybe this is because I am not some crazed fundamentalist (Thank GOD).

Please, check it out and see for yourself.

Congratulations

2005-08-10T17:09:00.000+02:00

Well, in an unexpected turn of events, the first mail I received this morning was from Chris and Lina announcing there engagement.

Congratulations, Kim and I couldn't be happier for you guys.

That is all

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

2005-08-10T16:55:00.000+02:00

My Quick Review: "Meh"

My longer review. I don't understand why everyone is raving about this 600 page rehash of the previous 5 HP's. After the Order of the Phoenix, I kind of read this one because I had read the previous five. I should have learnt my lesson. I think that the success of this series should become a case study in marketing. They've taken an average writer, who writes average prose, and made her the most successful author in history. She hit on a brilliant idea, set in a fantasy world that everyone would love to believe exists, and she made millions. I admire her, because I wish I could do that, but will somebody please remind me not to read number 7 when it comes out.

OK, not really a review, but if i put any plot spoilers in, hordes of angry HP fans who haven't read the book yet would be clamouring for my head.

Movie Review: In Good Company

2005-08-10T16:46:00.000+02:00

Another blog, another movie review. This one looked good in the trailer, but the movie itself turned out to be a bit of a downer. But wait, you ask, how could a movie with Scarlet Johanssen be bad. Well, the movie wasn't bad, just misrepresented. The trailer made this out to be a light hearted romantic comedy of the whole boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl. It wasn't. The movie was more about some 26 year old hot shot learning about the way life really works, and screwing everything up royally, not the lighthearted thing I was hoping for.

I have decided to also start giving movies a score. This is purely subjective, and to me, there are only three scores for a movie. These are "I wanted to use my car keys to claw my eyeballs out" "Meh" and "I can't wait for this so I can buy it on DVD"

This one falls solidly in the Meh category. Not great, but not awful.