2010 — 10 September: Friday
Starting the day1 to that sound of breaking glass that means, yes, I've once again overlooked the bottle recycling chaps. But I only accumulate about two or three bottles per week (and they're certainly not getting my two VOSS bottles) so no harm done.
It seems I must wait until 6th December before I can get the Blu-ray of "Eclipse". Should give me time to save up for it! Meanwhile, there's a food cupboard to be restocked, preferably while the rain hasn't arrived here, some breakfast to consume, and I must remember to avoid Soton for the duration of the Boat Show.
Methinks I shall pop in on dear Mama,2 too, since Big Bro ran out of runway (as it were) to do so yesterday and is now in the air en route to Brunei to see some chaps about his six Boeing 777s. (I could be wrong, but I don't think that particular hairyplane features on my chum Christopher's Top 10 any more than it does on mine. We were exchanging views following his sighting of Vulcan XH558 in his happy valley yesterday afternoon.) I await photos.
Home-brew Cray-1A?!
Known in its time as the most expensive love bench in the world. This has to be about the best home-brew project I've yet seen. Cool! And there are several more fun items at the same site. The pickle-firing gas gun "Unfortunately, the materials (and design) I used were not up to the task, and it lost structural integrity milliseconds after firing" sounds like a blast.
Black Swan
Some while back, I read The Black Swan. I also quoted its author more recently, when I saw him acidly pointing out:
The banking system, betting against Black Swans, has lost over 1 Trillion dollars (so far), more than was ever made in the history of banking... the turkey economics department will always manage to state, before thanksgivings that "we are in a new era of safety", and back-it up with thorough and "rigorous" analysis.
Today, I learn that he now shares his title with a new film by the chap who made...
- "Pi" (which I loathed)
- "The Wrestler" (which I couldn't finish)
- "Requiem for a dream" (which I would pay not to see)
- "The Fountain" (which Mike and I struggled through)
But, since it stars the bewitching and ever-watchable Natalie Portman, it's going on to my little list.
Lunch now being a recent repast, rather than tackle the next batch of ten cartons I shall hit the road to see what dear Mama has to say for herself. Perhaps we should have got her some Vitamin B instead of chocolates?
Quite a bit later
Well, I don't know how my chum Brian knew I'd need distracting and cheering up after yet another "here we go round (and round [and round]) the mulberry bush" session with dear Mama, but he's pointed me to a toolset that looks both stupidly simple and insanely useful...
Dear Mama, by the way, has already forgotten that Big Bro was with me and spent an hour or so with her last Sunday. She claims not to have seen him for months (which is behaviour my sister-in-law had already primed me to expect).
I had a chat with a couple of the nurses. The NHS psychiatric assessment is still going to happen (in due course) and the care-home will have to be guided by it and place her elsewhere if the diagnosis is dementia — they are not registered or licensed to "host" such clients. Since any place catering for the demented is very unlikely to be as pleasant as her present home, I'm in no great hurry to move her (though, I admit, the stonking fees of the present place will burn through her little pot of gold all too quickly).
This is definitely not the best system in the world, though I cannot offhand think of many alternatives.
I called in on Mike for a cuppa on the way home, and now have temporary custody of three fun-looking Blu-rays that should also help distract me and cheer me up:
- "Clash of the Titans" (the remake, not the Olivier horror show)
- "Centurion" (another of the "lost Roman Legions" tales)
- "Red Cliff" (a two-part epic by John Woo)
It's 19:38 and I shall sample the Monteverdi Prom first, methinks. It's 42 years since the début of Gardiner's Monteverdi choir at a Prom concert. I'm getting old, it occurs to me.
I've also had a bit of a run-in with Staples, who have just irritated me more than somewhat by invoicing me for the pair of replacement bookcases they failed to deliver last Tuesday to make good on my original order of eight. Still, at least the lady in their office this evening listened to reason, and is releasing the delivery next Tuesday, so they should show up next Wednesday. (I'm committed to a little light taxi duty on Tuesday.)
My patience must be wearing a bit thin. I've just shut the door on a couple trying to sell me a Sky TV system, and muttering "Go to hell" as I shut it. This is not (I hope) representative of my normal behaviour. But then, I didn't have time to heat my bucket of tar! "Mr Grumpy" — that's me.