2012 — 10 February: Friday
What better choice of film last night for my new Blu-ray toy than "The American"?1 I also tried out various bits from DVDs and still think the Panasonic does a fine job of upscaling. Players have come a long way, quite quickly, it seems. It's not quite as fast to load as the Oppo, and (when the network cable is connected) irritated me slightly by making several unsuccessful attempts (shown by a popup window each time) to "dial home" during the set-up of the Blu-ray — easily stopped by pulling out the network cable, of course.
It's 00:50 and I'd better get some sleep as I'm not quite sure just how early Junior is going to turn up on my doorstep later today. G'night.
Snow? I don't...
... recall saying I wanted any snow. Yuk. Still, the outside porch temperature is just barely below 0C and it's only a light dusting. Which is more than the house usually gets. It's 08:26 and counting.
Kerning? I never...
... touch the stuff!
Randall Munroe's text popup on his XKCD strip says "I have never been as selfconscious about my handwriting as when I was inking in the caption for this comic".
The young people...
... arrived as I was in the middle of my breakfast munching. Apparently there's less snow here than anywhere else between here and London.
I know there's a dental appointment shortly, and I gather there's a recycling run and/or a charity shop dump to be done, plus some shifting of 'stuff' into the loft and some relocating of ski-stuff down from the loft.
Ministry madness
On no sane planet does a post-Imperial bellicose nation allow itself to spend up to £12,000,000,000 on a pair of aircraft carriers, "the cost of which has so far risen by £2.8bn over the £3.5bn estimated when first approved in 2008". (Link.)
I mentioned the upcoming fifth edition of the 'bible' of mental illness several times in the last couple of years. The Grauniad has finally caught up:
Among the anxieties to be labelled mental disorders if DSM-5 is published in May by the American Psychiatric Association are shyness in children and uncertainty over gender. Loneliness could attract a diagnosis of chronic depressive disorder, and so could unhappiness following bereavement. (My emphasis.)
Presumably, doctors who agree with the sensible piece here would all be diagnosed as insane.
Post-prandial pottering
Peter's g/f is down in Soton catching up with a chum from the Isle of Wight. Peter is upstairs catching up on the work he missed by his dental visit. I've just been listening to Mayo and Kermode while updating my A/V system diagram to reflect the presence of the new toy. It's a hobby. And I'm going to squeeze in a quick brisk walk tomorrow morning to work off the lunch that (rich) Junior treated me to today. Unless it snows again / more.