Monthly archives: December 2002


Heavensent- Chapter 8, Part 1

The Cachement sank into the mud, valves hissing and bubbling as redistributed air settled it onto an even keel. No wreck ever laid on the bottom so neatly as the carefully scuttled barge. The crew still patrolled the deck, using the handrails as they swam toward the open hold.

They had started sinking as soon as the lights of Stran Island had shown on the horizon, continuing on their way underwater until they reached the sandbank that lay offshore. Now they had to transfer to the vehicles that were the barge�s cargo on its last journey. The long tubes, rounded at one end and with a propeller and rudder at the other, were little more than slow sit-on torpedoes, transport for the warheads that were the front quarter of the craft. The tube slung under the body carried extra batteries and oxygen to prolong the range for this special mission. Two by two, the crew members swan down to their Pigs.

Six Pigs headed for the north channel around Stran and six for the south. Those that made it were to pick their targets from the docks on the eastern side of the island. They knew they were part of a far larger plan, but were certain they were to strike the hardest blow. Strung out over several thousand spans, the small craft set out. If all went to plan, they would arrive in the harbour just before dawn.

With its mission completed, the Cachement�s crew flooded the tanks, transferring the air to their control section. As the hull of the old barge settled snugly into the mud, the little metal bubble began rising slowly to, hopefully, a rescue craft from the invasion fleet.


Got it taped

As I hired the cheapest car going to get up here for Christmas, I ended up with only a tape player to rely on for sounds (one has been spoilt don’t you know). But finding the box of cassettes hidden away somewhere in the living room and digging out a selection has reminded me that there are gaps in my CD list. Amongst others, I need-

Echobelly- Everyone’s Got One, On or I Can’t Imagine The World Without Me, the singles collection.

Def Leppard- Hysteria

Bon Jovi- Slippery When Wet

and

Transvision Vamp- Baby I Don’t Care

(This post has been the first in a short collection called ‘Things You Could Buy Ian For His Birthday’)


The Lakes and Then There Is Oban

Ok. So I was supposed to go to Dublin leaving tomorrow and now I find myself sitting in Oban, Scotland, enjoying the ultimate in Scottish tourism industry. It is BEAUTIFUL! I dare say Mr. P that it might even rival the lakes for peace and tranquility, plus the concept of land massess taller than 200feet (read the small hills plaguing The Lakes) is interesting. The city sits on a small port and we have just come back from dinner at the Lourdes Hotel (no, Madonna was not here trying to conceive!) where they put out fresh bowls of boiled jumbo prawns and an assortment of deep fried something on every table. Can’t beat that!

Anyway, commenting on the first cloned person born – the event lasted a whole five minutes in the media. Just a couple of clips from the BBC and no grand discussions about the ethics and morality involved. The New York Times rated it a page 16 mention, although I do believe they were jealous that the US lost out to Canada in the genetics race…..Where is South Park when you need it?

Oh and in other news. The Washington Times has a brilliant commentary on how the War on Terrorism is funded by California and Methaamphetine labs owned by Hezbolla and other terrorist factions. A must read – scroll down to the commentary section.


UnScrooge

And a very Merry Christmas to one and all, even if it ain’t white.

Doom, gloom and ‘oh my God we’re going to war’ temporarily suspended. Instead-

The BBC’s silly news of the year, a scary vision of Christmas in 2050 and a heartwarming Chrimbo tale.

Sprouts! (My parents grow their own, so the alleged sprout drought wasn’t going to save me from having some for Christmas Dinner.)

A Quiz (Beat 42 out of 50)

Another quiz

And another


Lamplugh Calling

As it happens, I brought a copy of The Story of The Clash up with me, so guess what I was listening to in the car today?

Sadly, I can’t pretend to have been one of those people who was always into the band, though I did appreciate the edge they brought to a Seventies night back in Sharanskys (cue wobbly-vision and flashback mode). Nonetheless- Joe Strummer RIP.


Ho Ho Ho

Damn she was fine…..

Merry Christmas and all that jazz. Edinburgh was awash in Santa hats and expensive packages for the gift of giving. I have been busily reading away at North Koreas latest move into the nuclear arms race. Very interesting stuff and I believe they are just “messin” with the good old boys in Washington, but it paints a very frightful picture of the world. Things can change so quickly and something must be done about how agressive the US has become. Call me an ex-pat bleeding heart liberal but about 4 years back the last thing on the public radar was global war. What is a peace loving hippy like myself to do?


A picture

I’ll let Ian put this photo somewhere, since I haven’t got a clue where he puts them. Is it vain or even dangerous to post a picture of somebody who writes to this blog? Anyway, here’s a very blurry hand.

Apart from that nothing else to say really apart from Merry Christmas for tomorrow.

And my question (or three for the day): 1) Just how do high-street stores (e.g. BHS) shift the amount of tatt that they sell before Christmas? 2) Who buys the crap? 3) Which unfortunate sods get given it?

Amidst the rubbish, there are occassionally some OK items, but by the time I’ve finished looking through the rubbish, anything half-decent looks ideal as a present. Reverse marketing psychology perhaps? In terms of we’ll sell some crap so the average stuff looks brilliant. Obviously not thinking about brand tainting through proximity, put good stuff next to bad, and it will look bad.


1988pw (pre web)

Ian God bless you are finally safe and home in the Lakes! I will see you on the other side.

So once more I will spout useless artifacts from the web. I have found the Lord and he is resting on emulation sites. Before all this hab-dashery of the web junk there was true dial-up!!!! No, I pledge, it was devoted to useless children of an ungodly age, read fifteen, a place online where all the hearts where content!

Anyone remember Telnet and it’s god-awful approach to BBS’ing and long distance phone calls. I need more RBBS-PC in my life without the price of phone calls. Beejeebus, get me some 1200bps modems and a x286 box running a 40meg drive and I will be happy. Things are much too complicated in the internet land.

On a serious note, before Blogger, geeks had the right to customise their gear and try to get the most hits via the old fashioned telephone.

Can anyone name me one of the best online games from the 1989 days? I thought not……..Just a quick challenge – Send me five and I will send you an Edinburgh Scotland Fringe Festival T-Shirt. No cheating over the old google, as a few of us old dogs remember our day.


Missives

Still no luck on the pic of the day front. Maybe tomorrow I’ll pick up another magazine and another cover disk.

As part of the research for part two of Heavensent (the new working title for Seeds) I’ve been reading Underwater Warriors by Paul Kemp, a history of midget submarines and the incredible missions they went on. In amongst an otherwise poor navy, the Italians had one of the best teams of all the participants, and would have taken their tiny craft right into New York harbour if they’d stayed in the war long enough.

I’ve brought a couple of DVDs up to test my parents’ player with. First up, and segueing neatly with that last bit- The Italian Job. It’s a fun film, one of those things lacking from so many movies nowadays. There’s a ‘making of’ feature on the DVD and the one and only deleted scene- a delightful Blue Danube waltz featuring the Minis and three Polizia cars that is lovely as a stand alone but would have spoiled the film if it had been included.

Second film is the Matrix/ Matrix Revisited double pack. Nice.


Ahhh 'Tis the Season

Chestnuts roasting on ann open fire, my godd*mn cold finally going away and only two more days until Christmas. Have found nothing of interest to note, except the ultimate place to get all your holiday technology goodies, The Sharper Image. I have been working from home, or rather, attempting to work from home, but my motivation sinks quickly.

But to my old pal, Trent Lott, the New York Times this morning has an article which pointedly states based on interviews with the black community that George W Bush will get more votes now because of his handling of the affair. Did I miss something here? Oh well, just when I thought I couldn’t ever be more wrong, hey ho……

Another interesting development is that the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in the states, has managed to get the cast of Friends together for one more season. It wasn’t the cheapest coup in town, costing a mere $9 million an episode. The interesting point raised in the article is that the focus is now shifting to HBO and what their efforts will be to secure another season of the Sopranos? Also, it looks like the idea for a Sopranos movie is getting nixed as well. Oh well, long live the guidos.

In the Times (London that is) yesterday, I was pleased to learn that I can buy a diamond incrusted deluxe Monopoly board for only �300k and a Bulgari Tennis Ball Holder for only �3,500. The choices are killing me.

There are a few of you out there looking for a bit loverly interaction, and what a better way to start than with some real people? Although the first is for the ladies, the men need some some help as well. Look no further! WhereisMyGeek will help every single gent find a woman who can understand internet addiction.

Do you use Kazaa for all those freeware and shareware file purposes it serves? Well, well, the RCIA and the movie baddies don’t really think its an appropriate tool for the internet. The problem for the boyz in the recording hood is that =trying to sue Kazaa to close means interfering with 5 countries on 3 different continents. The Washington Post put together a really good article about the originators and the company structure in the Saturday Washington Post. Check it out here.

To all the Spinneyhead Team, I wish to pass on best holiday wishes. I use the word holiday as we are completely PC bunch and I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. I believe Mr. Frost just completed Ramadan and Ian P has gone straight to the devil, so whatever the pleasure, enjoy!