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July 25th, 2008

Home again, home again, jiggety jog

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I've just seen a newly-arrived person-sized roll of bubble wrap in the photocopier room! Who wants to wrap me in it and roll me down the stairs? Pop, pop, pop!

That would certainly wake me up. I'm not normally a bleary-in-the-morning person, but I had a long day yesterday. A good day, but long. My mother and some of her friends from work have an unofficial little quilters' club, and every year they gather together friends and family to go to the Melbourne Craft Fair on a group discount. I was in two minds about going this year; the first year I went was great - it was all so new and so exciting with so much to take in - but I've been a few times now and I don't think I could take a whole day of it. So I said that I'd go for half a day, then find something else to do and meet them back at the train station later. My mother surprised me by being quite keen on that idea; not just for me, that is, but for her as well. Her friends are semi-professional quilters (one of them makes a quilt a week!), so they get a lot out of the Craft Fair; she, on the other hand, is an enthusiastic dabbler. And then it turned out that the National Gallery has a big Art Deco exhibition on, so the problem of what to do with the other half-day was solved.

So I had to get up at an unreasonably early hour to catch the morning train to Melbourne. I don't know about you, but when I know I have to get up unusually early, I can never sleep soundly. I woke up at three and stayed awake until the alarm went off at four-fifteen. That's so early that I was up before Miss Pink, which never happens; when I turned the kitchen light on, I could see her on the living room sofa, curled protectively round her heat pack like Smaug the dragon, eyes shining yellow in the dark.

The day )

Such an odd day: sit too long, walk around for too long, then sit too long to get home again. Back home well after ten, I was met by an irate pink cat sitting next to an empty food dish, even though I had put extra food down for the day. Finally, I sat down on the sofa next to Miss Pink, now fed and happily curled round her re-warmed heat pack, and poked my sore toe. Some pus popped out from under the toe nail.

So that was my day.

Finally, if you were to head to the rather excellent cover song blog, Fong Songs, you would find a week's worth of posts of Muppet covers. And who wouldn't want that?

July 24th, 2008

Hungry

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I want to go out to dinner!

Either Parc, or Distrito (menu pdf here).

Who's coming with?

What's your fairy?

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First, read this.  (Explanation here.)

I know what mine is:

Good story fairy: Even when bad things happen to you this fairy turns them into an excellent story. When a writer has this fairy they always get great ideas, which is not that fabulous given that writing the good ideas is the hard part, not getting them.

What's yours?

lamb

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Chatsworth grounds
Originally uploaded by angel
I'm posting this for no reason.

After my own black, twisted heart.

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For her 21st birthday I sent my sister, among other things, a giant (like, as big as my torso) inflatable redback spider.

Her email today:

got your present today. love it. thank you so much. ive put the spider on the wall in my flatmates room and she's just walked through the door so im just waiting for her to go to her room. im very excited.


Can you tell we're related?

This Isn't The Entry You're Looking For... You Can Go About Your Business... Move Along...

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Last night = fixed the hole in my front tyre. Usually this isn't a big deal or even worthy of note; but I use tubeless tyres and it's a messy, annoying task. Still - I think I got it to seal again OK so fingers crossed it stays up during the race on Saturday. After that I fixed my new lights onto my lid and bike, and got the tent + stuff out of the loft. We put the tent up in the garden just to make sure it was all OK.

Went for a walk down the shop, watched a bit of Family Guy, etc. Nothing much else worth mentioning. (Like that really was.)

Fic: ...The Harder They Fall (Gaoranger, Kakeru Shishi/Shirogane, PG-13, 1/1)

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Summary: Shishi tries to get through the walls around Shirogane.
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue.
Written for: [info]30_soldiers prompt 18, don't stop!

* * *

Shishi stopped in the middle of the beach, looking around frantically for Photocopier Org. He turned a complete circle. Yellow was here, his sword out, poised for action. White, with her arms folded. Blue, close by Black because Black was limping after taking a heavy blow from Photocopier Org. Not that Blue ever seemed to realise that he shadowed Black whenever Black had been hurt.
Nothing. )

Scully have I loved

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There's a great article about my girl Scully over at salon.com.

The Budly Report

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#1 is three years and ten months old today!

He is an avid painter who is fascinated by color, blending and texture.

He is both protective of his brother, and protective of the toys his brother wants but he feels are his.

He loves to swim.

He is proud of his burgeoning reading ability, which he exercises at every possible opportunity.

He loves oatmeal with yogurt, cinnamon and maple syrup. He loves cheeseburgers. He loves the idea of ice cream more than he loves the thing itself.

Photobucket

Hi

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Ron, ghost hunter.

Last week I went to a wet plate collodion workshop at the wonderful Photographers' Formulary in the mountains of Montana, led by Will Dunniway.

This was the first image where it all came together for me (with Will's help), made with a French whole plate camera, built in Paris circa 1860, with a Dallmeyer 3b portrait lens.

View larger. But really I want everyone to see (and feel and smell) this in the flesh. Computer screens are for chumps...

Developmental milestones

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Let it be known that #2 has laughed at a joke on the Simpsons!

It was a sight gag, not a verbal one. But still.

Having watched Torchwood S2 today...

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(Yes, all of it)

I believe the traditional cry in the manner of my people is )

July 23rd, 2008

NTS

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Yesterday: lunchtime I dashed into Blazingjoke to sort out new motorbike tax.

In the evening I went for a run round the farm-figure-8; v. hot and was sweating like wotsits by the time I'd finished. (C has been feeling UTW the last few days so didn't join.)

After tea and usual stuff, I was going to do 'something' but didn't know what (XBOX, DVD, whatever) - so as it happened '28 Weeks Later' starting on Sky just as I turned on the TV seemed as good a something as any. I do enjoy those creepy deserted shots of London.

The Glass Maker's Daughter

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I've had book covers I've liked well enough. I've had book covers that mystified me. And I've had a couple of book covers I hated. (Crate & Peril, I'm looking at you.)

Never have I had a book cover I loved so much that all I want to do is stare, coo gently, and stroke the pretty, pretty image.

My editor says that the illustration, over which the silly stuff like my title and name are overlaid, will probably be featured inside the cover itself. Which is even cooler.



--

Earthshattering question

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::scratches head::

...why do people do a 'fake cut' e.g. from a community post to their own LJ, instead of either an actual LJ cut to the community post, or a normal bog-standard link to their own LJ?!

Why do people bother?!

Theeeerrrre's Aaaaaa Liiiiiight.....

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[Over at the PonyHead place....]

I have new toys. Well, 'essential pieces of kit', given that the latter half of our 12hr Enduro race this coming Saturday will be ridden in what can only be described as 'the dark'. (Starts midday, 'finishes' midnight - i.e. you can finish the lap you're on as long as it began before 00:00.) Given that woods at that hour are not known for their abundance of visibility, I have

one of these to go on my bonce, and

these to go on my bike.

Yup. Gonna light up them damn woods like the Fourth of Jooolaye....

Day off....

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I booked today off to have a rest and gt a few bits done. So far I've had a nice lie in and checked my e-mails. I had all intentions of then being all productive, but I think I've slept too long - it's taking me a little while to get going. Never mind!

Plans for the day involve tidying my side of the bedroom (I will actually put my clothes away, shock horror... it looks like a teenagers bedroom at the moment. And this must be rectified.) Go into town to buy a magic loop knitting needle thing, and then I'm going to the zoo!!!!

So I need to wake up. ~slaps self~

Medical Data Policy, Gaming News (Plus), Political Roundup

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Slightly tangental to my work, I've been doing a bit of lobbying for Biogrid Australia. This is an amazing body which has actually managed to compile a variety of clinical patient records for research purposes in a manner that is dynamic and confidential. It started in Melbourne some five years ago, has slowly been taken up in other states and has some international contacts as well (especially through Vanderbilt). It has generated dozens of serious research papers on a variety of cancers, diabetes, neurological pathologies and disorders such as cystic fibrosis, Crohn's and so forth. The research tools have attracted some interest from major pharmecetical firms. They've done so on a shoe-string budget, and the money will run out under eighteen months. So it was with some sense of achievement that today there was a small meeting of people associated with the project (including myself) and the senior advisor to the Federal Minister for Innovation, Senator Kim Carr. The technology works; it has been proven to do and now it needs to scale up to be a truly national system. I am extremely pleased to be involved at a somewhat senior level in this incredibly worthwhile project.

Gaming-wise last week included some Cannibal Contagion, The Shadow of Yesterday, some D&D Fantasy Australia and Mythweaver along with the final episode of the Ainu Nezumi story, which concluded with a degree of regional autonomy for the Ainu following the saving of a daimyo's life from assasination by a competing clan. Next week is the continuation of the RuneQuest Prax and after that [info]imajica_lj presents us the Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep. Apropos the former I really must mention that having picked up one last supplement I know have a a complete collection of RuneQuest (3rd edition) supplements. I also take this opportunity to mention that I've been deriving quite some amusement from recent episodes of Orcusville.

But yes, there's a plus on the gaming news. I've been working very closely with a certain Steve Perrin in recent weeks on actually finishing his almost forgotten game, SPQR. It's not unlike a synthesis of early edition RuneQuest and GURPS, both of which are games I like a great deal. Steve has been very appreciative of my remarks on design most of which he's implemented. On a somewhat related note, I received my playtester's copy of Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying, which is certainly impressive in its own right; I am currently composing a review of it for rpg.net. Finally, initial chapter outline of the new edition of Campaign Law is underway. I seem to be doing a great deal of the driving in this project and I wonder I should simply start writing the new chapters now.

Inflation in Zimbabwe has hit 2.2m% and is running out of paper to print new currency. The communists in India flex their substantial political muscle, almost derailing the government over a nuclear deal with the US. Finally, whilst the capture of Radovan Karadzic after twelve years has brought relief to many, I wonder whether it will raise again the legitimate referedum of Bosnian Serbs who wanted to be part of Yugoslavia rather than an independent Bosnia. I still find the supposed national differences between Bosniak, Serb and Croatian entirely based on irrational religious suppositions; they really aren't separate nationalities in a meaningful sense of the word.

Blame the bee

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Blame the bee, originally uploaded by Mockduck.

July 22nd, 2008

Marilyn Monroe + Alfred Hitchcock = Corny Whimsy

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My latest modest offerings:

Stamp sheets!

Click: Marilyn!

Click: Alfred!

As always, I tried to inject a bit of whimsy into my text
(albeit pretty corny).

And, as always, the Flister Special still applies.

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