Any Which Way .

The interesting (as opposed to depressing; humiliating and distressing) thing about being made redundant is that I've become incredibly relaxed. I'm sleeping better than I have for many, many months. I'm completing my tasks in a timely and suitable manner and have laid the foundations for those who will be left beyond my departure. I've simply stopped worrying about the “what ifs”. I no longer have the back up plan and the back up to the back up. It's refreshing going to bed and knowing that if it all goes horribly wrong at 04:00, it won't be me getting the phone call. I see the injustice and favouritism meted out and can console myself that during my tenure I did everything to be as fair and even handed as I could. Sure there were some who didn't like it, particularly those looking to cruise and ignore the very essence of what being in a service industry is about, and I've no doubt they will continue to be despised by their colleagues and cosseted by those who should know better. I never understood why those few were chosen and so never got on board with the idea. I guess that's my failure and why I was never part of the clique.

I do worry about the future though, and I'm torn about which way to turn. Part of me will be glad to see the back of the waste industry and I wonder whether I should look outside of transport and logistics all together. Another part of me finds that idea terrifying as I have a bit of a comfort zone there. What else can my particular skills translate to?

Of course, in the current economic climate there's hardly an abundance of opportunities and I've still got a mortgage to pay and a family to support (as have the many unfortunate people at MFI and Woolworths who find themselves in a similar position) so it's not as if I can afford to be choosy even if given the chance.

Will work for food.

A 1-2 victory over Germany should make me happy, but as many thousands in England's green and pleasant lands are finding to their horror, the words redundancy and unemployment are rearing their ugly heads. Learned today that I'm facing redundancy. Bummer!

Ground Floor, comin' up.

Given how much I have to say on a wide variety of topics, this blog is awfully quiet. It seems I'm only posting now to explain why I'm not posting. Obviously Warhammer Online:Age Of Reckoning (PC) is taking up a fair few of my gaming hours, and almost lives up to expectations. I'm having another run through Crysis (PC) too.

There's so many things wrong in the world at the moment, and the angry young man I once was is tired and old. All my anger these days just turns to bile and heartburn.

I've had a bit of a nasty chest infection recently, so having had a few days off work and still feeling rough around the edges and certainly nowhere near 100%, I drag my sorry fat arse back in. Having missed a few days I'm a little out of touch and when I enquire as to what's been happening I'm informed by one of my superiors that if I wanted to know what was going on I shouldn't have stayed off. That was soon put behind us though as he went on to tell me how my efforts to safeguard our employees over the past couple of months were wrong and affirmed my theory that our employees health and safety is inversely proportionate the size of the customer's account. It's that level of warmth and love that keeps me going and makes me feel so appreciated in work.

On the plus side, there's a new poster and some nice stills for Watchmen.

I'm not playing World of Warcraft

The lack of posts though would suggest otherwise. To make matters worse, the only real point of this entry is to bring to an end the information drought. So what has little me been doing?
Oblivion (PC) - Riding Shadowmere all around Cyrodiil and heading all the guilds except the Mages. Apparently I'm not magic enough for those dress wearing biatches. Pretty much boxed off what I need to and am considering installing Shivering Isles, but I'll give it a bit of a break first.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R - Shadow of Chernobyl (PC) again. Yes I know it's a little rough around the edges but it's such a great game that leaves so many questions unanswered or open to interpretation that I just had to have another run through before Clear Sky comes out.
Guitar Hero III:Legends of Rock (Wii) - I know the Wii version suffers from poor graphics and no DLC, but the experience is the same irrespective of version so whatever console you own (if any), pick this up and let your tennis racket strumming inner brat out.
Warhammer Online:Age Of Reckoning (PC) - The MMO I've been waiting for will finally arrive on September 18th (open beta access and live game headstart excepted). No doubt will be massively disappointing given the length of time I've been waiting and my now almost infinite expectations.
Other than that the family trip to Disneyland Resort Paris was, and I must apologise ahead of time for resorting to this: awesome! TIP: If you're taking kids I wouldn't recommend going by car without overnight stays on route unless you can do it in less than 6 hours, even with Nintendo DS's.

An Oscar Wilde Picture On The Wall

The title reference being The Smiths - I Started Something, and while maybe a touch obscure it's the song title that is a reflection of my relief to see the end of May. It started well, typical of TV end credits for the copyright year. So then when the months second post got the title of the Half Man Half Biscuit song I'd put on my phone, which in itself was a tale of pretension and so why I chose it, I'd started down a path without even realising. So then post #3, and coming as it did following a nostalgia chat about connecting devices and the lead mentioned in title, so that seemed the obvious choice given that I was searching for a lead in line with the new purchase. I now felt obliged to carry on the title style for the rest of the month, only I didn't know how. I'm not that clever! So drums. What acronym can be lent? None. What about some kind of relevant code? No. Drum tabs? No. So pop's favourite chord progression and a determination to ensure nothing noteworthy happened for the rest of the month.

D C G

I need to drum more. The kit's set up and the neighbours are surprisingly understanding so why is it I still choose to pick up a guitar than go and beat something repeatedly? The sorry truth is that I'm fat; I'm old; and I've simply slowed down. There were days when I'd spend hours beating out rhythms and odd timed wonders, but now I can barely get through a couple of tracks without needing a break. Those 16 & 32/4s are now 2/4s. I know if I practice more I'll get back into it, but unlike years past when I get there I find myself wondering what to do. I don't have a couple of albums worth of tunes in my head like I used to, and worse, I know what I'm capable of. That's the biggest kicker. I know what I can do behind a kit, but my dodgy right ankle can no longer go the speed or take the pounding it used to and age is a factor in getting these arms moving. I find myself angry and frustrated for not doing what I should be doing, so rather than face that frustration I pick up a guitar and strum.

RS232

I thought it might be nice to spend more money I don't have (what credit crunch?) on a new TV. Forty inches of South Korean 1080p LCD goodness. Having hooked it up the the V+ box, once the initial happiness of the upscaling wore off, I was hit by a twinge of disappointment that Virgin Media, like Sky, broadcast their HD output in 1080i for understandable service maintenance reasons. Cue Statler and Waldorf style booing, and a quest for 1080p media.

You'd think in the modern hooked up and jacked in virtual life it would be relatively easy to find material, but alas not. Movie trailers are easily viewed online through the PC, but I'm not looking to hook the PC up to the TV. Looking for downloadable content that could be written to a DVD leads me to all manner of Divx and Xvid and Mpeg4 and h/x264 files that then lead on to a ridiculous number of Googles to find out what the hell they are and how to play them. As it turns out it's redundant as the collected wisdom seems to be that once the resolutions get to 720p and beyond it's not so much about the file format but the carrier so standard DVD/DivX players won't output it anyway, even those with HDMI ports and upscaling ability. Which really only leaves Freesat and Blue Ray. Freesat is still in it's infancy and it's reasonable to expect a 12 month gestation period while advanced decoders, probably with hard drives in, get to market at a decent price. Blue Ray, despite now being confident and out of nappies, is still an unstable little toddler. While a format war is never a good thing, particularly for early adopters on the losing side, this latest HD DVD v BRD one had a rather disturbing outcome. Not so much for the format that won, but the manner in which that victory was achieved. A format war decided by the industry that controls it as opposed to the consumer is a worrying turn of events. When the winner is the more expensive and as yet is not a finalised standard then early adopters on both sides end up as collateral damage. The only sensible BRD player is a games console with a pad that promotes chronic finger fatigue.. so no, Blue Ray and even the PS3 may well be the future but they're overpriced and underwhelming right now.

Guess I'll just have to stick with 1080i for the time being, oh, and if anyone sees the Wii component cable in stock anywhere, give us a shout.

A 4AD3DCD

I decided to buy one of these new super phone jobbies. Actually, once again I'm starting with an absolute and blatant lie. The truth is that in a stupid attempt to frighten my better half I bid on a phone on e-bay. It's very nice, a Samsung SGH-G600, great reviews, rather desirable by all accounts, and while the bid I put in was not insubstantial (it had to be a significant amount for the scare factor), I was certainly surprised to find it was a winner. Cue (totally justified) “told you so” and “idiot” remarks from the wise one, and a sphincter so tight if I'd eaten coal I'd have shit diamonds. I'd bought a phone I didn't need, with money I didn't have, for a reason weaker than Derby County's Premier League status. I had intended to simply sell it on, but once it arrived I began playing with it and I like it. A quick glance through the manual shows the phone is fully equipped to be top of any self respecting happy slapper's shopping (!) list. I've never been tempted to get an i-pod, ear-pod or pea-pod so to suddenly have Half-Man Half Biscuit; NWA; Bowling For Soup and the theme tune for The Power Puff Girls blaring out at me when people call is a rather new and refreshing experience. I was just relieved when I got it to work with my in car bluetooth hands free kit, so the sound of Bubbles being the joy and laughter is a very pleasant bonus.

MMVII

You may think that the beginning of May is a bit late to be posting a retrospective. I could counter that it's easy, and indeed lazy, to jump on the January bandwagon and hurl forth reactionary sputum. So I've taken my time. I've considered each of 2007's days, even the rainy ones, to ensure that my verdict on the year is properly considered and definitive. Yes indeed, 2007 was okay.

Everyone Loves A Log

“Because they weren’t all your friends and you don’t want to be reunited with them”

A casual glance at the last book I read had me thinking: I’m not what you might consider a “people person”, and I need to read more books. I’ve always considered myself friendly. I like to think I’m polite. I’m certainly civil. A little too sarcastic and cynical sometimes, but never mean or malicious. I have a small selection of friends who I love and would do anything (within reason and current legislation) for. So why is it when I get friend requests on Facebook I automatically click “Ignore”? Why don’t I want to be e-friends? What’s wrong with sharing a virtual pint with some guy who stumbled across your name and vaguely recalls taking the piss out of your art in the 3^rd year of senior school?

People I’ve invested considerable personal time in I’ve allowed to become consigned to history. They’re memories. Part of a bygone age when I had hair and considerably less body mass, and I have no desire to rekindle or replace them. The only “friends” suitable for a virtual network are surely virtual ones. Those I’ve found myself sharing a beach with, on a tiny island in the monstrous ocean that is the online community. Whose shared interests mirror my own and as such the essence of the friendship is as purely superficial as the virtual community that spawned it. I have genuine virtual love for a fat ginger Welshman. In the real world I have a work colleague who makes semi-regular trips to Jersey and whenever he does I wonder how Doomus is! When I think of Sheffield (although I try not to obviously) I think of Madameye and Paws and I bless the fact I came to virtually know them. And most days driving home from work as I pass the Liverpool John Moores building I wonder how G-phoenix is progressing.

I kind of have a rationale: If you knew me then but don’t know me now… There’s a reason!