Out of boredom, or purely the fact that I'd never done it before, and wanted to see what it looked and felt like, I've shaved my head.
Look !! No hair
Another day where I have not left the flat. Lazy bugger that I am. I did, however make a nice stir fry with some ham and the left over sausages from Sunday's roast. Yum.
Actually, just thinking about that makes me feel hungry again.
Having gotten over the panic of dismantling my hair clippers just after barely starting, and struggling to get them back together again. Wondering just how I was going to put all those bits back in such a way that the clippers would again work, or if I couldn't, how I would go out and either buy a new set of clippers, or go to a hair dressers / barbers. Would they shake their heads, rub their chins and then inform me that I had encountered some cowboys ?
Thankfully, with such motivation, my manly engineering skills we sufficiently engaged to allow me to put the clippers back together, and I didn't have an suspicious bits left at the end either.
Getting used the shiny, smooth feel of my noggin. Keep finding odd bits that I've missed, so have to crack out the wet-shave razor and sort them out. Not sure what reaction I'll get at work tomorrow, but thankfully I am not in first thing in the morning, actually a reasonably late start.
Day with my daughter, a nice Sunday lunch, and her pretty much only really interested in playing on her Ipod. At some point soon I need to start planning for our summer holiday away. Each year I chastise myself for leaving it to the last minute, and missing out on the best options. This year, it will be different.
I was hoping that tonight I would have a friend round for some drinks and to watch a DVD, but they aren't able to make it, a bout of illness being to blame. It's a shame, as I've been eager to watch the film in question, but have been holding off until I watch it with company. Shame. Good things comes to he who waits.
Out of boredom and the reluctance to go to a proper hair dressers, I have decided that I am going to shave my hair off. I just have this desire to not just use clippers on my hair, but to wet shave my head. Going for the Charles Xavier look ?
I am waiting, and not all that patiently for when BT come and connect my landline and internet connection. January 19th is when it is booked. I am going to try and ask them if there are now any earlier appointments, but I am not holding out much hope. With this being a new-build property I think it takes longer to get these things sorted. I was disappointed not be able to get Virgin Media. They don't run their services to the site, so I have no choice but to rely on the old fashioned copper cabled BT network. After much number crunching I had decided to plump for BT's Broadband, Telephone and Vision package. I am not that bothered by the Vision element, but it will mean I have the ability to record TV again, and watch it when I want. Also by signing up to BT Vision, the broadband download limit gets upgraded. By paying for the line rental a year in advance, not only does that mean that I escape the increase in VAT on that part of my bill, but also that BT wipe the cost of the line installation. When I was looking into these things, no one else would wipe that cost, and provide a competitive priced service. I had originally been very interested by the package offered by O2, but they were unable to find my address on their database, and their recommendation was to 'call back in four weeks' time'.
Yeah, not really the sort of thing I wanted to hear. Although I have had to wait some considerable time to get the installation done by BT, at least there's a chance that when they upgrade to their fibre-optic network, then the service will be technically more on a level playing field with Virgin Media's.
Only time will tell.
I had a bit of a vacuum round today, as the flat had suffered the effects of Chloe's presence. I was surprised at how after a week there isn't a need to dust. Just a clean through of the kitchen, bathroom and en-suite and it'll be looking all pristine again.
As we all threw 2010 into the trash, what was that cowering under the sofa ? Shivering with shyness ? Well, 2011 of course, our new year.
Come on '11, out you come, there's no need to be coy. Enticing it, as we do with a nice and pleasant tone, and some breadcrumbs.
The interesting thing, of course, or not, depending on your view is that all this celebration is about the marking of a date, that is entirely given significance, with human invention. How we do like to mark out our lives with these signposts or landmarks. We divide it up, shouting for joy at the clocking up of another number.
Isn't that really much ado about nothing ? Like the day of your birthday, when people share with you their best wishes on the notching up of another year. 'Congratulations' they say. Pleasant as it naturally is, the alternative - of not getting any older, by dying - isn't really something that people would contemplate. Always make me think it's like congratulating someone for breathing properly.
And when you mark that inevitable passing of another year in your life, does one day feel any different from the last. No. Not one jot. How does the food in my cupboard know that at midnight is suddenly becomes inedible ? Will those cheese and onion snacks suddenly be more dangerous to my health ten minutes past midnight ?
Time is such a strange thing. It surely passes, without a care at all for it's going, or how we measure it. Marching as it does inexorably on. Well, this year, I'm going to be marking the passing of the time by making a blog entry every day. Some of them will probably not contain very much at all. Some will inevitably be 'fillers'. Even so even if I achieve half this target, I'd have made considerably more entries than 2010. I am hoping that somewhere in the mix of 'fillers' and droll, boredom that is really the vast majority of the content of most of anyone's life I will be recording what happens to me, how I feel. There have been some very unexpected things in 2010, and I am counting on 2011 being the same. No one can predict the extraordinary things that are in the future. The ordinary things (wanting to stay in bed longer every morning, dealing with the roller-coaster of challenge, achievement and self motivation that is work, the incomplete works that I attempt in feeble acts of creativity....) will be there too. Even if one person gets something out of all that, it will be a success.
What I'm hoping, is that the one person, as a minimum that gets something out of that, is me.
I have decided to be a boring bastard and not go out to celebrate the passing of the year. Just not in the mood. If anything, all I have a desire to do, is sit in front of the TV at home, have a nice cup of tea. Cuddle on the sofa.
Ok. Skip the last one, if there was someone to cuddle on the sofa when I got home, you know what I would say ? I'd say, 'hey, what the fuck are you doing in my flat ! - and while you're at it, take your god damned shoes off my sofa'.
Or something like that.
2010, wasn't after all the hype and excitement, the year that we found a strange monolith on the moon. No.
2010, was the year that I completed a 100 page script (Retro Rocket), for script frenzy. It was the year Helen and I started working on our next stage play. I wrote another two scripts for Beacon. I also completed nearly 17,000 words towards my NanoWriMo entry, even though I didn't reach the 50,000 needed to finish, I was kind of distracted by the other massive eventful thing that happened this year, and only occurred in the last few weeks.
Yes, of course, I'm referring to the new flat. Fantastic flat. Yes, the one that due to a distinct lack of internets have not been able to blog about. Yeah, cos that's the reason.
So bearing in mind all the things that have happened this year, and some of them have been way short of what I had wanted, some of them have exceeded my wildest expectations.
This review is from: Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite - Latest Generation (Electronics)
I've now had my Kindle for about three weeks, and I can't imagine life
without it. I'd understood that there were delays with the delivering of
the units, so was entirely surprised when I went to the post office (as
I'd not been in when they'd tried to deliver it) to collect what I
thought was the less exciting case... but was in fact the Kindle itself.
The guy behind the counter in the post office must have thought I was a
right weirdo, as the moment I saw the box that is the subject of so
many youtube unboxing reviews, my face was beaming. I was excited and
eager.
Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.
I was due to catch the bus for work in 20 minutes time.... the clock was ticking...
I got home, quickly put a camcorder up to record the opening, as it
was a one time event, just in case I felt the need to video a review
later on. I've just never gotten round to it.
Just how indispensable I've found the device is demonstrated by what
a panic I got into yesterday, when I thought I had lost it at work.
Thankfully someone had handed it in. My beloved Kindle was safe and
sound.
I have to say, the product is fantastic. In all of about 2 minutes
I'd opened the box, turned the Kindle on, connected to my wifi network,
downloaded all my books, and was ready to go ! The screen is so easy on
the eye, reads well, even in sunlight. I've made great use of being able
to email the PDF files of scripts that I'm working on, so that I can
read them much easier without having to kill a couple of hundred trees
every time.
even without playing with zoom or orientation, PDFs look great
I was also impressed with the 'experimental' browsing experience.
Come on guys, don't be shy, there's nothing experimental about it. It
works like a charm, does the job for reading text based sites. I also
like how pictures that I've emailed to the kindle look on the screen,
I've sent a few over just to test the technology out, and I have to say
they look better in black and white.
I have yet to actually connect my kindle to a pc. All the books, PDFs and pictures that are now on my device, are there because I emailed them to my 'xxxxxxxxx@free.kindle.com' address. What a brilliant and simple idea, a wonderfully easy to use way to get anything (that's supported) onto your device. It certainly doesn't need someone tech savy to set that up !
In a world where I am used to charging so many devices every day if I
expect to get anything near a usable experience out of them, to have
one that I have only needed to charge once since purchasing is
brilliant.
One of these pictures is from the 'dead tree' version....
...the other is from the Kindle's screen...
I've shown it to people at work, and there is a gathering of
drooling book reading people who just get that it's not an Ipad wanna
be, it's an ereader. A very capable ereader that just works, looks and
feels great and has a brilliant price point. I've taken two pictures, one of the same part of text in a book, the other, on the kindle itself. I think my rush to take the picture so I can catch that bus doesn't quite do it justice. Hopefully you can see that the Kindle screen is a brilliant reading display. There are no prizes for guessing what book this is. I don't know, to be honest
why it would make sense to spend an extra £40 on the 3G version when
there are so many free wifi spots around. I also cannot believe that the
branded cases offered by Amazon represent that much value for money. (I
got mine off Ebay for half the price - I just wasn't convinced that a
case that hooks on by those ... hooks is really going to work in the
long term, or that the device won't end up damaged if it gets knocked.
What do I love about it ?
It fits in my coat pocket.
Its light. Easy to hold. Easy to carry
It feels 'right'. The page forward/page back controls are just right.
The price point. If it drops below £100 you really don't a reason not to get one.
For reading, the screen is so much better on your eyes. No strain.
Battery lasts, like 'forever' (results may vary - I'm speaking figuratively)
Document portability. The email files to thing is a master stroke of genius.
Wifi connectivity. You're not tied to a PC.
'Experimental' Browser. Understated-ly brilliant for viewing text based web content.
If you read books or scripts, I have one simple piece of advise. GET THE KINDLE. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.
