Forecast: 6-15
Attained: 9-15

... there was something I was going to check out on utoobs but for the life of me I can't think what it was.

~=o>
Hee. There's a weekend seminar later this year in Mildura. I've 'expressed my interest' to the organisers, as the saying goes. Was thinking about driving up but it's 7ish hours, whereas going by train*, it's still 7 hours but will cost about half the amount I'd be spending in petrol. Yes, that sounds much better...

[*Well, two trains and a coach as there's no direct line. Either way, eeee, train! :)]

Forecast: 8-13
Attained: 7-16

Following this story today about someone losing the keys to Wembley Stadium, my favourite radio station was calling for other 'lost keys' stories.
I didn't call in but here's mine:
Way back when, in the times Before, when I was living on my own in a shitty, but charming, one bedroom flat I woke up one morning and couldn't find my keys. This wouldn't have been a problem except there was only one way out of the flat: through a door that had an old-fashioned deadlock that couldn't be opened without a key.
Yerrs.
Tore the place apart looking for the bloody things, getting crosser and crosser, and panickier. Time was ticking away and I had to go to work. Note, this was in the days before mobile phones, plus I didn't have a landline 'phone cos the place was slated for demolition and the telco wouldn't install one.
The situation was hopeless, but did I despair?
Well, yes, a bit - I had visions of calling out pathetically to passing strangers and asking them to contact a locksmith, and I was calculating how long my food was going to last - and then it dawned on me that perhaps, possibly... did I leave the keys in the lock last night when I came home?
Managed to open the kitchen window enough to crane my head around to view the front door... Yup, there they were. I swore, vociferously, cos now I had to climb out of a window - the loungeroom window, as that one actually opened wide enough for me to squeeze through. (I did hang about for a few minutes on the offchance a neighbour would pass by and I could ask them to fetch my keys, but no, the indignity of climbing out of the window was mine to be suffered.) [sigh]

It was fortunate that no one had let themselves in to my flat overnight, I suppose, and I did have an amusing story to explain why I was late for work...
And now I always check what sort of door lock a place has before I rent.

~=o>
Mwhahahaha! I now have all my Beatles albums on my new shiny!
Only a little bit less that 500mgbs - still have 10+gbs of space. Niace

Forecast: 7-13
Attained: 7-12


Weird weekend, didn't do a lot, or feel inclined to do a lot. The cat's loved me sitting still for so long, though.

~=o>

Still playing with my new shiny.

~=o>

Every now and then I check in with my phobias to see how they're progressing.





Yep, robots are still freaking me out. Time to leave well enough alone for a while longer.
Speaking of which, I found these pics from October 2007, when Asimo was touring the country. Our school got free tickets to the show. The children were quite excited.

I found myself growling when Asimo came out, for all it was designed to look as non-threatening as possible. :)

Forecast: 8-15
Attained: 8-16

So, the London 2012 opening ceremony was good, was it? Hopefully I'll get to see it: it's not being replayed online anywhere yet.

~=o>

Interesting.

Michael Pollan's 7 rules for eating...

"Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot..."

I like Pollan's distinction between 'food' and 'edible food-like substances'. :)


~=o>

We take hand-hygiene very seriously in our hospitals...

Forecast: 9-14
Attained: 10-14

...
I'm caught between enchanted and bemused.

Rockabye Baby!
Lullaby rendition of baby's favourite rock bands...

Rockabye Baby transforms timeless rock songs into beautiful instrumental lullabies. Guitars and drums are traded for soothing mellotrons, vibraphones and bells, and the volume is turned down from an eleven to a two. Rockabye Baby is the perfect way to share the music you love with the littlest rocker in your life.

The Cure, Smith's, Coldplay, Beatles, Radiohead, Police, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Van Halen, Metallica... there's a lot of bands covered. Some tracks lend themselves beautifully to being lullabyed, others not so much.

~=o>

I've been playing with the camera on my new shiny.
Can you guess what this is?

(It's the bit on the mandarin where the stalk meets the fruit... Was quite a nice mandarin, too.)


This is a thing from work. I think it needs bunny ears. :)


Asleep...

Awake...

Forecast: 9-14
Attained: 9-13

I went to the dentist today. This is significant in that it's been twelve years since my last visit. In that time my teeth have been slowly chipping and crumbling but what sent me scurrying off for treatment this time was that it's started happening to my front teeth. Not such a problem when your back teeth are getting snaggled: completely different when it's your front teeth. So vanity, yes. :)

Anyway, this dentist had been recommended by the cubs' father and as a new patient I was expecting to have to wait weeks for an appointment but I was able to be seen within a couple of days.
The drilling part is still extremely unpleasant but the new 'flash-setting' amalgam is pretty amazing. No having to wait a few hours for it to set before eating.

It was pricey though, which is the main reason I've not been to see a dentist in so long. I don't have private health cover, and dental is not covered by the government provided Medicare.
I digress.
Was a little over $200 for the examination and filling. I'll need a further 3 or 4 fillings/reconstructions, and 3 extracts. I figure I'll be up for about $1500 to get everything sorted. Wince making, but manageable spread over a year or so.
Wot fun, eh?

~=o>

Forecast: 10-16
Attained: 9-15

Parent/teacher interviews went as expected - with universal praise for the cubs' intellects, and universal cries for them to 'get organised'! :)
And then we - including their dad - had takeaway chicken and chips for dinner.
Mmmm

~=o>

These are the cutest earbuds.

Unfortunately they only lasted for a few uses before losing sound in one of the buds. They're quite comfortable, designed to sit in specific ears. Alas the bud that lost sound is the one that fits in my good ear. I can use the other bud in that ear but it's not at all comfortable.

Forecast: 6-16
Attained: 7-15

Coming home this evening from the LMS training I nipped in to a 7-11 cos there was a 20% off deal on the itoons vouchers. Bargain!
The cashier was going to charge me full price but I said 'but but...' and pointed at the sign. He checked and was most apologetic - the special had finished a day or so ago, but cos the sign was still there he gave me the discount anyway. :)
I'm currently loading up my new shiny with more Torchwood stuff. Mwahahah.

~=o>

The inspection went fine today. Apparently. I wasn't here but the cubs' father was. Did I mention the saga? Anyway, the inspection was scheduled for Monday, which wouldn't have been a problem as I normally don't work on Mondays, however this particular Monday I was doing the Cultural Competency workshop. Wouldn't have been a problem as I was going to have Tuesday, today, off in lieu, except the LMS training had been rescheduled for today. I found this out after I'd contacted the agent to change the date.
[sigh]
But, cubs' father was happy to sit in for us so panic (mine) was averted.

~=o>

Olympic humour.

Forecast: 7-16
Attained: 4-15

Spoke to my boss about the potentially awkward time for surgery and she said to go for it. The opportunity may not come around again for some time. She also said to take as many days off as I'm given, I'm not to skimp on sick leave. :)
So, providing the surgery isn't cancelled, I should be getting ready to go under the knife in two weeks time...

~=o>

Attended a Cultural Awareness Competency seminar today, centered around Aboriginal/Indigenous people. Was excellent. A very engaging session, and thought provoking. I wasn't tempted to fall asleep once, even after a choppy night.

More library management system training tomorrow...!

Forecast: 8-16
Attained: 11-16

For the past two days I've been hunting high and low for a Very Important Piece of Paper.
... and then I noticed it was on the 'fridge, where I'd put it because it was a VIPP. [headdesk]

~=o>

(nicked from somewhere by someone...)

[snerk] "... only thinks of you as a friend..."

Forecast: 8-15
Attained: 7-17

Rental inspection on Tuesday so I spent this afternoon cleaning. Scrubbed down the tiles in the bathroom - which won't look clean ever again until they're regrouted but eh, [shrug], I can only work with what I've got.
The rest of the time was spent in my room, clearing the bed and sifting through the pile of chaos while being entertained by Torchwood audio books/radio plays.

With the help of Sigma!cub I finally got Mum's Australian wrens tapestry up in my room. It's been sitting on the floor behind a door basically since we moved in but today there was at last, space to reach the wall and hang the thing up. Happy now...

There's not a lot left to do in the house, to be honest. Some general tidying, scrubbing the bath, and vacuuming. Will be glad when the inspection's finished, naturally, this coming week's going to be a bit weird anyway...

Forecast: 8-15
Attained: 10-16

Part of the fun of the training day last week was sitting in the upmarket cafe, eating lunch and pigeon-holing - just quietly to myself - the people that came in. Corporate, Legal, IT, student, tourist... :) No idea if I was correct about any of them, of course, I didn't check.
There were however some beautiful suits coming in for their gourmet wraps and vegetarian soups. Tailored, expensive, rich yet understated colours with perfectly accessorised ties and pocket hankies. I was impressed with them.

~=o>

Discovered a couple of not-so-good things about my new shiny. First it chews through the battery like cookie monster through baked goods; second, the music player is too good. Lovely system, beautifully balanced and consequently rubbish for me through headphones. It all sounds tinny and echoey with half the track missing. [sigh]
However, it does sound awesome through speakers, and is way more versatile to lug around the house than the old cd-player.

~=o>

And speaking of hearing issues, in the post today I received notification that I can go in for my op on August 8th. Ye gods, that was quick! My first thought was that that was a bad time to be away from work, what with the new system coming in and the boss going on holiday. However, maybe it's a better time than later, as it'll be before the new system goes live. Will need to discuss with the boss...

~=o>

Thought for the day...

[giggling]
(nicked from here.)

Forecast: 5-15
Attained: 4-14

The training went well today, helped by a very civilised start to the day (I rolled out of bed about the time I'm usually heading out the door...)
We spent our lunch vouchers at The Old Chamber. I had an especially nommy poached chicken wrap with rocket and avocado/lemon yoghurt dressing. So very, very niace. :)

Morning and afternoon tea was supplied on site. Mid-morning there were muesli bars, and mid-afternoon, chocolate. Unsurprisingly, I had trouble staying awake for the last hour...

~=o>

This is the last pic I took with my previous 'phone.
It's one of the carparks at my local shopping suburb. There's a new system been installed there: green lights mean the parking space is empty, red means it's full.

Have a close look...

I didn't know there were invisibility cloaks big enough for cars.

Forecast: 9-14
Attained: 9-14

I'm off to the city tomorrow for library training. Should be good, not least because it's a shorter day - 9.30-4.30 - so I'll be able to have a bit of a sleep in, plus I'll be able to amble out of the house around 8, instead of haring out before 7.30.
Also, apparently, we're being given $15 vouchers for lunch. Prices in Melbourne - that'll be a sandwich and a cup of coffee. :)

~=o>

I realised today that before my new shiny can go 'net browsing I have to tell it it can. [rolls eyes] So simple to operate when you know how...
But now all the apps and games are belong to me!! (Subject to cost and download limit, naturally...)

Forecast: 10-16
Attained: 11-16

I have holidays booked for the first week in October.
I'm not counting down the days or anything.

~=o>

If you know what question to ask, the 'net can be a wonderful source of information. If you don't know what question to ask, you're stuffed :)
(Out of interest I now have a Transformers transforming sound effect set as message notification on my 'phone...)

~=o>

This is the first picture I took with my new shiny.
It wasn't deliberate, more of a 'so what does this button do...?' moment.

(That's a close up, btw, of the steering wheel cover Penny knitted.)

Forecast: 10-16
Attained: 11-17

I haz a new shiny!

New on the left: the screen is twice the size of the old phone. :)
Going to take a wee while to learn how to drive the thing, it has completely different idiosyncracies than previous 'phones. And no radio*, which is a bum, but the old 'phone still works as music/radio player, just not as a communication device anymore.

[*I can listen to the radio but it involves streaming it online. Nice idea but as I've got less than 1gb a month on the 'phone to play with I'm not sure it's something I want to do, given how often I listen to the radio.]

~=o>

Bought a new shower curtain today - as it was the manky old one that came with the house washed up ok, but it'll be good to have a spare, I guess - and I finally dragged out the nifty curtain hooks soulsis gave me ages ago. They look great!

Forecast: 7-15
Attained: 7-15

This made me snerk today.

Fandom wank wiki: Het

WARNING: The following entry contains subject matter which many may find to be disgusting and perverse

Het is a bizarre underground subgenre of fanfic written by fetishists who can only become aroused by portraying characters engaged in heterosexual intercourse. It is estimated that at least .03% of fan fiction is het. Het is, for all intents and purposes, the opposite of slash.

[snerk]
It's not for no reason some fanpeeps have a 'My Fandom Warns For Het' icon.

~=o>

The system went down at work on Friday. And by 'the system' I mean 'The System'. No 'phones, email or 'net access. We couldn't even open files on the 'puters! Scary. Fortunately it only lasted ten minutes, but it was a very long ten minutes...

Forecast: 10-13
Attained: 11-14

I dance, and KittenKong just looks at me... :)


~=o>

Finally a couple of Aus songs from the '80's that I rilly, rilly like have appeared on itoons.
This is very camp. Not sure how Iva Davies feels about it now. [smirk]






When I first saw this next clip I found it thrilling. You'll see why from about 1:50.




Dig that funky '80's saxophone!
Browsing the Flowers/Icehouse tracks on itoons has reminded me how much of their stuff I liked. My wish list has just expanded...


~=o>

(Shall I make a note here about how much I'm writing? Not sure. Might just get discouraging if I'm not doing much. Anyhow for now there's the prologue and half a chapter.)

Forecast: 10-14
Attained: 9-15

We're getting closer to the implementation of the new LMS (library management system). The first training day is next week! And for the first time evah* in the history of our amalgamated campuses, only the main one will be open - and staffed by just one person - so the rest of us can do the training. There'll be five of these days in all. I'll have to miss one, cos I'm already booked in for something else that day. It's all go, now!

(*Akshully, not sure if that's true. We have a limited service between xmas/NYE, but I can't remember precisely if it's only the primary campus that's open...)

~=o>

Was experimenting with the photocopier at work today, printing out a document in 'booklet' style. The result was very cute; it reminded me of how I used to make my own books, scrolls etc when I was little. Asked my workmate, J, if she did anything similar and she confessed rather sheepishly to making library-style pockets and return date slips for her books, which I thought was adorable! Yes, she's a librarian now. Who'd have thought it, eh? :)

~=o>

For various reasons I haven't written any fiction for a very long time. (When I'm down on myself I call it 'laziness', though it isn't, not really.) However, despite not writing anything my writer's brain is constantly churning out stuff, threads of plots and snippets of scenes that waft up to tickle my consciousness, be dwelled on and expanded then filed away again until they're ripe.
Happily today a few of those threads bumped in to each other and I had an 'ahah! moment. Actually, it was more of a stop-dead-in-the-office-squeak-a-bit-and-say-'OMG, yes, of course!' Fortunately perhaps I was there on my own.

Part of the problem with not writing was that there was so much back log from when I was writing, and I couldn't make a decision. Do I go back to the fan fic, old or new? Should I be writing something original to publish? There was plenty there milling about to choose from but nothing really grabbed my attention, until now.
I should've known something was afoot when I recently started actively noticing and collecting odd words and typos. In the past it was from a similar list that I picked out non-standard names, placenames etc.

So yes, I have a definte base to work from now. It will be original fantasy, aimed at young adults. I've read a lot of YA stuff over the years and there's a lot of leeway given for more adult content than children's books. It won't be too dramatic a change from what I've written before, just toned down somewhat. :)

Forecast: 11-15
Attained: 12-14

At the staff meeting today, it was put forward that we have a launch party when our new library management system goes online. I foresee... cake!


~=o>

When I got up this morning at 6.30ish I switched on the solar-powered chinese lantern party lights strung up over my bedhead. (Always a cheerful way to get out of bed :) Anyway, I forgot to switch them off as I was leaving for work but wasn't too worried cos they'd be recharging this evening with the light from the bedside lamp.
When I got home just after 6 I found the lights were still shining! Quite impressed with them. :)


~=o>

This is way more amusing than it should be. [snerk]

WARNING FOR LANGUAGE AND CARTOON PENISES

Forecast: 10-15
Attained: 11-15

Found out today that Sesame Street is going in to it's 42nd year!
I remember watching it when we first moved to Australia. I was six at the time, now I'm 48. That means I was probably watching the first or second season.
I still like the show, though I still take issue with the way they pronounce 'z'. :)

~=o>

Heh, this time last year I was being fitted for my hearing aid. Not that I've worn it overly much in the meantime...

Forecast: 10-13
Attained: 11-14

Been waiting for notice of an inspection from the estate agent. Letter arrived today - finally! Date's been set for a couple of weeks ahead. Unfortunately it falls on a day that I would normally have free but this time I've got a work thing on that I really don't want to miss.
Eh, I'll ring and reschedule. Even if the date comes forward a week it shouldn't be a problem, the house is almost ready as it is. :)


~=o>

I've been contemplating sausage making. Doesn't look that hard, and you're guaranteed to know what's in your snags.
Could also make my own sausage stuffer...


~=o>

WARNING FOR PICS OF GIANT SPIDER IN THE FOLLOWING LINK

Joules' tarantula, Rosa, has recently moulted. Joules, because she's the sharing sort, kindly posted pics.
I'm a little bemused by my shuddering horror, to be honest...

Forecast: 8-15
Attained: 10-16

Cubs and I went to see Pixar's (and the Holy Rodent Empire's, I suppose) movie Brave today.
It was so much fun! Well cast, and the animation was as always, superb. I've read some reviews that have said this isn't a particularly good, or innovative additon to Pixar's collection but pfft I say to them, pfft!

Oh, and I'm in love with Angus...

...Merida's gorgeous horse. [happy sigh]

This is a featurette released online. It's not part of the movie but it's so funny!




~=o>

I roll my eyes at the current trend to re-do old movies in 3D - it's a cynical cash grab. I will however be going to see Finding Nemo when it's been converted. Hypocritical? Eh...

~=o>

I've had a big box of pencils lurking around for months, part of my Mum's stash o' stuff. I was going to dump the lot off at an op shop but I sat down and actually looked at what was in there...
Derwents!
I had a set of 24 colours when I was younger, and loved them. Spent probably too much time putting them in order. Happy memories. So, I'll be keeping these after all. :)

Forecast: 4-15
Attained: 3-15

House cleaning, yes! [drumming up enthusiasm. srsly]
Washed the kitchen floor this afternoon. KittenKong reappeared from wherever she'd hied herself off to when the vacuum cleaner came out. She stepped on to the wet floor and gave me a look that was both baffled and slightly accusatory... :)

~=o>

While cleaning up I found a piece of paper from 5 years ago with 'Sons & Daughters - Gilt Complex' written on it. I generally write down the names/artists of songs I hear and like, for further investigation. This one apparently got overlooked. So I checked it out.
Cracking tune!



I have a copy now, of course.

Forecast: 3-14
Attained: 3-14

With no heating in the house sometime's it's so cold you can see your breath. I noticed this evening that it also happens with the cat, little puffs of steam from her nose. It's adorable, and very funny. :)

~=o>

SAD BALLS

[snicker] A pic from xmas 2007, from when we were decorating the tree.

~=o>

I've just rewatched Akira for the first time in years. This was the movie that changed my mind about anime, allowing me to understand just how good it could be. Prior to this I'd only seen Robotech and some dreadful pr0n. (Oh, and even earlier there was Kimba, of course, but I won't hear a word against that one.)





So yes, Akira, I'm still not entirely sure what was going on there at the end but the versatility of the animation still blows me away...

Forecast: 5-14
Attained: 6-12

Heard this on the radio this morning, listening on headphones. Made me laugh out loud. I was in the loo at the time, at work.
Fortunately I was alone...




Best bit:

"They call me the Hiphopopotamus
Flows that glow like phosphorous
Poppin' off the top of this esophagus
Rockin' this metropolis
I'm not a large water-dwelling mammal
Where did you get that preposterous hypothesis?
Did Steve tell you that, perchance?
Steve..."

~=o>

I spend a lot of time online at work, doing actual work related stuff, for the most part, but I still can't resist following shiny links.
I found this! Is pretty damn awesome.

European Southern Observatory.
I spent some time browsing through the Picture of the Week. Wow.

Forecast: 7-14
Attained: 5-13

Hm.





Hee, thought I recognised the voice. [Karl Urban] Not sure that alone would be enough to tempt me to the cinema. Never was a huge fan of "I AM the law."

Forecast: 8-13
Attained: 9-13

What was weird about the Prometheus experience on Monday, was having Bobby McFerrin's 'Don't worry be happy' playing as we left the cinema.
A bit incongruous, yes.

~=o>

Cubs' are usually with their dad on Friday nights but he's o/s for a couple of weeks which means I'm going to lose my time-to-myself. [hand to forehead] But iz ok! Cubs are organising a sleep-over this Friday anyway. :)

Forecast: 8-13
Attained:

Woot, a bonus of school holidays - the local TAFE allows hospital staff to use their carpark! Mwhahahah! It's about a third of the distance of the trek across the park.
Yes, I know the walking is 'good for me' but I don't like it cos I start work grumpy and sweaty...
Wuss? Absolutely.

~=o>

So, Muse is doing the Olympic London Games Theme 2012, are they?
It's a bit OTT even for them! I think they're taking the piss... :)

This is just the music clip, but scroll down for the lyrics.



"...Yes, I am prepared
To stay alive
I won't forgive
Vengeance is mine... "

[snort] Oh yes, very stirring.

I prefer this version.

Forecast: 8-13
Attained: 9-12

Went along with the cubs and their dad today to see Prometheus.
Interesting. Fabulous scenery and cinematography - I'll be miffed if it doesn't win something for that - and the tech was so very cool, human and other alike.
It wasn't as scary as the original two films, but not because we were familiar with the concepts and so had an idea what was likely to make us jump. No, this I felt was a more cerebral horror; there's implications here that make me twitchy, even though I know it's just a movie, really.
It was slow to get started, but to be honest I was so distracted by the scenery I sometimes didn't notice. But then again, I was so distracted at times I missed chunks of plot and dialogue... :)

Still not sure how I feel about David...

Forecast: 7-12
Attained: 7-10

Cubs' birthdays today, though I didn't actually see them for most it as they were off at their dad's for roleplaying.
What did I do with this time to myself? Nap, mostly, and not eat much, not after yesterday's feasting... :)