Today’s soundtrack: Alanis Morisette, Jagged Little Pill.
Actually kind of wishing I wasn’t listening to this. Last time I heard it I was 13, had been in the hospital for a month, and was looking at another month there, was in the process of recovering from abdominal surgery. At the time I liked the song so my brother requested it for me on the hospital radio. Now, not so much. *skip* Ah, much better…
Fool’s Garden, Lemon Tree. Mmmmmm wierd German/Swedish Rock.

Right, I did something to fuck up my ankle whilst dancing the other night. I woke up on Sunday and it was all swollen and painful. Now it is painful, without the icky swelling, but still painful. I now have three limbs out of the four swathed in tubigrip. At least when you stay at home and watch movies you don’t get injured. Grrr. In case you hadn’t guessed, I am not in a good mood. I was having a good day (lots of shiny wiki-goodness got done) so I came home happy, but tired, from a productive day in the lab. Then I try to access the wiki, not an hour after I left it running happily, and it is no longer working. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. I quit! Really, I do! There aren’t enough cups of tea in the world…

Rather than rant for ever and a day about the evilness of wiki’s, I will content myself with a bitter and twisted round up of the latest shiny internet goodness.

I’ve mentioned his blog before, but I will mention it again – go read the Old Prof’s blog. 82 years old and blogging with the best of them. Not yet managed to conquer his slug infestation, but working on it.

The other day I brought you the scary female ‘robot’. Apparently she’s been going strong for a good 6 years now. So now, I bring you videos… Links to video of scary android-lady

To quote someone: I don’t need, I want. Furgles CD Holder. I have no need for a furry thing that only holds 24 cd’s (when I go away I have an iPod for the music, and a much more compact wallet for DVD’s). They are just… Furry. Does something to me. Like Tribbles. The simplest alien life-form ever invented for a sci-fi show, but so totally adorable. I’m still on the lookout for a making-noise one, if anyone wants to give me a treat 😀 I have no need for one. I just want one.

BTW, I do resent the overt pinkness of this site, but hey, who am I to argue with stereotype? ShinyShiny – girly gadget goodness.

Jeff Bridges. Penguins. I can die happy.

There is one problem with dressing all respectable-like and not looking like a student – shop assistants start to call you ‘madam’. Went into the LCE on Saturday to see if they could fix my ill SLR^*1* and every other word out the chap’s mouth was ‘madam’. I am not the keeper of a house of ill repute, and I am definately not a middle aged or married French lady, so I am not a madam. Not sure what I am, but it ain’t that!

There really are some cute cats on this, The Infinite Cat Project. If you’re not a cat person, then the idea of a string of over 1000 cats looking at pictures of cats looking at pictures of cats looking at pictures of cats looking… might not be your thing. If you are curious, I came to this site courtesy of the this article on the NYT. And you thought that the NYT was all about serious news! I’d guestimate a good 60% of my funnies and giggles come from the NYT. Bless my brother for moving there five years ago, so prompting me to follow what was going on there.

NEW SERENITY TRAILER ONLINE!!!!! here. Yes, in case you hadn’t guessed, I am quite excited about this. And everyone has to go and watch it, because if it is a success, there will be at least another movie or two… Best lines in this trail definitely go to Jayne. Mmmmmmm, Adam Baldwin…

Worth looking at if only to see that Napoleon Dynamite the actor isn’t all that stomach churning after all! Just Like Heaven trail

I hate guns. I hate all they stand for. I hate violence. I hate even to watch violence, so why oh why do I find myself wanting to watch Lord of War when it comes out? And, ok, so the presence of Jared Leto looking hot, Nic Cage being, well, Nic Cage, and Ethan Hawke for good measure, is tempting. But that isn’t all of it. Damn it. I know I’m going to dislike watching this. ARG!

I am all for open-access and the like, so the news that the Metropolitan Opera has put it’s database online is good news (I can’t stand opera, but hey, online is fun). One thing that got me is the paragraph at the end of the first page – the dude is being sued for alienation of affection because his database is too addictive?! Do people sue computer games companies?! Silly Americans and their sue-anybody-that-stays-still-long-enough policy. (the story)

I love chess. I actually collect chess sets – well, if I see a beautiful one I have to have it. Now, I am not a fan of pink. Nor am I a fan of Hello Kitty. But, something about this Hello Kitty Chess Set speaks to me. If anyone out there can read Japanese, how much is it, and how do I get it delivered to the UK!

Pocket (over in Japan) got one of these a few months back. Moose and myself both felt they were just so supremely silly and cute, it was a must. And now, the iDog is coming to the UK.

In keeping with previous post about the TactaPad, I bring you (courtesy of ShinyShiny), the VKB virtual keyboard. Once again I am excited about a technology that means I don’t have to exert pressure when I type, though all the indications are that this isn’t overly great. Still, the future is getting nearer every day 🙂

I was just looking at some stills from ‘Stealth’ (still looks, well, curiously seductive) and I realised that Jessica Biel looks rather fine in her jumpsuit. Now I understand the need to get across some sex-appeal to the audience, and that the traditional green suits aren’t exactly designer, or form-fitting, but they are like that for a reason. They have lots of teeny-tiny pumps, values, and pipes and things inside that respond to changes in pressure, pushing the blood from a pilots extremities back to his head, so that he doesn’t black out under the extreme G forces exerted flying such planes. I know that this film is set in the ‘future’, but it is a NEAR future, and in that jumpsuit? Jess is going to make a very pretty corpse. Then again, who am I to expect realism from a Rob Cohen film? Actually starting to look forward to this, in a popcorn kind of way.

You do find some gems on the internet – a site all about vintage Kodak cameras. Call me old fashioned, but you just don’t get the same thrill from a digital camera. I love my digicam, but taking a picture (and not being sure if it’s going to come out as you wanted) is a joy and the reason I haven’t ditched the SLR yet.

Ok, I used to have a rule, and it was this: “never post while drunk”. Long, and frequently painful, experience has taught me that things tend to get said, and things done, when I am drunk, that I will regret for ever and a day when sober. My sentence structure also goes even more to hell in a handcart when under the influence.

But, because I am drunk, I have decided to ignore this rule.

(Oh, any typos etc, just consider the result of more alcohol than I usually drink in one evening, and having sore feet from all the dancing.)

How many computer (and archaeology) geeks can you fit in a goth club? No, this is not the start of a bad joke, though the result was humourous, but rather what was attempted this evening. In the end, we decided that the optimum number was five: the Cute Canadian; Jeff; the Nordic Ninja; Neko; and myself. We also had some honorary geeks: the Raven Master; Liz; the Nordic Ninja’s flatmate who’s name I never totally got; and the Irish Lass. Plus assorted gamer-types who came attached to Neko’s SO.

First port of call – a lovely little pub called The Hobbit (I kid you not!) with various themed drinks including a Red Orc and a Gollum. Then it was on to The Dungeon. Lovely little goth club. I feel very pathetic admitting this, but the last time I had a proper night out with the drinking, and the dancing, and the head-banging, was nigh on a year ago up in Liverpool, so I was about due a good dance. So I danced. Tee hee. The Dungeon is a great little place. Small dance-floor, but big enough to, you know, dance on with your mates. Neko’s SO has long hair and cleared the floor every time he started thrashing. Useful when wanting to get rid of creepy older guy who insists on dancing WAY too close.

Among the notable incidents of the evening were:
1) The Cute Canadian finding out he is referred to as the Cute Canadian. He’s been reading this blog for like months now, and hadn’t twigged?!
2) Trying to teach Jeff how to dance. Not gonna happen this side of Hell suddenly becoming a ski resort. Got some funny pictures (hopefully) which, pending approval of all parties, might get posted. Fingers crossed, because it was funny!
3) The Raven Master’s bird impressions. He does a damn fine raven and peacock. Hence the name. He chose it.
4) The Nordic Ninja turning into a Tickle Monster and attacking everyone in sight. So this was more funny when it wasn’t me she was tickling, but to see both Jeff and the CC cowering on the floor and shrieking like little girls was worth it!
5) Um… Yeah, there were more funny moments, but it does help if (a) you know the people and (b) were there. Since most of you were the other side of the world, I think I will stop now. Plus, it’s like three in the morning, and I have lots of articles to read tomorrow… today! One’s all about technological fetishism. That’s funny in my head right now, which is about as good an indicator as any as to how much I drank.
Oh, I will say 6) The Cute Canadian promising to get me some yoghurt covered pretzels on his latest trip to Canada (his plane leaves Heathrow at around midday today!) and also insinuating there might be feloniously acquired penguin-related goods as a treat just for me. Ah, the guy is perfect. Yoghurt covered pretzels, and felonious penguins. What more could a girl want in a man?

Now, if you will excuse me, I am off to drink yet another pint of water in a vain attempt to stave off the hangover I can already feel starting, have a shower to remove the beer I got drenched in (for some reason, most nights out I end up getting drenched in somebody’s beer. Perhaps it’s being so short? Anyway…) then to sleep, perchance to dream. I have odd dreams when I’m drunk. Hey ho.

Buenos Noches 🙂

The following was written whilst back at the Homestead. I meant to post it earlier on, but got trapped in wiki-hell. I am still in wiki-hell, but perhaps not the lowest circle. More around abouts the middle right now I think. ^*1*

Selamat Datang, dear readers.

That’s welcome/greetings in Malaysian, if you are curious. Why, you ask, am I suddenly greeting you in Malaysian? Well, the reasoning is this: this evening, after dinner, I helped Curly Durly to clear up, then went up to my room to tidy a few things up, mainly my bookshelves, which were in an awful state after four years of me carting books to and fro from various parts of the UK. During the process I came across a couple of old diaries, one of which I wrote whilst I was in Borneo for a month back in 2000. Lots of happy memories were reawakened (though I was also appalled at how immature I sounded then, and have resolved to burn it. Or, at least, force a promise from parents etc that no one EVER sees it in the event that I die a great author/superstar/famous in any way!) These memories included the Gay Praying Mantis, Hippo Porn, singing ‘Eternal Flame’ at the top of our lungs in the middle of the rainforest at night, and our guide Alvin teaching us a few words in the local dialect, including Selamat Datang. Thought I would share.

I will also share this – if you are looking forward to a nice evening, do not succumb to curiosity and read the two diaries written during possibly the worst year of your life, including (but not limited to) three separate breakups, clinical depression, infertility, and the serious illness of a beloved parent. No, I have no idea why I decided to read over them either, but I did. There were some good memories in there, including the first time I heard Jas’ voice, but unfortunately the bad massively outweighed the good. I’d say burn those diaries as well, but they are worth keeping if only to remind myself how bad it can get if you don’t ask for help. There were glimpses of good writing on my part (I’d forgotten that my two best stories were written during that period), the odd elegant turn of phrase I wouldn’t mind using again, a few nice reactions and descriptions, and it was interesting to see how my style changed over the year. (My current blogging style owes a lot to those diaries, though I am not sure if that is a good thing or not!) Mainly, though, I am glad I read them because it is clear how much I’ve changed inside my head since then, mainly for the better, I think.

Just, I wouldn’t recommend that you do similar if you were looking for a nice read! Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to drown my sorrows in a cup of assam tea, read some of The Kraken Wakes, and try to remember why I intensely dislike the three afore mentioned ex’s. Yes, for that is the other problem when reading old diaries: they rather distressingly list the points that you found endearing about people, before you got annoyed with them.
…
Later the following day
…
I spent the entire train journey back thinking about the romance of train travel. Odd, but true. The journey down was actually rather fun – I got chatted up by the cutest bit of jailbait I’ve seen in a while. The poor boys face when he found out I was a post-grad was rather funny though, and understandable seeing as how he’d only had his 18th birthday the week before. The curse of looking a fair bit younger than I really am. I am sure in a few years time I will be grateful, but right now it is a bit of pain, with the only visible results being ID’d for everything, and getting chatted up by people who aren’t old enough to drink in large portions of the world, let alone who weren’t old enough to vote in the last election. The journey back up was not so fun. 1) No cute people to even look at, let alone chat me up. 2) It was raining. Lots. By the time I got home I was doing a rather good impression of a drowned rat. 3) My trains were late. Every single one. And manky. And staffed by very grumpy people. Grrr.

On to other happier stuff now:

I found the mock M:tG card that Kerrick made me on my pin-board back in my room at the Homestead, and it brought back a welter of very happy (and some sad) memories. If you would bare with me one moment, I would like to raise a virtual glass to Terisia, the Castle of Fun, Garic’s City, and the entire WotC community. I had a lot of fun with you guys 🙂 (Click the picture to view the text. That’s me, one eyed barmaid par excellence. I was even the mayor for a little while. Tiana never did get around to making me my sparkly tiara. That makes me sad 🙁 )

For once, I really really have nothing much to say to y’all, other than the following:

I’ve been researching like a demon for the past couple of weeks, the project is going live in a little over a week, and my brain feels like it is about to explode. To avoid that highly messy and unsanitary situation, I’m going away for a couple of days to the land that broadband forgot (aka deepest darkest Somerset and the Homestead) for some much needed rest, relaxation, and pampering. Therefore you shouldn’t be expecting any posts from me till Thursday at the earliest. I will still be reachable by email, but as the internet at home is still only marginally faster than the Pony Express and about as reliable a piece of communication technology as a piece of string between two yoghurt cartons, I will only be checking it once or twice a day.

Look after yourselves and play nicely while I am away,

The following post goes against the grain for me. I really don’t like getting involved in debates that involve religion, mainly due to the fact I am not totally sure what I believe myself, but the following piece by Polly Toynbee in today’s Guardian was just too much, so I have to say something.

The Guardian Op-Ed piece on religion & state

I read, I quaked, I hid under the desk. Just the pure loathing in this woman’s voice for religion had me reeling. Pretty much every religion under the sun gets a bashing, including the Buddhists, but she is at her most scathing about Catholicism, C of E, and, of course, Islam. Mrs Blair “a Catholic wife who consorts with crystals”?! Mr Blair, has “appeased, prevaricated and pretended”, all because he is “a man of faith”. Ruth Kelly, the education secretary, is slammed, and it is clearly pointed out that she is also “devout”, indicating that this is the root of all evil. Religion, we are told, should be relegated to the world of dreams. It is the ending of the piece where, for me, the wheels truly come off the wagon. “The constitutional absurdity of an established church”? “Clouds of hypocrisy”? “Twisted thinking”? Calling for us to “stop this madness”?

At what point did being religious become such a crime? Men, and women, of faith have been great forces for good in this world, and by faith I mean any faith. For sure, men of professed faith have also caused great harm, but so have people who claim no religion: you need just look at the continued persecution of Christians in China to see the legacy of Communism and “religion as the opiate of the masses”.

As for her argument that we need separation of church and state, I’d say take a look at the United States, which has a constitution that ties itself in knots to separate the two, but she already has done and admits they have a serious problem with fundamentalists and terrorism. They have had separation for the past two centuries, there is a total ban on Federal funding for religion in schools, organized school prayer is illegal, and as a result they have one of the most right wing Christian administrations in the world. Yet she wants us to follow the same path?

Stopping religious education is not the answer. It is by not exposing children to different religions that we get intolerance and misunderstanding. When kids aren’t given the chance to learn about religions in a controlled environment so that they can make up their own minds, they can fall prey to extremists and fundamentalists. I was brought up and educated in a school that was nominally C of E. I sang in the church choir for a while, went to Sunday school, was baptised, and every week we had prayer in school assembly, and sang the odd hymn. But I also learnt about other religions at the same time, in fact I think in RE we were taught more about Judaism and Islam than all the Christian sects put together, and when I decided that C of E was not, after all, for me, that was fine. All along, the message imparted to me was that very British form of ‘live and let live’: “keep your beliefs to your self”.

I can see the point that she is trying, badly, to make, but her solution is not the way. We should be inclusive in our outlook, not exclusive, and need to stop bashing people for their convictions. Tony Blair’s personal Catholicism has never been a problem for me. He doesn’t brute it about, and has clearly said on several occasions that whilst he may not agree with something, for example abortion, he won’t impose his ethical views on the nation. On a personal level, I might have serious issues with his religion, and even more serious issues with his political stance, but those are my issues, no one else’s. Because someone is religious doesn’t make them a bad leader. In many cases, I would imagine far from it, for a strong belief in a given religion tends to imbue in a person strong ethical and moral considerations, making them arguably more capable of facing the dilemmas inherent in leading people.

Nothing is guaranteed to get my hackles up more than people like Ms. Toynbee going to lunch on a person’s religious beliefs and blaming all the ills of the world on people who, as a rule, are to be congratulated for doing good. Surely there is a middle way between totally secular, and completely segregated, education, and it is everyone’s moral obligation, regardless of creed, to find it.

Happy Thursday morning to you all 🙂 In my endless efforts to do anything other than research, I bring you the following:

A couple of days ago, the BBC reported a study into why we don’t take the train more in the UK, saying that most people had a problem with the smaller stations. Ok, so they are a hassle. Also, north-south is easy. East-west (which is what I have to do), not so much. But my main problem is that it is so fricking expensive! If blogs are so influential, perhaps somehow, the people in charge will get to hear of my plea, and put rail-fares DOWN, not up. There is something intrinsicly wrong with a mode of transport where it is cheaper to fly places than it is to take the train.

The following trail shouldn’t amuse me, but it does: Underclassman trailer

I woke up this morning to the very sad news that the actor who played Star Trek’s Scotty, James Doohan, has died. It isn’t a major surprise, considering how old the original shows are, but it is always sad to see one of the greats die.

Mmmmm, totally unecessary, but all-woody, goodness: Swedex: wooden screens, keyboards, mice etc. This time built like that, not customised by modders. All hail Sandbenders 🙂

I like space. It is one of my dearest ambitions to get into space one day. Who knows, if we find evidence of life on other planets, I could be the first Xenoarchaeologist! (I read too much SF). Anyway, because I love all things techy and spacy, this is rather groovy: Google Moon. Launched to commemorate the first moon landing on July 20 1969, it is some Nasa imagery on the landing sites. Similar to the very cool (if currently only US-based) Google Earth but, well, on the moon! Tip: zoom in for an easter egg 🙂

David Tennant should have more faith in himself! I loved him in Casanova, and when he appeared at the end of the last Dr Who, I got goose bumps. This may be because I never followed the previous series’ as religiously as some – I knew they existed, but for some reason I prefered Star Trek. Hey ho. Can’t wait for the new series though 😀 (David Tennant has fears over role as new Dr Who)

Yep, it’s a space-themed blog today. Found this in the IHT this morning: an op-ed piece about how well Europe is doing in Space. Watch out, indeed, America.

Oooh, pretty free pictures! Free database of photo’s – IHT article and www.photomuse.org. Exciting times.

Raisin Racing:
I was trying to explain this to Moose the other day, but she just looked at me funny and said that Virtual Pooh Sticks was better. The new flatmate got out of the kitchen as quickly as she could, positive that I am certifiable. Was it just my (admittedly slightly odd) family who used to play this innocent game on a Sunday afternoon whilst waiting for the roast potatoes to get nice and crispy?^*1* Or are there other closet Raisin Racers out there? Come on, we’ll start a club!

How to Raisin Race:
1) Get yourself:
A fizzy drink, preferably clear like lemonade.
A tall glass.
Some raisins.
2) Pick a raisin each.
3) Drop them in the glass
4) The first raisin to the top that wins. Easy.

The theory behind it is that the bubbles get trapped in the wrinkles on the raisin, and force it to rise. You have to choose carefully though – which will reach the top first? A large one with oodles of wrinkles, or a smaller one with fewer wrinkles but that is lighter?^*2*.

Once again, I lay no claim to, you know, being good at making movies. But I was having fun with iMovie, adding a soundtrack and the like, so enjoy (music is the 9-to-5 remix by Too Many DJ’s). That was my raisin that won, by the way!
Raisin Racing Live!

Well, it might not be useful in my thesis, but I just learnt why we yawn (and why it is contagious) – “One example of this interaction is the contagious yawning effect. Yawning is a reflex triggered by the body’s need for increased oxygen. In a situation where one is not getting enough oxygen, others are also encountering the same circumstances. Therefore, witnessing other people yawning serves as a reminder to one’s body that its own cells are feeling deprived.” Now you know. Not sure how that got into my archaeology/social computing research pile. Google Scholar does throw up some slightly odd results sometimes.

Over at Dark Meadow I have been spammed by Jesus Christ. Go, look – the comment on Cryptonomicon. Not sure whether to be pissed off or amused. I will delete the comment soon, but I’m gonna leave it for the next few days at least. What is annoying is that somehow whoever did it sneaked past my page-stats tool. I’m on my third already, and they are all pants. Can anyone recommend a good (free) one?