Journal Entries
People Who Need To Spend Time In The Real World
Posted Oct 24, 2000
There are a breed of people who seem to fail to understand that anyone else on the planet is sentient. They appear to assume that because they spent an awful load of time accumulating some largely useless degree somewhere that people can't understand even the most simple principles of what they're talking about. It's like a professor of Mathematics who won't accept that you've added the restaurant bill up right. Or the doctor of Medicine who informs you that you shouldn't use a given type of teaspoon for measuring out cough syrup.
These people are more than 'jobsworths' - the breed of administration personnel that require not only that you fill out a form in triplicate, send it in specific envelopes to specific places, and make no mistakes whatsoever even though the forms say you haven't complete everything backwards, but also that you do the whole thing in biro of exactly the right shade of lime green. These people are some form of pond scum with delusions of godliness. Or maybe that's a little harsh?
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Latest reply: Oct 24, 2000
Reading for the Masses... Or possibly on their behalf.
Posted Oct 20, 2000
Having a marvellous time ploughing through the new version of Dungeons and Dragons at the moment. I am, at the best of times, a slow reader - so it's really going to take me an awful long time to really get to grips with the contents of the three core books. Especially as I have a habit of dipping into several other books and magazines at the same time - Terry Pratchett's 'Dark Side of the Sun', the 'Sword and Sorcery' Creature Catalogue (an official monster supplement for Dungeons and Dragons that has me far more interested than the official Monster Manual), DC's latest new comic, this months SFX magazine... The list seems to go on.
However, I do love to dip in and out of books. Sometimes I find a single book is enough, but most of the time there's nothing better than tasters from everything I have to hand. I think that sums up my contributions to the Guide too!
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Latest reply: Oct 20, 2000
Just 'In Sickness...'
Posted Oct 5, 2000
Bleurgh! That about sums up the current feelings rumbling around in my stomach. I can only thank the Powers That Be that I have a tolerant and patient partner willing to tidy up a lot of unpleasant mess. Whichever viruses thought it was a funny idea to nestle down in my gut somewhere and throw food out any available orifice at the smallest provocation should be given a serious dressing down and a sound spanking. Probably sent to bed too.
Bleurgh! That's all I can say. Now pass me some of that fizzy lemon barley stuff and some dry toast and I'll be going...
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Latest reply: Oct 5, 2000
That Holiday Feeling
Posted Aug 21, 2000
The countdown tick-tocks away, and my stress levels rise steadily towards the point where steam is likely to shoot out of my ears. I have the promise of a wonderful holiday from the 23rd August until early September, but to feel guilt-free I have one-hundred-and-one things I need to clarify, document and train at work. Not that the company is likely to fall flat on it's face if I'm not around to do something about it. I'm sure I'm really not that important; but, there are still one or two things that I've fallen into becoming something of an expert on, whilst everyone else will need to trawl through a disheartening quantity of documentation to answer questions. Maybe I should just relax and forget about it...? Give in to The Holiday Feeling and let the rest of the world simply slip away...
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Latest reply: Aug 21, 2000
Mission: Passible
Posted Jul 28, 2000
Mission: Impossible was a poor movie. Don't have second thoughts about it. Don't rent or buy the video just to make sure. It was bad. There were some explosions and people got killed. That's it. Chances are the second part of the film was obscured by a coma when it last got a viewing.
Where M:I failed it's sequel decided to go for the easy option. Explosions, big fights and lots of fancy disguises. OK... that's a bit of a spoiler, but there you have it. This is a journal entry and pussy-footing isn't required. The film has a plot about a virus - Chimaera - that kills people in the space of day (or thereabouts) and half the movie Ethan Hunt doesn't even know what Chimaera is... never mind whether it'll kill anyone.
There's an embarrassing Australian agent (embarrassing for the Australian's primarily) with a big mouth and a big guy who's the techie whose primary (and probably only) character trait is that he likes to dress well. The love interest is a charming, pretty nosed thief with a taste for fast cars and living dangerously. The villian is a Scotsman who reminded me, off-puttingly, of my old departmental manager - something that robbed some of the weight from his villainous role (as my ex-manager was known for his endless witty anecdotes about pretty much anything and bizarre stories about his childhood and family).
The music's good. The scenery is good (Australia and Spain provide some very pretty, and also dusty, backdrops).
One thing to look out for is a remake of The Fast Show's take-off of the endless fight scene (called something like "The Long, Bloody Fist Fight") which features at the end of the movie. You may find yourself wondering whether the financers of the movie realised how much the Fighting Consultants/Choreographers had been paid and decided that they needed to get their moneys worth before the film finished.
Overall, a good action-orientated movie. The start bogs down for a while and there are a couple of slow bits in the middle. The plot just about hangs in there. Go see it.
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Latest reply: Jul 28, 2000
The Apprentice
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