Zoë has produced one of the most fab film noir paradies I've ever seen in our regular webcomic, the life of Nob T. Mouse. Please have a look!
Clicky for the comic strip
Saturday, 11 July 2009
Ready for the belated honeymoon.
Tomorrow we're off on holiday nice and bright and early. This will be the first proper holiday (as opposed to being away to do stuff) that I've had since 1996. As you can probably guess, I'm not really the kind of person who does a lot of holidaying!
It will also double as the honeymoon for our recent civil partnership in March this year. Now that will be fun! I keep teasing Zoë that I'm going to pack all my bridal lingerie and night attire and that she has to carry me over the doorstep of the caravan. Or something like that.
Luckily the caravan was towed out to the site last week by my parents who were staying there before us. We take over the pitch from them tomorrow. At least it means that I only have to tow the caravan one way, which is a bonus.
I'm looking forward to time away taking in the sites of North Wales. Just as long as the weather is nice! I'm wondering what fuel economy my car will manage both with and without a caravan behind it. I managed to average 41.35mpg on the way to and from Durham last week, which is an all time record and better even than the manual for the car suggests should be expected. All hail the restraint shown by my right foot! Fixing the sticky thermostatic valve with a dose of Barrs seems to have worked well, keeping the engine at a more even temperature instead of overcooling it when not under load.
It will also double as the honeymoon for our recent civil partnership in March this year. Now that will be fun! I keep teasing Zoë that I'm going to pack all my bridal lingerie and night attire and that she has to carry me over the doorstep of the caravan. Or something like that.
Luckily the caravan was towed out to the site last week by my parents who were staying there before us. We take over the pitch from them tomorrow. At least it means that I only have to tow the caravan one way, which is a bonus.
I'm looking forward to time away taking in the sites of North Wales. Just as long as the weather is nice! I'm wondering what fuel economy my car will manage both with and without a caravan behind it. I managed to average 41.35mpg on the way to and from Durham last week, which is an all time record and better even than the manual for the car suggests should be expected. All hail the restraint shown by my right foot! Fixing the sticky thermostatic valve with a dose of Barrs seems to have worked well, keeping the engine at a more even temperature instead of overcooling it when not under load.
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Super fit? That will be the sausages then.
My Wii fit age reached a record of 24 today. Tht's -6 years from my real age, so not bad! Despite all my girly worries about weight and my health, I seem to be in pretty good shape after all. I shall pork on sausages to celebrate.
Monday, 6 July 2009
What was so insulting about sexuality?
Whilst watching Zoë playing Quake Live, I was reminded by the insults flying that aparently no truly cutting insult is complete without questioning the insulted person's sexuality.
It left me wondering, why are people so tetchy about their sexuality or perceived sexuality? Is it just straight people who get tetchy? Would it be insulting to say to a gay person "you heterosexual, you!"?
I'm bisexual, so I guess it's just impossible for the inhabitants of parents' basements the world over to insult me in the only ways they appear to know how.
It left me wondering, why are people so tetchy about their sexuality or perceived sexuality? Is it just straight people who get tetchy? Would it be insulting to say to a gay person "you heterosexual, you!"?
I'm bisexual, so I guess it's just impossible for the inhabitants of parents' basements the world over to insult me in the only ways they appear to know how.
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Too hot! Books and boats.
Yesterday was a busy day, and far too hot too. The trouble with this country is that it is a wet country. That means that sunshine makes that dampness evaporate, and in turn become horrible sticky humidity. We've tried all sorts here from fans to dehumidifiers to opening windows, but none are totally effective. Today looks to be more heat too. Still, it is helping dry out and keep dry the boats I've been working on.
I turned up at midday after dropping Zoë for an interview on the south side of Manchester. The main aim was to get a new gunwale (pronounced as 'gunnel' to rhyme with 'tunnel') on a dinghy where the old one had rotted. We managed to get that done through ingenuity and brute force and all that is left is finishing and painting that now. I also finnished putting the clips to secure the new tarpaulin cover for the finished ASC boat that I've renovated. This will mean it can be perminantly covered on its morring so hopefully won't deteriorate and need repainting every year. Trust me - doing the insides is a laborious and thankless task! I also began work on a second ASC that has lain abandoned under a tent cover for at least four years. It's actually been there so long that the tent is rotting away - I'm told it is the second tent to cover it. I found the hull being used as a skip for junk, so I cleared it out and started preparing and painting all the wood. It looks a huge amount better now, and hopefully its new state will disuade people from skipping junk in it and maybe even encourage them to help do the repairs (though the person in charge laughed and said I was being optimistic given how he had struggled to get help over the years from people).
It was a tiring day, but I got so much done. There are years and years of maintenance backlog at this place, with boat hulls just rotting in the open. My aim when I started was to get five boats back on the water in good refurbished condition. We've done the two easiest with one already being used at the lake (the motor boat) and another finished and shiny to be launched this Sunday. We've also nearly finished one of the harder ones that gives us practice for the second sailing dinghy which needs two new gunwales and possibly a prow post too. The second ASC should also get done which would be a real coup given that it had largely been given up on for the last few years. After they are done there are more boats that can be looked at, but in honesty boat number six looks like it is fit only for the bonfire. Boat number seven looks more promising as it has been well sheeted up this last decade or so and I'm told it just has rotten bottom boards that need replacing.
I'm really enjoying this boat work. It gets me out of the house and makes me feel that I am acheiving much for the charity I'm doing the work for (the Sea Cadets). It's hard work in the humid heat, especially doing all the sanding by hand. On the plus side it must be giving my arse a good toning work out!
And finally, the proof copies of 'Bringing home the stars' arrived yesterday. They look exceptionally good. I think the cover might need lightening a little, but Zoë disagrees with me. She's likely to get the casting vote though. Such is married life!
I turned up at midday after dropping Zoë for an interview on the south side of Manchester. The main aim was to get a new gunwale (pronounced as 'gunnel' to rhyme with 'tunnel') on a dinghy where the old one had rotted. We managed to get that done through ingenuity and brute force and all that is left is finishing and painting that now. I also finnished putting the clips to secure the new tarpaulin cover for the finished ASC boat that I've renovated. This will mean it can be perminantly covered on its morring so hopefully won't deteriorate and need repainting every year. Trust me - doing the insides is a laborious and thankless task! I also began work on a second ASC that has lain abandoned under a tent cover for at least four years. It's actually been there so long that the tent is rotting away - I'm told it is the second tent to cover it. I found the hull being used as a skip for junk, so I cleared it out and started preparing and painting all the wood. It looks a huge amount better now, and hopefully its new state will disuade people from skipping junk in it and maybe even encourage them to help do the repairs (though the person in charge laughed and said I was being optimistic given how he had struggled to get help over the years from people).
It was a tiring day, but I got so much done. There are years and years of maintenance backlog at this place, with boat hulls just rotting in the open. My aim when I started was to get five boats back on the water in good refurbished condition. We've done the two easiest with one already being used at the lake (the motor boat) and another finished and shiny to be launched this Sunday. We've also nearly finished one of the harder ones that gives us practice for the second sailing dinghy which needs two new gunwales and possibly a prow post too. The second ASC should also get done which would be a real coup given that it had largely been given up on for the last few years. After they are done there are more boats that can be looked at, but in honesty boat number six looks like it is fit only for the bonfire. Boat number seven looks more promising as it has been well sheeted up this last decade or so and I'm told it just has rotten bottom boards that need replacing.
I'm really enjoying this boat work. It gets me out of the house and makes me feel that I am acheiving much for the charity I'm doing the work for (the Sea Cadets). It's hard work in the humid heat, especially doing all the sanding by hand. On the plus side it must be giving my arse a good toning work out!
And finally, the proof copies of 'Bringing home the stars' arrived yesterday. They look exceptionally good. I think the cover might need lightening a little, but Zoë disagrees with me. She's likely to get the casting vote though. Such is married life!
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Preparing for the big break away.
I've been busy today checking that the caravan attaches to my car and tows okay. I've had the car for four and a half years, but in that time have never used it to tow. It turns out that everything is fine and it tows better even than the car my parents use. On the way back from the caravan storage site, we called in at a scrapyard where I haqd eyeballed a Volvo 850 saloon on the stack of cars a few weeks ago. The reason - I needed a new driver's side wing mirror as mine had begun to work loose and flap at speed. Certainly not a good thing when using mirror extensions for towing.
It cost £25, and I've fitted it this afternoon. It's more of a faff than hard, but I've done it and it works first time. I feel really accomplished, and happy that for the first time in four and a half years I don't have flappy wing mirrors. Up until now I've been wary of car washes, but I might treat my car to a trip through the local one to celebrate. Or not.
It cost £25, and I've fitted it this afternoon. It's more of a faff than hard, but I've done it and it works first time. I feel really accomplished, and happy that for the first time in four and a half years I don't have flappy wing mirrors. Up until now I've been wary of car washes, but I might treat my car to a trip through the local one to celebrate. Or not.
Monday, 29 June 2009
An update, a suntan, and a day spent finally sailing.
The website - http://www.jennifer-kirk.com - has been spruced to allow for the publkishing of 'Bringing home the stars'. There a new front page, and the Bibliography has been revamped too. As 'Bringing home the stars' replaces the short story of the same name, you'll find that the link to the short story has been removed in favour of the book. The book, in any road, contains much of the material of the short story, as it grew from that initial piece written for 'Folio'. As a new feature, 'Buy now' buttons have appeared, and this is to make it easier for those who want to buy books to get to where they can buy them at the best prices. Well, it beats working for a living!
I've spent the weekend sailing boats after having slaved so long to rebuild them. It was very sunny, and I now have a healthy reddish glow. I'm just hoping that it turns into a healthy brown tanned glow! With hindsight, I think that if you are going to get a radical tan, it is worth paying attention to some little details. Like where your fringe is if you have long hair (I can see where mine was yesterday, regardless on how I style my hair today! Ooops!) and what top you were wearing (a vest top seems to have allowed the maximum flexibility to wear something different without having white lines showing). I also wore very short shorts, so my legs have, for the first time in living memory, turned from a Goth-as-f**k white to a healthy darker colour higher than any skirt I wear will go. Result.
Sailing, it seems, is like riding a bike. It's been some fifteen years since I last stepped foot in a sailing boat, much less sailed it. So it was with some trepidation that I stepped foot in a type of boat I have never sailed before, and took it for a spin on the lake. Actually, I came back to the sport rather well, though the voids of my memory need to be refreshed a little on tacking technique as I'm sure there's some tips for sail positions that I forgot. However, whilst the novices were complainging "there's not enough wind!" I was zipping up and down the lake at high speed, amazing quite a few. On the journey back to the jetty, I had got twice as far as anyone else, yet managed to arrive back at the jetty at the same time as two other boats just by knowing how to catch the wind better. No wind my arse! It was actually breezy enough for me to get the dinghy leant over enough that my feet ended up grazing the water.
All in all a rather fun day, even if I did spend most of it manning the safety boat. Now that's a difficult task akin to herding cats to keep seven other boats all marshalled together and get in to help them whenever there is a problem. Especially when they are all novices. Still, I'm sure all the children had fun, and that's the main thing. This thirty year old child certainly enjoyed herself!
I've spent the weekend sailing boats after having slaved so long to rebuild them. It was very sunny, and I now have a healthy reddish glow. I'm just hoping that it turns into a healthy brown tanned glow! With hindsight, I think that if you are going to get a radical tan, it is worth paying attention to some little details. Like where your fringe is if you have long hair (I can see where mine was yesterday, regardless on how I style my hair today! Ooops!) and what top you were wearing (a vest top seems to have allowed the maximum flexibility to wear something different without having white lines showing). I also wore very short shorts, so my legs have, for the first time in living memory, turned from a Goth-as-f**k white to a healthy darker colour higher than any skirt I wear will go. Result.
Sailing, it seems, is like riding a bike. It's been some fifteen years since I last stepped foot in a sailing boat, much less sailed it. So it was with some trepidation that I stepped foot in a type of boat I have never sailed before, and took it for a spin on the lake. Actually, I came back to the sport rather well, though the voids of my memory need to be refreshed a little on tacking technique as I'm sure there's some tips for sail positions that I forgot. However, whilst the novices were complainging "there's not enough wind!" I was zipping up and down the lake at high speed, amazing quite a few. On the journey back to the jetty, I had got twice as far as anyone else, yet managed to arrive back at the jetty at the same time as two other boats just by knowing how to catch the wind better. No wind my arse! It was actually breezy enough for me to get the dinghy leant over enough that my feet ended up grazing the water.
All in all a rather fun day, even if I did spend most of it manning the safety boat. Now that's a difficult task akin to herding cats to keep seven other boats all marshalled together and get in to help them whenever there is a problem. Especially when they are all novices. Still, I'm sure all the children had fun, and that's the main thing. This thirty year old child certainly enjoyed herself!
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