Sweet release
Well I finally got the whole Torts II Coursework out of my way, handed that in at the Law Office today.
I actually took the time, this morning, to dress myself properly instead of just throwing on stuff and the result was pretty damn nice if you ask me. My mother has an incredible sense of style, she's Italian which is part of it but she also has fantastic talent for putting things together. When I was a kid people used to comment on how well dressed I was (of course she dressed me, apart from actually putting the clothes on me) and she endeavored to teach me how to dress well, which I do (although some people in colchester would disagree but then in the world of fashion Colchester is hardly Mecca) however this doesn't mean I actually bother to put any of that sense into practice most of the time.
Today however I actually set out what to wear and I felt great. Everything was coordinated, it was pretty damn slick if I do say so myself. I think what made the difference was the fact that I bothered to tuck my shirt in an wear a belt. Those two things my mother told me incessantly when I was growing up. Normally I don't because I have a reasonably small waist and my father's immensely broad shoulders so the shirts tend to make me look like I'm large.
(for the record, yes my father did look superb in 80's clothes thanks to those shoulders, in fact he was a bit of a fashion victim spending absurd amounts of money in milan and yogi yamomoto stores)
Anyhow, I think I might bother to put a bit more effort into how I dress again, it really does affect my mood and state of mind.
So anyhow I handed in my coursework and headed back home, enjoying London on the odd moments when my head was above street level thanks to my pre-dilection for the Tube.
I have spent most of today reading up on Criminal law and playing WWIIOL.
The Axis are giving us what can only be described as a hammering. See, at the start of the new map German High Command immediately issued "Red Alert" which means every Axis player and his sister stops what they are doing and gets online to kill us. At the same time Allied High Command said they were going to take a 2 week break from leading us and so most of the Allied forces are ineffective on larger scale operations. So not only are there 3 Axis for each Allied but there is also a huge power vacuum.
Not surprisingly we are getting slaughtered as once again we maintain our usage of the pitiful French equipment in the south. There's a reason France got overrun in the first months of the war, they lacked the speed with which to respond to the German Blitzkrieg and it shows in game as our accurately modeled armor just isn't fast enough to be remotely flexible against the German threat.
Right I have to now go and aid my Allied brothers and watch as the Free French get their asses kicked. Time for me to pick up the British side and reach officer class with them in anticipation of my units inevitable move back to Lend-Lease UK weapons :D
Later
John
Mmmm
Just had me a glass of Vitasoy... Quality stuff.
For those of you who have never come into contact with Vitasoy it is officially "soya bean milk" its sort of sweet, although in reality it is impossible to describe the taste accurately. Suffice to say it is nectar of the gods unless of course you happen to be a westerner who didn't stay in hong kong during their formative years (at which point the desire to remain of stable stomach outweighs the desire to try new things). Anyhow it takes a walk to Loon Fung Chinese Supermarket in leicester square's china town to get it, although the price is low (98p) for one of those massive packets which looks like a normal tetrapak box-drink on steroids. It is the quintessential Hong Kong drink, loved by those accustomed to it and detested by those who find it alien.
I would buy it more often its just the effort of going there that stops me, although I really do like the walk as it takes me through my favorite parts of London.
There's something funny about walking. I NEVER do it voluntarily but whenever I do it I think "Hey... This is nice! I ought to do this more often" just as long as I can drag my ass out of the front door I'll be fine. Even if its raining and damp because its London and you just can't beat london when its damp. Its as if people just decided that since the weather was going to be crap they would make a city which is as equally endearing in the chilly aftermath of rain as it is in the sunshine. There's a Madness song called "the sun and the rain" which sums up this side of London.
Finally I get to pull the lever!!
The local elections are coming up soon (thursday) so I ought to find out where the hell I'm supposed to go. It will be my first constitutionally-recognized election and it is a duty I look forward to.
I've got my voter card so Westminister & City Council has another vote for a Labour member.
I almost caught my grandmother trying to get me to vote Tory to keep up the housing values of the area. That seems like a bit of a futile action given that one of the cards in my wallet says "Labour Party Membership Card".
I have to wake up tomorrow to go and shove my finished coursework piece into the hands of the allocated Torts Tutor. Checked with my contract tutor and he said they wouldn't count case titles in their word limit specifications because I am well under if you don't count them and just over if you do. The penalty is like 10% so you can't afford to go over and he said he'd argue for me if it came to that. Nice bloke Edwin.
Right I'm off to bed so that I wake up at a reasonable time tomorrow
Later
John
Ok I'm sort of in shock
www.apple.com/music/shop
awwwwwwwww YEAAAAAAAH!!! THIS IS THE BEST INVENTION EVER!!!
ALL the labels, ALL the songs.. ALL through iTunes.... WITH MUSIC SHARING BUILT IN!!
omg omg omg...
I'll be able to say more later when I've stopped screwing around with it.. suffice to say my mate Kevlar has just managed to log into my iTunes and is looking at my playlists and stuff
And the music store is sweeeeeeet!!! aww man!! AAC format!!!! Superb quality with smaller file sizes!!! 99c a track!! with free videos... man I'm in heaven!!
awww duuuuuuuude!!!!!
I'm turning into some 16 year old here but DUUUUUUUUDE!!!
Never has piracy and legitimacy been so elegantly and powerfully implemented in such a cool application..... The paradox.. the sweet sweet paradox
Later
John
ahh.. bliss
I'm a big fan of webcomics. I loved the funnies when I was a kid, and still do, my father and I are still avid fans of almost everything out there. From the undisputed kings (Calvin & Hobbes, we are but serfs in your presence) to the newcomers (Woot for Pooch Cafe!), to the satirical (Lily Wong, The ultimate Hong Kong strip) we loved our comic strips.
So naturally webcomics are just more of a good thing. Sure a lot of them suck but some of them, well. They just are sublime. I'm talking about Machall, Penny Arcade, The Joy of Tech etc and one of the new ones I've gotten into Truenuff. But as of late I've started reading one of the big ones. The one which almost everyone reads but I surprisingly haven't, PvPonline . So I now have about 4 years of unread comics which are all superb, preserving not only the glorious wacky comedy which is prevalent in the Webcomic field but also a soul. Comics with soul are a rare thing and this comic has it by the bucketload.
BTW For the record Anime comics do not have soul. Megatokyo has never been my cup of tea. Sad anime girls are not aesthetically pleasing to my eye, sure Gabe might not be the most superb artist but I can see a rendering of almost anyone drawn by him and read more into it than pencilled sad japanese kids... Just my opinion :)
Anyhow as I said.. SOOOO MUCH UNREAD COMIC!!! Wooooo! I've stopped my study for the evening and I'm going to take advantage of some serious surfing time and enjoy some quality comic strips. My only regret is that I'm not with my broadband at the flat to view them but then perhaps it is better to be without my grandmother's constant interrupting wafflings.
Later
John
Hello some more
Hiya.
I've been a bit occupied as of late with work and such. Nah I jest. For although I was there for the crushing blow my fellows of the 12th cavalry dealt the Axis threat during our massive armoured advance on Jarny I also spent some time preparing for the work I am currently engaged in, Torts II Coursework. Its a simple, straightforward case but there is still a lot to write about (as there always is in law). In fact its almost a bit frustrating because I enjoy law where I can twist things around and come to conclusions which the examiner is not expecting, and yet are correct at law. For someone who normally shys away from any sort of mental exercise I seem to derive quite a bit of enjoyment from finding new ways in which to look at legal problems. Odd stuff and completely opposed to my normal doctrine of "absolute goof-off-ery".
Anyhow the work is getting done and should be ready a good 2 days ahead of schedule which means I can spend that time padding it with cool stuff that I manage to uncover in additional library time. However, as I said this question really doesn't warrant much additional study or research because its facts are relatively straightforward which means it will probably be time for me to rejoin my Allied brothers in arms hehe!
He's not doing his victory dance Again is he?! Gah!
Ack! My little brother is insufferable at the moment. The little bugger has only gone and got a date! My sister and I are up in arms, we don't have dates, we don't get asked out (well.. not often anyway :) ) but the boy we long ascribed the moniker "Melon Head" to has a hot date. Ok so I lied about the 'hot' part as she's actually not the prettiest thing (note: it feels very wrong passing judgment on the looks of a girl that young, blech) I would go so far to say that she hit at least 2 or 3 branches on her way down from the ugly tree if it weren't so horrifically mean (whereas at least all the girls who have ever been interested in me took a beating from the "cute" shrub.. all right.. all 3 of them).
Hong Kong's in the sh****r
Tits up, pear shaped, you name it. Sars and chronic mis-administration have left a bit of a problem in Hong Kong. A Billion dollar problem which has resulted in the Grand Hyatt Hotel having 20(!) guests at the moment. I mean I can understand the fact that the government sucks (any government which isn't elected doesn't deserve more than the 14% odd percent support that the current one 'enjoys', at least Chris Patten's legeco had some elections) but doing nothing because of SARS? How lame is that!?!
I mean come on, 260 people dead? More people get killed by Menningitis but are we all running around the UK with masks on? Heck no! More people are killed by Donkeys each year than that! f**** wearing a mask and staying at home. I'd be living it up and enjoying the hefty discounts that come with living in a city where 80% of the population want to stay at home. Besides there's no way the virus is getting me in the climate controlled, air conditioned environment of Pacific Place. What is more why should I care? If everyone else is wearing those masky things surely it stands to reason that I can't possible catch the disease as all these other people are containing it for me! Ah! Breathing free!
If I was my father right now I'm be striding into the Pacific Place Grappas (an italian restaurant, in the shopping mall 'pacific place'), grabbing myself a biggass table and enjoying the near-solitary dining experience of sitting around with other like minded people who aren't shitting themselves over a virus which has so far claimed the lives of less people than your average flu epidemic. However he is not a man who goes out much anyway, although we both share a penchant for Grappas, and so he has little problem with this virus.
Schools are all shut and learning is taking place via the internet.. I cannot describe to you how much that would kick ass if I was living in Hong Kong and currently learning at Shatin College. I think I can best describe the amount of ass-kicking thusly:
You are sitting on a white sanded Hawaiian beach, with a gentle azure sea and a cloudless sky. A pneumatic young girl with a pretty face brings you your drink and then complains that she will receive some form of sun-burn if you do not, that instant apply a creamy lotion to her sensitive skin. Oh yeah and a suitcase filled with money washes up on the shore and is transported by means of a wandering turtle to the steps of your beach hut.
To a student this comes to about 8 extra hours of sleep each day... Aww yeah!
mmmm... *snaps to* Oh yeah.. webblog, not manly beach fantasy fantasy... right..
Right I'm off to finish that particular daydream... Er or something less peverted haha!
later
John
Mmm.. beery
Hiya.. I've just drunk a nice bottle of the 24 pack of Stella Artois I obtained a few days ago, whilst reclining in the sun. The weather has been a mediteranian 24˚c for the past 3 or 4 days. Nice
Anyhow I just got back from a night at the farm with the lads. Matthew, Richard, Ben and myself were all in attendance, although Ben left early as tomorrow was to be his birthday (today, Happy Birthday Ben!). We had a great laugh playing Halo and other Video Game offerings and at about 2 am decided some food was in order. This prompted a drive to Asda which was on 24 hour shift (and almost totally deserted bar those who were stacking shelves and such). We bought a good few Pizzas and I got a packet of Tortellini because, for reasons as yet unknown, Asda fresh pasta is actually of very good quality consistency and thickness (so sayeth my mother).
A great time was had by all as I revelled in one other moment of sublime joy. Yesterday I received a phone call from my Aunty Laura who was looking to speak to my mom who was out. In the course of the discussion she mentioned that Ryanair had just started giving out free flights (woot!) and that I ought to check it out, what is more she extended (in true Italian fashion) an invitation to stay with her and her family and indeed to pick me up from the airport. She's offered this pretty much for the past 2 years so I figured it was about time to take her up on it! (after all it would be rude not to haha!) So, driven by her kindness I decided to check the site and after manipulating the possible dates when I could get free flights on my Newton (trying my best to skirt my exams and coursework deadlines) I reached a decision. I leave on the night of Saturday 17th and depart from Ancona on the night of Monday 19th giving me 2 nights in Italy among my family. A lovely weekend break and a well deserved prize for some hard work over the coming crush-period of my 2nd semester.
What is more it cost me the royal sum of £0.02.. Thats right.. I am going on a 2p holiday. My mother has always maintained that no matter what she knows God will take care of us and to be honest over the past 6 months I have entirely assumed this belief. Each time I think about it, this weekend break just seems even better in my mind. It is perfectly timed, lets me work on my Italian, eat loads of food, see my Italian relatives and lets me chill in Marche's glorious sunshine as a post-exam relaxation period. All this for the same cost as what it would normally take to get me home for the weekend!! (all I'm paying for is the Stansted Express tickets). Thank you Ryanair and indeed God as I'm sure he had something to do with this.
Those guys at Ryanair get my Italian 'summer with mates' holiday booking :)
Back on the WWIIOL bandwagon after I started really getting into it and getting less annoyed at the chronic French equipment deficit (l'armee de terre hasn't got the armor to compete with the Panzers). Allies are also winning thanks to a wholesale endorsement of British gear.
I managed to buy a Logitech 2 Attack joystick. Well actually I got an order slip saying I ordered 3(!) but thanks to some really helpful guy in Customer services at EU Logitech sales (John Nevin, if he's randomly reading this) I will have a single Joystick heading to me.
The Joystick means that I can finally pilot tanks and planes and more importantly Anti-Tank guns. Oh yeah :D Pass the artillery. I'm going to enjoy bombarding any Axis forces who try to cross into MY line of fire. Which will be substantial as I'll be using manic "can't even see the enemy on my screen I'm aiming so high to hit him" techniques to boost my gun range exponentially. All those years of guessing ranges for Tabletop wargaming may finally be paying off.
Right I'm going to drink this cup of tea which was kindly placed before me by my sister and sign off :)
Later
John
Fun
Hello
I spent most of the weekend at the farm with Richard and Ben, although Ben wasn't there for some of it as he had to drive his girlfriend somewhere and go for a walk with his family. It was a good laugh. I also now have about 11 bottles of Stella Artois.
We were walking through sainsbury's to get some food so we wouldn't have to rely on my grandmother whilst we were there and all of a sudden Richard wasn't with us. I turned round and saw him staring, wide eyed at a massive pile of cardboard boxes bearing the Stella Artois logo. I then saw that they were boxes of 24 bottles and that they cost a meagre £13! I joined his wide eyed stare and made a gargling sound reminiscent of Homer Simpson. We had to have one. Richard already had a decent beer supply but 24 bottles of Stella Artois for £13 is an offer you can't pass by. We bought half each and I drank only 1 last night leaving me with 11 bottles of 5.2% proof-y goodness :) Mmmmmm.....
The evening was spent playing PS2 and Xbox. A good laugh had but missing Matt and without Ben for much of the time it wasn't as good as it could have been :) Still Matthew is getting leave from wednesday so we shall have to spend a lot of time at the farm with his ungodly supply of DVD's and games. Between us we have so much media we could stock up a whole HMV. Of course I contribute little to that equation having little cash to spend on stuff like that, my sole DVD expenditure this year has been South Park the Movie and Lilo & Stitch (coming to a massive £22 overall).
I probably ought to learn to drive over the summer, because my year 2 accommodation seems a bit up in the air. Decided that if I do end up buying a first car it will either be a mini (big mini fan me) or a VW Van, you know the big ones like the mystery machine in Scooby Doo? This might be my subconscious trying to throw in a random choice so that I am in the end forced to choose a mini, however I think it might be a laugh. Could do the whole of the back in a quality arrangement of sorts and its a great laugh, would also make driving into europe with my mates a more valid proposition. However its not the vehicle in which you want to pick up a girl, nor is it particularly practical :D But if I saw one for the right price (and I had a license and of course some money) I would be tempted hahaha!
Hmm.. a long search on the internet shows a disappointing lack of 2nd hand 65 VW vans for sale online, however my mother says she saw one for sale a week ago haha! loads of mini's are up for sale but they cost a bomb as NOONE sells a mini unless they have to :D Besides which Chiara would be next in line for a car as she's already going through her driving lessons and I haven't even had one (well an official one anyway).
Right I'm off to have a shower
Later
John
Arrrgh!!
The curse of the Gary boy is upon me!!!!!
Well actually its upon my friends. Yes those same brave souls who laughed and taunted the Boy Racer's with me have slowly fallen pray to the insidious wiles of the Gary Boy. It all started after Bailey had fallen and we didst laugh at him and unto his car brought forth comments of lameness. One such anti-GB was Andrew (or as he is commonly known in our group, DSG, and acronym for Doesn't.Speak.Girl because he simply doesn't speak much). He was constantly bashing "failure" as Bailey had become known for his egotistical self-obsession and car.
Later, when Andrew passed his driving test he bought a Metro. A little 2 door which ran nicely. However in the words of Ben "I can quote him, within the space of an hour if saying this: "I'm never gonna be a Gary Boy" and later "I reckon alloys would look well-nice on my Metro!" Ah yes.. But alloy wheels was only the start of his Gary Boy'ness. Soon Andrew had accumulated a vast stereo system of 2 6-by-9's (6" by 9" speakers) and a sub (a subwoofer).. The prerequisites of a Gary Boy setup. The last time I saw him he had 'lowered' his car by taking air out of his shock dampeners. The car chassis is now very close to the ground but his wheel arches look stupid as the body simply wasn't built to go that low :) Dear God No!
So anyhow next to fall was Richard. He had bought a £600 fiesta... a 1 litre £600 fiesta.. A 1 litre, £600 fiesta with no 5th gear and manual choke.. Surely, surely I thought, he could not turn into a Gary Boy with such a vehicle. I was wrong. 5 days later the parcel shelf had been assembled from MDF and he had cut 4(!) 6"9" holes. With the option to fit in another 2 if he needed to. For the record 2 6"9" speakers are easily capable of producing enough sound to deafen a person and have decent bass ranges (hence no need for a Sub, apart from to blast everyone around outside, with bass). He also wanted to get a sub when I last saw him. Arrrgh!!
So now the count for Gary Boys and anti-GB's amongst my friends lay at 3-3. Level pegging. Richard, Bailey and DSG had all fallen prey to the wonder of the sub-woofer whilst Ben, Matthew and myself all resisted (which, trust me isn't hard when you like balanced sound).
Matthew is in the RAF at Cosford and hence isn't in a position to take his driving test and I have bugger all money (woo!) but Ben, Ben has a job. Ben has a decent Job. Ben has a decent job, money, and just passed his driving test... Ass.
Yesterday an ecstatic Ben wrote (entirely in capitals) on MSN that he had purchased a car.. A black Fiesta 1.1 and was making plans to buy his 6"9"s... Double Ass.
There is still hope for Ben. He had earlier said that he would be getting 2 6"9"s because he liked loud music (I can vouch for that) however if he later decides that he needs a 'sub' or that 2 6"9"s just aren't enough or that he has an insatiable urge to drive around tollgate and sit in his car or look at other people's cars.. Well.. The score will be 4-2 and things will suck a whoooole lot more :)
Tonight I'll see what they are up to. We'll have to go and do something but it is my sincere hope that it doesn't involve sitting in car parks looking at other people's cars :)
later
John
Stuffin'
I woke up today at an almost reasonable time, 9:15 as it happens. Of course I had no inclination to tell the rest of the family that I was awake and instead tried to enjoy being in bed as much as possible :) I did so because I knew I was due to be woken up soon as the surveyor was scheduled to visit and look at our house, or more precisely the parts where our house wasn't, such as the massive gaps between the stairs and the wall and the cracked plaster. I heard the doorbell ring and quickly slipped on my tracksuit bottoms in an attempt to make myself more presentable.
During his 'tour of duty' the surveyor also noticed that there was a hole in the roof. We had known there must have been a gap there because birds would fly in and annoy us whilst we tried to sleep. In fact the hole was substantial enough for us to see daylight in the attic, not a good thing. He also offered to hook up an antenna for us which made us very happy. For some reason we have aerial sockets in the house but they are not connected to an antenna, we instead found there was a position about 3 feet from the leftmost wall and at an elevation of about 6 feet from the ground where we received television. For this reason we first employed the little ones to take shifts of holding the aerial in mid air (You can imagine how that went) and then eventually turned to a makeshift contraption of a chair with a wooden pole taped to it, with the aerial attached to its peak. Now we simply leave it to fate and have a dish-like aerial sitting by the window. The reception is atrocious but no one has to re-balance the aerial (or indeed be the aerial).
Spoke to my father yesterday which was nice. I am not sure who out of my family reads this weblogg beyond the certainty that my Aunty Jan does (as she seems to know more of my activities than anyone else despite not being in the country :) and so I am not sure how much I can say. However indications are that he will be heading back to England in the near future, for a prolonged stay :D Actually it seems a bit pointless censoring any news of the sort as to be honest the only person who will not be told (for obvious reasons) is my grandmother who has neither the ability, nor the inclination to read anything displayed on a computer screen. (Those who have heard me complaining on IRC about her being in the room and talking to me as I type to friends will vouch for this fact :) )
So far I've had a nice day in with my mother, helping her out with dishwashing and drying and such. Just had an episode trying to slice onions. I did an ok job but then managed to positively rinse my eyes in their juices. I am still blinking now. If I couldn't touch type this weblogg entry would be significantly shorter and probably consist of "Ow! Ow! Ow! - Later - John". Anyhow the stuffing has been mixed and we've washed through the chickens. She's now off to go and run around town picking up my little brother and such so I guess the stuffing will be left to rest till she returns, as will the sumptuous roast chickens (well they aren't sumptuous at the moment obviously, they're just cold, dead birds but the end result is always superb)
Right it is time for me to organize what I'm going to do with my friends in the next few days as they might have some time off work or something, at least the weekend anyway. We love using the farm but its just not worth having to talk or indeed to listen to my grandmother on the subject of hanging out there. She's all "Yes yes sure son, Granny isn't like other people, I like having people round" then after I leave its all "bitch bitch bitch" to my mother... Fun!
Still I hope that later on we'll just bite the bullet and buy a bigger house here in Colchester because Renting in England 'suxxors'. The only place around Colchester capable of containing our family was this house and its tiny!
If we do get a new place my mother is certain that she'll ask for a place with a large basement my friends and I can sit around in and play games consoles (and limited nerf-quake haha!). Minus all the requisite pot-smoking which seems synonymous with teenagers in a basement.
Anyhow back to the organizing.. I think I'll have a cup of tea first :)
Oh and one last thing, my good friend Kevlar has moved to blogger and is now using his plastic-rabbit.co.uk as his base of operations :) Check out his site if you can (easy enough just lopp off the /wafflings.html from the URL) but don't get our URL's mixed up hehe :D
Later
John
A comedic take on the war for those of you who play (or have played) MMORPGS such as Ultima Online.. I felt like writing this for kebeol.net after I watched joyous Iraqis looting palaces :D
Following the evident conclusion of the Iraq War, Saddam Hussein has been complaining about the manner in which the combat was executed.
"For a start" Mr. Hussein complained "Those Coalition forces are exploiting.. Noone's that accurate, I bet they're using some Aim-Bots or something"
He also expressed some irritation that the coallition forces were using his 'hirelings' against him.
"They've been using some hex-editors or something because I definitly paid my upkeep on my minions! 40 minutes of propaganda a day and a healthy torture level. There is no way they should have started attacking MY statues"
Coallition forces declined to accept Saddam's claims of foul-play and instead offered the opinion that the swift capture of Baghdad was a direct result of their "l33+ sKilLz". Group Commander Al Lockwood of the RAF stated that the capitulation of Baath party forces in Basra was a clear indication of the superiority of Coallition skills: "ja we totally 0wNoRzed those Baath party biyotches!"
The Iraqi information minister was quick to counteract claims that coallition forces were rolling through Baghdad: "They are Infidels! Their gravestones will litter Iraq!.. And I am DEFINITLY not speaking to you on my mobile phone on the way to Syria!"
Baath party officials also expressed concern as to the amount of looting which has persisted throughout this war. Throughout the allied advance chants of "Death to Saddam!" were interspersed with cries of "Oooo!! ph4t l00t!!!"
"Allah damn them!" One official remarked "We leave our palaces for like 2 hours and they clean loot it!! Ffs they even looted all our lockdowns!!
Kebeol News was able to obtain some short interviews with Iraqis running out of one of Saddam's palaces.
"Hahaha! Check my M4D lewting Skillz!! Roxx0rz!" One Iraqi shouted. He claimed to have to use 20 Strength and Dex potions to be able to transport the fridge he was carrying to his flat
"We didn't do any looting!" One civillian replied to our questions "They simply forgot to pay the upkeep on the palace. We saw it was IDOC and anything that hits the floor is fair game! Get a load of my new jacuzzi!! This shit's got like.. +3 Dex or something! My wife is gonna be so happy!"
We were interrupted by a truck pulling what appeared to be a wheeled clothes rack of dinner suits passing us.
Mr Hussein also raised the subject of Coallition tactics.
"They are SO infantry-spawn camping!" he said
Kebeol news has obtained clear evidence of this practice as British snipers crouched half a mile away from Fedayeen positions. Fighters who emerged from their holdings were heard to shout "WTF?!?!" and "Spawn Camping infidel lamerz!!!" as they were picked off from great distance.
One militia man I spoke to was fed up with the war:
"Its so pointless. Everytime we try to do something we get totally Ganked and then the coallition forces are all like "I 0wNz jo0 n00bz!!"
" and like we are trying to hold positions 50 feet away from each other and those little bastards are smacktalking us"
As he said that a shout went up from across the street of: "haha suck it Saddam boy!!"
"Dammit you dirty little yankee bastard! Saddam be willing, it is YOU who will suck it!"
The marine called back "Haha go on you know you want to, your mum does every night!"
"Leave my mother out of this!!" the militiaman shouted.
We caught up with Saddam again as he was bundling into a truck on the way to Syria, he called for a new patch to be implemented:
"This war was so unbalanced!! I mean Iraqi equipment is gimped!!!" he cried "And dammit some of that coallition stuff needs a serious beating with the nerf stick".
Elsewhere Kofi Annan had this to say on the conflict:
"There is no substitute for the unique legitimacy of the United Nations.. But those Baath party officials are such care bear whiners!! And to be honest I'm getting pretty pissed off with these Frenchies.. They sold him more weapons than anyone bar Russia and they just can't stop meddling in the middle east and pissing off America"
The French foreign minister Dominic De Villpin reacted by saying "Dammit Kofi I'm right here!"
Freedom for Iraq!!!
What I have just witnessed on TV may perhaps be the most moving and soul-lifting images imaginable. A group of Marines, live on BBC 1, and a crowd of Iraqis pulled down a massive statue of Saddam Hussein, one right in the middle of Baghdad. Baghdadis scrambled around chanting "Death to saddam!!" and other anti-government slogans and after teetering on by its legs (Saddam had evidently built his statues with added leg support to stop just this sort of rejoicing haha) it fell. There was a massive rush of Iraqis who ran to jump up and down on the effigy of a man who had brutally opressed, tortured and killed their fellow Iraqis. It was perhaps the most beautiful sight of my week, which as Mr Bush (as man who's words often seem contrived and emptied) said, demonstrated that "The thirst for freedom is unquenchable".
There was a man in the studio who's name escapes me who is a writer and former UN ambassador, an Iraqi exile for 15 years. He could hardly speak for his voice was choked and there were tears in his eyes. As soon as word gets round to the rest of baghdad there will be some major celebrations. It is truly a glorious day for the Iraqi people who have finally been removed from the crushing oppression of a vile and barbarous regime.
To think all this would not be happening is those 1 million people who marched in London had had their way. I should not be this bitter but to be honest I can see a lot of regret in their conscience as they think about the fact that if they had succeeded this would never have happened. That the Iraqi people would have carried on their days till their eventual death or disappearance under the constant malaise of Saddam Hussein.
The Iraqi people have snatched liberty from the oppressive hands of their dictator thanks to the military intervention of coallition forces. No more will be passed through plsatic shredders, have their family raped in front of them, be forced to appluad the execution of their loved ones or wake up each day to the soul crushing realization that any attempt to change the state of affairs would result in the certain destruction of themselves and their loved ones.
On this day I rejoice with the baghdadi people and the Iraqi people as a whole. My friend Ranj is probably making plans with his family for a vacation to see those they left behind when they fled.
erk this is posted a bit late (infact WAAAY to late, one whole day almost) thanks to what I assume is about 4,000,000 people also posting their views on the news :D
12:30? Wake up time
Ahh.. That lovely feeling of sleeping for outrageous amounts of time. Yesterday I had no such luck in this department but this morning my mother decided that 12 hours was a more ample sleeping tally and turfed me out of bed in the afternoon. However my dreams of engaging in some serious slobbing were shattered by the less-than-ceremonial presentation of sanding paper and my sister's graphics project to me by my mother. I sat and sanded off the acrylic paintjob she was unhappy with. In fairness my own toil on the MDF monolith was insignificant in comparison to mum's herculian effort to sand off virtually all of the offending green acrylic.
I managed to get off the last of the paint and then was treated to a minscule spot of window cleaning, one to be precise. In fact I only did 1 side of 1 window as my mother did the others (or more likely had done them before I woke up). I got off doing very little if you look at it :)
I just wrote mum's CV for her. Once again it consisted of some fairly standard Appleworks manipulation followed by a manic wrestling match with the printer ( an Epson Photobitch 1200). I swear there were a bunch of rednecks who were close to grabbing their "John 3:16" placards and beer-hats and hopping in the pick-up trucks to come and watch the spectacle, such was my prowess and the undoubted appeal of the wrasslin' on show. At the end I had won but wondered why the f*** we had taken the Photofucker 1200 when we could have had the C40 - wonderous speed printer which never fails and prints beautifully with no fuss (the Epson C40 currently sits in Hong Kong, unused). It would be nice to print without having to first taunt my peripherals about the copious amounts of 'whoopass can opening' which was to be forthcoming and smear myself in baby oil.
It is only tuesday and I am seriously missing my computer. When I have completely digested the entirity of The Times I find myself actually going outside and kicking a football around. I seriously need my comp.. and my broadband :D
I might try and 'boost to the ranch' with my mates soon but I have to take into account their relative working days and also what the hell Granny is up to. Man it sucks :)
Well I'm going to check my email.... In a web-browser (The horror!! The horror!!)
Later
John
Holiday
Yep its official I’m on 2 weeks holiday now and I’m living it up in Sunny Rowhedge (can you spot what’s wrong with that sentence? :) Actually in all fairness the weather has been doing its level best to be fine and so far I've actually had a lot of sun, of course its been so cold outside that there is no point in leaving the house without a fully protective set of clothes so any chance of UV exposure to all but the unprotected face is minimal, looks like I'll have to save the tanning for summer.
Very annoyed at Granny at the moment as I have finally learnt the full extent to which she has bungled, lied and denied the situation at hand. We had a discussion on the subject and she is so dillusional that its scary. Combined with what is practically the onset of senility (I had a circuitous conversation with her which repeated itself 7 times over yesterday) being talked to by her becomes an absurd and frankly sureal experience.
Our continued survival is guaranteed once more by the generosity of my Aunty Jan and her family. The fact that there is not a selfish bone in the woman's body makes my grandmother's assertion that she is "Just like the boys" and effectively 'always looking out for #1' appear all the more viperous and frankly disheartening.
My father is of the opinion that I ought instead commute to University so as to avoid staying in the flat with my grandmother for prolonged periods of time. However my dislike of commuting to London (dear god no!) and my love of being in the city (combined with my urgent medical need for high-speed internet access) means that I really don't want to consider this if I can stay sane in the same flat as Granny. Thankfully the conversation I had with my father really helped to clarify the situation and whereas before the gaps in my knowledge were filled with guff she waffled on about, I now have enough knowledge to honestly declare - She's full of sh*t and all that she says is similarly composed :D
***Operation Ignore Grandmother has commenced***
Wait I don't actually have to bother with that for a while yet as its Holiday :D Woo!
I was woken up early this morning and never really recovered. I am about as energetic as a narcoleptic sloth. I have a theory that since I woke up early but didn't do anything important or interesting the adrenelin which should have powered my frame for the daylight hours stalled and I simply ran in "Just woke up" mode. Even now at the pre-toddler-nap time of 7:30 I feel like the battle for control of my eyelids is being won by the Coallition of the Drowsy.
I just passed on all my minidisc gear to my sister. My old player, which is still über thin even for todays standards, and the use of all my MD's and Stero to record from. She got tired of lugging her CD player and CD's around college so she took me up on my offer. Of chief importance was probably the fact that I didn't take my stereo with me to Uni so she can use it at home to record CD tracks to MD.
Inside the player when I opened it up was a Red MD. I was guessing what was on it and in the end stuck it on and played it, would you believe it, it was the christmas mix MD from christmas 2001 when I picked up my iPod. Kevin the iPod had so thoroughly and speedily trounced my MD player that I hadn't even bothered to change my MD from when I first opened up Kevin's box.
Right I think I need some serious sleep but there's a great programme on Channel 4 in an hour or so called "The Dambusters" where they get some modern RAF to fly the dambuster raids in ultra-modern flight simulators to see if they can take the challange of low level precision flying and bombing in a Lancaster bomber. Hoorah for interesting TV :)
Later
John
Hello Again part 2
In addition to what I posted before I figured I'd share this little piece. I just wrote it for Kebeol.net but I figured it was kind of personal so I'd share it with you all.. Enjoy:
The Hong kong Rugby 7's just passed over the weekend.
I do enjoy the 7's. I'm a Hong Kong'er and grew up in the city and throughout my childhood all the kids at school would look forward to the event.
For those not in the know "Rugby 7's" is a game, which is effectively Rugby with 7 people on each side and played for less time. This means that it becomes a sort of "Rugby lite" which is faster and easier to get into. The Hong Kong Rugby 7's is the primary event of what is now a World 7's championship tour. Teams play all over the world (24 nations at current) and compete in Hong Kong for double the points of any of the other tour locations.
It’s a real slice of Hong Kong ex-pat culture. The best thing about Hong Kong's diverse population is that all the ex-pats have a team to support when the 7's come around. English, Shri Lankan, Australian, South African, French and a host of other nations which represent the HK ex-pat population roll into town along with the Hong Kong home team which is often cheered by those who's nation is unavailable to attend (or simply sucks at rugby).
There is a stadium in Hong Kong called (unsurprisingly) the 'Hong Kong Stadium’, which plays host to the 7’s, and its filled throughout the weekend with as many ex-pats and locals as can possibly be expected to brave the heat of an unconditioned part of Hong Kong (Although March is never particularly humid by Hong Kong comparisons). Because the games are short and there are so many of them played on each day of competition the stadium is a sea of waving banners and flags with nationals grouping together to form clusters of All Blacks, Springboks and Ozzies.
I attended last year and it was perhaps my most memorable 7's (perhaps because I actually went to the stadium with my friends instead of watching it on TV). It had been my birthday a few days ago and this time it was my good friend Jarkko's turn to celebrate. I'd managed to get a full sized 'official 7's ball' at Pacific Place (a shopping mall in central) signed by the entire Springboks team and handed it over for his present. He's a big chap with a heart of Gold and on Sevens day he presented me with tickets to go and watch (saving me from ticket scalps).
We reached the gates where we were informed that we were not allowed to bring any alcohol into the stadium (as it would be provided in vast quantities inside) so we had no choice but to down the entirety of the stash we various Shatin College'rs had brought along. Jarkko happily obliged, as did I with the rest of the Sixth Form.
Jarkko is Finnish and as such built like the factory which makes brick sh**houses. He's passionate about Rugby and hence is never to be held back from a 7's. He shares the curious trait held by all Finnish people of somehow having contained within his being, a herding instinct. It is not normally evident but it is triggered by the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol. Within minutes, no matter how large or densely packed a crowd, all the finish people will have drifted together and formed a mass cluster of drunken Scandinavians, some will find friends they hadn't seen for years who had just come to Hong Kong for the weekend. Its quite a remarkable thing to watch
We got inside and sat en masse, in the infamous "South Stand" (where all the people who get, shall we say, really enthusiastic about the rugby (and indeed the beer) sit. The smiling Finn dropped his massive frame onto the plastic green chair to my right and poured me a huge card beaker of Heineken (the official beer of the Rugby 7's and sold in massive pitchers). As I started on the 1.5 pint he began to explain the subtleties of his drunkenness. I discerned from him thusly the entire catalogue of Finnish alcohol-induced behavior:
1) After having drunk a considerable amount the Finn will begin to engage in the aforementioned 'herding action'. He will begin to sing pop songs with the words in Finnish. A normal man will at this point be legless, average people consider this level of alcohol consumption; 'time to go home'.
2) After imbibing more alcohol than George Best the Finnish man or woman will indulge all around him or her in a collection of Christmas carols, sung entirely in Finnish. Our control test 'average man' will be requiring urgent medical assistance. Probably resulting in a stomach pump and at least a few months of therapy after he gets the photos from the night before developed.
3) Finnish blood/alcohol level will now be easier measured as a ration of alcohol/blood. The individual will now, at decent volume, sing the Finnish national anthem with his the rest of his collective. Normal man will be either dead or standing in line to claim Finnish citizenship.
Having mentally jotted down my notes I noticed my fellow 7's goers in the south stand were all getting to their feet. I rose and scanned the pitch for the queen, head of state or anthem for which we were upstanding. Then they began to sing and gesture to the upper left of the stand and it all became clear:
"STAND UP! IF YOU HATE THE FRENCH!
STAND UP! IF YOU HATE THE FRENCH!
STAND UP! IF YOU HATE THE FRENCH!
STAND UP! IF YOU HATE THE FRENCH!"
The ditty was sung to "Go West" and accompanied by exaggerated and eager pointing at the sizable group of 'frenchies', draped in Tricolors and singing the French national anthem in a proud (but slightly futile) attempt to counter the alternative anthem offered by the other 7's fans.
We were getting into the last line of the chorus when someone began to point and sing at someone else to the tune of English Footballs seminal "You're not singing anymore":
"WHO'S THE WANKER ON THE PHONE? WHO'S THE WAAAANKER ON THE PHONE?"
We all turned to point at the cell phone user who laughed whilst making an earnest attempt to carry on his conversation. The chorus was too loud so he was forced to put the phone down. (Thankfully all the heckling is a good laugh for all concerned and never malicious)
Jarkko moved off to go and greet some more Shatin Colleger's who had just arrived and the seat was promptly filled with Kyle an Australian year 11 from my younger sister's class who I fondly refer to as "World's Tallest Biggot" he's about 7 foot, ginger and a biggot (simple enough eh?). He quickly refilled the beaker I had just drunk and then worked out who I was. What was terrific was the fact that he had just sat down and filled up the beaker of a complete stranger in true Australian spirit. He managed to say ‘hi’ before he was distracted by someone shouting "Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy!" To which all Australian nationals are obliged to answer "Oi Oi Oi!" This is repeated 3 times over and generally punctuated by much pint-downing.
The Rugby had begun with England giving their first opponents a thorough ass-kicking. The next game featured the tounament's official whipping boys - Shri Lanka. Supported by two of our Shatin College number they received such an absolute walloping that you have to admire their attendance each year.
Another great thing about the sevens is that it allows teams with no other sporting ability or prowess the chance to compete at a decent level. Take Fiji and Samoa - long time big-boys of the 7's and both almost completely absent from the international scene in other sports.
I was busy at this point finishing my 2nd beaker (3rd pint after all the refills) of Heineken. We decided that since there weren't any more games we really wanted to watch we'd head out for a night in Kowloon before the mass rush. Jarkko was signing "Happy Birthday" in Finnish and an equally inebriated Georgie (his current squeeze) was hoisted into our taxi before falling asleep in that remarkably weighty manner that the truly pissed manage, their body weight spontaneously doubling as if they were some sort of sponge which had taken on lots of liquid. The evening was moving in and as we left I really got the sense that I'd be missing the 7's quite a bit whilst in London.
Sure enough this year the 7's have come and gone. Once again England are champions and despite the SARS (or the "You're F****d Matey" Virus as I like to call it) it was a massive tournament with all the atmosphere (from what I hear) that it normally summons. It was a shame that I missed it but perhaps it was the people I would have been watching it with that I missed the most. Not only the Shatin College Sixth Formers who are arguably the nicest people I ever had the pleasure of sharing an education with (we meet up as often as possible on times like New Years) but also all those other people who filled up the stadium who represented the truly international nature of Hong Kong and the desire to have fun no matter what the cost.
Right now there's a lot of gloom about Hong Kong and its future. Admittedly the Government is inept and Mainland China sucks but I really can't write off the city. Talk to me about it the year the 7's is cancelled and I might be more appreciative of any doomsday prophecies :)
Hello Again
Have had a slightly random week thus far.
University has been more or less going through the motions, nothing spectacular. Criminal liability tutorial was not on as it is Mooting time (for those unfortunate enough to have their moots before the hols) and today my alarm failed so I didn't wake up for torts (doh!).
The easter break is coming up. In fact its here now but I'm not heading home today because I'm too lazy :) I ought to be doing stuff like gathering all my things together and making sure the place is tidy but I'll leave that till later.
Found my case for Criminal Liability. Its "Horrol v DPP" joy of joys. Its relatively straight forward but I just can't face sitting in the library some more and reading relative Authorities. Ah well, better do it as its my livelihood :)
I also have Torts coursework. Double fun! :)
Recently I've been playing WWII Online. Its a good solid game. Its the only real "Virtual battlefield" in existance allowing planes, ships and all infantry/tanks from WWII to blow the crap out of each other. However at the end of the day the Allies (I'm a member of the 12th cavalry division of the 3rd Light Mobile division of the 7th Army of France) have just had their asses kicked so many times that its stupid :) We might capture one town but we'll lose 2 in the process elsewhere. It could be manpower, it could be the 'questionable' tactics of the axis forces, however it could also be because we don't seem to have a battle plan which really fits the job. I mean we have superb commanders but on the ground you always know the formula for an axis attack. Its well rehearsed and executed. Our attacks seem piecemeal by comparison and we lack the speed with which our German foes get organized.
One thing I have noticed in particular is just how formidable the Panzers are. Axis forces employ their panzers not as long range artillery (as we seem to do with our tanks) but actually bring them closer to the front line to assist the troops. The advance is as a whole and is crippling. Although I have yet to see a dogfight lost by the RAF the Axis pilots have the right idea, continually annoying us on the ground.
Anyhow fun game given that its free for 2 weeks (I have little intention of playing it afterwards for financial reasons) and seriously great people on it. I may perhaps get a lot more out of it if I had a joystick (which you need to pilot a plane, tank or mobile artillery like anti tank and anti-air guns),
Right, food is on the way, rice, chinese sausage and some chicken with a couple of fried eggs so I'll be off. More info later :)
Later
John