Alison

Happy Birthday

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:27:52 GMT

Happy birthday darling frostfox! Now tell me three things.

1. How long is your foot from toe to the back of the heel?
2. How much is it round the ball of your foot?
3. How much round your leg just a tad above the ankle?

Thank you!

Disturbed

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:07:35 GMT

I'm really angry about this story on BoingBoing, which takes an awful industrial accident and plays it for laughs. (Its antecedent is a BBC story which is very careful to keep on the right side of the line). For some reason I've got no comment link on the story, so I'm commenting here.

One of the concerns of Rita Donaghy, whose report into fatalities in the construction industry was published yesterday, is that the public trivialises workplace injury and death. Normally my view is that this isn't generally so; but sometimes I wonder.

One and Other (again)

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:05:24 GMT

One and Other remains compelling, but I was delighted to discover that my personal plan for an hour on the plinth -- English traditional music played on the melodeon -- had been delivered in fine style by the bagman of Aldford Morris on the very first day. Patrick Purves is the chap's name. He is the brother of journalist Libby Purves, who wrote the whole thing up for the Times. One of the nicest and best articles in the national press about melodeon ever I think. "Can he keep it up for an hour?" "Only thing that stops him is closing time".

Birthday

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:32:16 GMT

Thanks, belatedly, to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I spent the evening in a rapturously enjoyable family activity; we downloaded last year's questions from the Junior Mathematical Olympiad and worked through the easy (short form) questions A1-10; M could do most of them (slowly) with either no hints or tiny hints, but is horrendously stuck on A9 and desperate to do it without being helped. I have told her to sleep on it and if she's still stuck today I'll give her a hint. J needed substantial help with all of them (but he's only 8 and this competition is up to Year 8, ie 13) but really seemed to enjoy solving the problems after being given Big Hints. This was triggered by M's silver in the Junior Maths Challenge; she'd need to pick up both her problem solving and her pace to get an Olympiad invite next year because the top silver score was 71 and the Olympiad cut-off was 100. None of the JMO questions is difficult; it appears to be primarily designed to ease children in gently to the idea of writing out problem solutions.

And then, just as I was thinking of coming on and thanking everyone for my birthday, I was suddenly horribly ill. Very strange. So I'm taking today as sick leave (but BlackBerrying furiously as my work is insanely busy at present).

All crap is contained in fandom

Sat, 09 May 2009 17:17:16 GMT

Who out here has an academic gown they could bring to plokta.con? We need it by 11am Saturday.

More stuff about Plokta.con

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:15:04 GMT

As drplokta says, please let us know if you're coming to <plokta.con> but haven't got round to joining us.

We're also twittering; follow @ploktacon and tag #plokta to find out what we're up to.

The con is 23-25 May in Sunningdale Park, Sunningdale, Berks (a train ride out of Waterloo, quite close to Heathrow), and our guests are Diana Wynne Jones on Saturday and Paul Cornell on Sunday.

Any Mac users out there who don't already have the MacHeist bundle?

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:34:26 GMT

The last locked apps have now been unlocked; so if you were waiting to get the bundle, it's probably worth getting it now. As well as the 14 apps for $39, you can spam all your friends on Twitter and thereby get two more apps free including the stonking Delicious Library 2. (There is of course nothing stopping you creating a special Twitter account just for this -- but I think MacHeist is such a good deal I actually want to make sure all my Mac-using friends have got it). There's only a bit over 24 hours to go. NB: their server is getting a mite hammered at the moment.

Committing Doggerel.

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:48:22 GMT

I never, ever, do this. But elisem has a sort of project going, and I thought 'I can do that'. And just in case I'm wrong, I'm posting before reading any of the others.

Nine Things About Oracles

The future is a cloudy gem
My father laughing with next year's olives
They say I foresee the harvest

Flashes of blue clarity
My eyes will cloud and my limbs will wither
They give thanks for my gift

I turn the gem to see a little more
My mother crying as she mourns her sons
They ask if our armies will prevail

I had this idea for a long, long post

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:48:24 GMT

That would talk about, oh, all sorts of things, and what it is we do when we write, and the various ways in which things can be interpreted, and how bad we tend to be at examining our various preconceptions and beliefs.

And I concluded that it would do no good at all. But here's the thing. I'm clearly not reading enough excellent new sf and fantasy written by and about people whose cultural background is radically different from my own. (In case you don't know me, I am a white middle-class English mother who has unhealthy obsessions with traditional music and small shiny gadgets).

Recommend me some. Encourage others to.

Hugo Nominations

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:52:19 GMT

OK chaps, we're all going to the Worldcon! Remind me what I should be nominating for the Hugos?

Marianne has worked out she can nominate The Graveyard Book. And the latest Twilight novel.

Fun Run outcome

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:28:41 GMT

We had a cool, overcast day with no rain, which is nice. To recapitulate, my targets were (a) to finish, and (b) to at least jog a little. My stretch goals were to (c) Not be Dead Flat Last and (d) to break 20 minutes. (This is for a single lap of the outside pavements of St James's Park; 1.1 miles in total. The more serious runners did two laps.)

So, how did I do? I did quite a bit of jogging, and I was not last. My time was 18:08. It was good fun. We have a possible plan to do a 5k in the summer. Ish. First goal; to run for one more week (carrying on with my every-other-day training runs), and then buy running shoes.

I raised £45 for OGRA through my lovely LJ friends; thank you very much indeed. The four of us running from this team also raised a similar amount in the office. The sponsorship link is still active if anyone meant to sponsor me but forgot or didn't see it earlier.

Simple pleasures

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:41:13 GMT

So, Marianne was discharged from hospital, and we've all just finished up our pancakes, it being Pancake Day. I heard Steve Roud lecture recently, and he mentioned that the English have amazingly few food traditions (pancakes and Easter eggs being the main two). But pancakes are properly ancient.

Marianne's home and much more comfortable

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:38:08 GMT

She's currently holed up on the sofa watching The Complete Will O' Th' Wisp. She also has a question for you all --

Are there any other authors like Norman Hunter?

Bicycle!

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:52:19 GMT

We went over to Evans Cycles at Spitalfields in search of a new bike for me (mine was stolen late last year). The shop purports to be the largest bike showroom in London. Today it had loads of bikes, nearly all on clearout, exactly one of which fitted me. I explained that I'd owned a small frame mountain bike to which we had added semi-slick tyres, and they happened to have exactly such a bike in stock. Completely rigid, which I like in principle and which keeps the weight and price down; it will obviously be harder off-road but by comparison felt absolutely fantastic on the test ride, even bearing in mind the pothole-encrusted nature of London streets.

It's weird; it looks like a special order for someone that was returned, and then hung around the warehouse for a bit before being knocked down to an outrageously low price. GT Zum 4.0 (probably in fact a 4.0 R which is I think the model number for the rigid version, but it's hard to tell, because I can't find any description of this bike with these components online), in a metallic grey. And I paid, oh, less than half my planned budget for a new bike.

I also needed a new helmet (they say you should change them every two years, and mine is about eight years old), so I celebrated the bargain bike by buying an insanely expensive helmet.

By the time I got home it was cold, dark and wet. So I will have to wait for another day to take it out.

No running today; rest day. Morris instead.

Seven Deadly Sins

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:23:08 GMT

Does anyone have an mp3 of the Kipper Family's Seven Deadly Sins (or even a 30 second sample of it) that they can send me sometime in the next 40 minutes?

Harry Turner

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:01:20 GMT

I don't know if this is old news, but I haven't seen it anywhere else. We've just had an email from Philip Turner, Harry's son, to let us know that Harry died on Sunday 11 January. He was 88.

Philip suggested that we -- and no doubt you -- would be interested to see the tribute page he is putting together.

Harry was one of my very favourite fan artists.

2009 Fat Fangirls 10% challenge

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:50:54 GMT

I thought it would be useful to let you all know that over on fat_fangirls, we're girding our ample loins for another year of the 10 percent challenge. This is for people who think that it might be a good idea to, as the NHS suggests, lose 10% of their body weight in 2009. You do not have to be a girl; we have several blokes, and it's ok if you're trying to maintain, or lose less than 10%.

Some of us post weekly weights on Mondays, but it's not remotely compulsory.

From the group's profile: fat_fangirls is a community for like-minded people, not necessarily fat, not necessarily fan*girls*, to talk sensitively about the issues surrounding being overweight and supportively about healthy weight loss. It's a place that embraces healthy eating and so adverts for diet pills, or celebrations of unhealthy binge-eating, are not welcome here. To put it another way, membership is moderated to keep out spammers, trolls, sock-puppets and chubby chasers.

Happy things meme and Merry Christmas

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:51:56 GMT

I hope you're all having a pleasant and peaceful time, and I wish you all good things for 2009.

I might manage to post tomorrow but it doesn't seem terribly likely. So.

Happy things today; we transformed the kitchen with textiles, as predicted. We significantly improved Jonathan's room, but it's not by any means sorted. We have wrapped many presents. A ham, and the next batch of Bottom of the Fridge Soup, are simmering on the stove.

Tomorrow! The Onslaught of the Aged Relatives! Wish me luck. See you on the other side.

Happy meme for the 22nd

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:40:06 GMT

Late again, but my happiness is pretty unbounded. So that's good.

Things that make me happy:

I realised that my brain had blocked out almost the entirety of the action of the first third of Return of the Jedi. With luck, it can do so again. Exception; the rancor monster's keepers being visibly upset when Luke killed it.

Great Tidying Project: Marianne's room is now 'mostly ok', as is the spare bedroom. Another trip to the tip with an entirely full car; Steven's worry that our household junk would be destroyed by the rain proved unfounded as the chaps who run the tip made sure he had space to leave it undercover, saying 'the bric-a-brac people will come first thing tomorrow'. The cellar is a thing of beauty, it's amazing. A good thing too, because we have some dozens of boxes elsewhere in the house that really need to be in the cellar.

Another trip to IKEA; perhaps I should just get my salary paid directly to IKEA. Some amazing work on our lighting by Steven, so we now have (we'll draw a veil over the IKEA lights not reliably including the *parts* they need to *work* with UK light fittings; didn't make me happy) lightshades on working lights in every room in the house. And a plan to transform the look of the kitchen with textiles. I know it can be done; I've watched the website. This morning! Watch this space.

Tonight; the Food.

The Happy Things Meme gets Later and Later

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:57:29 GMT

But I was just so tired last night.

Things that Made Me Happy This Weekend:

All of the cards have been sent. With a Christmas letter! Woo Hoo! I will post the card and letter here on Christmas Eve, or maybe late tomorrow.

All the packages that had to be posted before Christmas have gone.

Tony Hall did a great show at the folk club.

All the presents that we mailordered that have to arrive here before Christmas have arrived, and there was *no queue* at all at the post office to pick up packages this morning.

The black bean soup was universally acclaimed delicious, and has gone into my permanent store of cheap family recipes. Ingredients; 12 oz black beans, 1/2 pound expensive lentils (these are 'black beluga' but De Puy would be fine, as would Canadian-fake-depuy), 4oz shredded ham, and a pile of veg you have round the house anyway (carrots, celery, onion, green pepper), stock, various seasonings; precook the blackbeans for 10 minutes or so and then throw everything in a pot and stew for hours on end.

Here's the big one:

Incarcerating the children in the pre-Christmas labour camp has worked better than I could ever possibly imagine. We are now on day 3; the deal is that the children, in addition to their regular chores, have to help us with the pre-Christmas tidying/cleaning for two hours a day, and then the rest of the time is their own. Not only have they joined in without complaining, they've made it all much easier, and they're now at the stage where they're actively suggesting the next area we might work on.

Partly as a consequence of this, the living room, dining room and cellar are tidier than they've been for years; the kitchen and study are well on their way, and we're just about to get started on the children's rooms. The great beneficiary is the 'reusables' heap at the local tip.

What's more, Jonathan has been spotlessly well-behaved; he joined in with all the Morris dancing yesterday morning and demonstrated that he can actually do Black Rod and Green Willow sufficiently well that he should get to dance at least one of them out on Boxing Day.

Woo Hoo! I actually feel Christmassy.

A Very Very Silly Video

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:35:24 GMT

Thanks to Liam for inspiring the following

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Things that make me happy: late for yesterday or early for today

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:19:26 GMT

Or something.

I was made happy yesterday by:

a giggly toddler on the tube going in who I got to make funny faces at;

Departmental drinks, with lots of interesting people there including a few who are currently working elsewhere or on career breaks, and some nice beer;

The latest installment of our 2008 Christmas project, which is to watch the Star Wars films (the proper ones, you understand) with our children. Last night; the second half of The Empire Strikes Back. Jonathan was appalled by the cliffhanger ending; wanting to go straight into Return of the Jedi. We explained we were going to make him wait a day or two, and that this was Perfectly Reasonable because *we* had to wait for *years*.

I have been made happy today, so far, by:

It is my last day of work until 5 January! And, as you can see, it is none too busy either. The office is overflowing with high carb treats. Also satsumas.

I will have a D/G melodeon workshop with John Kirkpatrick at next year's Melodeons and More. Sadly, I was too late to get into the Tony Hall one, but never mind; he's playing at the folk club this weekend.

We managed to get tickets at the very last minute for this year's Whitehall carol service today, and it was stupendous. Glorious singing, splendid address from the Archbishop of York, readings from luminaries including Jack Straw and Sir Gus O'Donnell, and one of the great military brass bands (sadly I have no idea which as we were sat right at the back far beyond the point to which the programmes stretched).

Happy Meme Day 2

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:02:58 GMT

I'm happy that all the Christmas cards are written and sitting in a big pile waiting for the children to sign them; we had enough stamps and enough cardstock for the big print run.

I'm happy that the Jeff Buckley Hallelujah is up to #3 on iTunes; and I'm pretty happy to discover 7Digital.com, which looks like a fine download site.

I'm happy that everything looks on course for Christmas; we're not done but we're well on the way.

Spend 89p on a really good cause this Christmas

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:53:50 GMT

OK, chaps, this is one of them there Internet Meme things.

You may or may not know that a really awful version of the great Leonard Cohen song Hallelujah is about to be Christmas no. 1. Unless! If the MIGHTY POWA OF DA INTERWEBS rises up, and everyone, instead, buys the Jeff Buckley version, there's just the tiniest chance that we could displace it. Or, at the very least, get a ton of exposure for better music.

89p for lovely untrammelled 320kbs MP3 from 7-digital. Or 79p from iTunes but that has DRM.

Don't buy from Amazon, cos those downloads apparently don't count towards the UK charg.

Don't buy the Leonard Cohen version -- I know it's the original, but the meme is backing Jeff Buckley.

And you know, at 89p, it's a bargain.

There's also a Facebook Group.

Buy a few. And tell your friends.

I've been a very good girl this year.

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:10:45 GMT

So, I am dithering about the whole plastic music for Christmas question. I only have a Wii, not an XBox 360 or a PS3. And Rock Band for the Wii is stripped down compared to other platforms. But Guitar Hero has been less satisfying since the Harmonix people left; it feels more like a game and less like a simulation of music making. At its best, the original Guitar Hero made you feel that you, yes you, were playing the solo parts of "More than a Feeling". Etc.

View Poll: Wii Guitar Hero World Tour or Rock Band