Zone Doubt, a.k.a. 'Surreal Я Us'...

Joules, trusted by... dozens... to make a drama out of your crisis...

Other sites:

:: JAT :: WaveWrights :: Publications ::

I live to write. It's not wise to get in my way.

... I'd write my autobiography, but no-one would believe it....


If you come across any words you don't recognise in this blog, take a look at the Taylorspeke Glossary in the left-hand infopane, you'll usually find a definition there.


The Poppy Tales

(Transformers fanfiction!)

Transformers mini-comics here.




Adventures in Orchids

Apparently I am now collecting them...

There's room for one - or maybe two, at a pinch - more on that bedroom windowsill (the only one in the house that's ideal for them). Let's see what I find. Well, that didn't last long...


EO - Everlasting orchid. Phalaenopsis. I've had this orchid since 2007 and it just keeps flowering...







AO - Alien face orchid. Phalaenopsis . Bought 2018 - lovely little flowers, all different patterns!





RO - Rescued orchid photo to come when it flowers. Phalaenopsis. Rescued from a bin up the road in 2019. Classic!






TO - Tiny orchid. Phalaenopsis. Bought at Tesco 21.8.20. It just begged to come home with me. How could I say no?





CO - Crimson orchid. Cambria. Another Tesco find. This one may be going to live in Ken's room once we've redecorated and put up the new shelving; it prefers a cooler, less sunny windowsill. If so, I'll need to find another cambrian to keep it company.






GO - Golden orchid. Phalaenopsis. Saw this one when I bought CO and left it behind - then immediately regretted it as soon as I got home. Never seen one like it before. Ken, bless him, went back over to Tesco in the rain and bought it for me...





DO - Dendrobium Orchid. Smells of wisteria, so beautiful...











RO2 - Rescued orchid no 2. Phalaenopsis. This is the one I rescued from the wall along the road middle of 2021.








PO. Pink orchid. Phalaenopsis. This is the one I bought at Cabury Garden Centre on special, late 2021. It's much happier here!










TWO. Teeny weeny orchid, Phalaenopsis. Rescued from Tesco end 2021 (I think).




















My IMDb ep summaries

(completed)
Arthur of the Britons
Sky
Star Maidens
The Starlost
Space Rangers
The Sentinel (part: seasons 2 and 3)
Swamp Thing (part: season 3)
Gravedale High
Transformers: Armada
Transformers: Energon
Transformers: Cybertron (part)
Misfits of Science (four eps)
Zoo Gang
Zodiac
Jupiter Moon
Transformers: Beast Wars (part: seasons 2 and 3)
Transformers: Beast Machines (part)
Vampire Princess Miyu
Starhyke
Nathan Barley
No Heroics
Undermind (3 eps)
Will Shakespeare (Tim Curry version)
Nightwalker
12 Kingdoms
Trigun (ep 8)
Rayearth
Hyperdrive (season 2 ep 3)
The Café

For later:

Missing Earthian ep
Missing Haibane Renme eps


Silver birch at Eastwood 

Farm

"Autumnal - nothing to do with leaves. It is to do with a certain brownness at the edges of the day... Brown is creeping up on us, take my word for it... Russets and tangerine shades of old gold flushing the very outside edge of the senses... deep shining ochres, burnt umber and parchments of baked earth - reflecting on itself and through itself, filtering the light. At such times, perhaps, coincidentally, the leaves might fall, somewhere..."

(Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Act 2: Tom Stoppard)

Autumn...

I love this time of year. I love the colours, the sharp slant of sunlight on the trees, mosaics of acid-yellow and harts- blood, velvet and darkness and a haze of mist-grey over the hills. I love its immanence, its mellowness, the tang of frost just around the corner of the year...

Watching the little birds in the goat-willow in my garden, I realised something more.

I love this land with a fierce, possessive love, deep-rooted in two thousand years of history. From the frosted beaches and cloud-brushing peaks of the north to the wind-haunted meanderings of the rivers of the east, from the sensuous rolling patchworked hills of the south to the demanding dark moors of the west, this land seeps into bone and blood and synapse, mother of motley nobility, culture, individual freedoms. It can be known. It can be understood. It can be felt deep inside.

I love its effortless eccentricities, its vigour and vibrancy, its flawed perfections, its silent strength and tenacious resilience, its hard-won tolerances and intense and variable beauty, the profound energy in its sacred mythical landscape.

Home and more-than-home, the forces that shape and protect and bind, in me, as I am in the land. Love returning love in the stillness for those who'll only take the time to listen...

(Joules, Autumn 2004)


All photographs taken by Joules unless otherwise specified. All photographs © Joules A Taylor or other specified individual.


In Memoriam

17.03.09 - Argent

25.07.08 - Raptor

18.12.07 - Quyn

02.12.06 - Ryme


Currently enjoying:
Muse
Transformers - IDW, Prime, Animated, Rescue Bots.

Currently reading:
Various Transformers books and graphic novels.



Currently working on:
Haadri

Currently chuffed with:
My garden

Currently miffed at:
Nestlé, Nonpres Tinyhands Fart, Toadface Farage

Currently maintaining:
BCHS
BCW


Blog Pics
I've gathered some of my pages of photos together: the page of links is here. I'll be adding more as time goes by!




Evil Squid
A Little Glossary of Taylorspeke
(in no particular order)

plit popints - n. Typo for 'plot points' typed on a keyboard with more than half the characters worn off...

[PING] (alt [ping]) - n. A brainwave. The text equivalent of a lightbulb going on blindingly over someone's head. Usually mine. And usually at the most inconvenient of times. [sigh]

TPTB - The Powers That Be.

wulmet - n. A person of little or no talent who somehow inveigles himself into a position where he is in power over other, far more talented people and uses his position to downplay them in order to try to make himself feel superior.

biteable - referring to an anatomical part vb, tasty.

Flatterfed - vb. 27.02.08: my typo for flattered, but since it's so cutely apt I thought it would fit nicely here. Lutra defined it as "the lovely warm feeling of satisfaction resulting from enthusiastic reviews..." (which I've been getting for my MB fics).

Composted - vb, 'compos mentis', mentally capable of working. Contrast with uncomposted or non- composted, not 'compos mentis', not capable of working, hungover...

Cumbles - n, cucumbers.

Kewp - how Ken says 'thank you'. We rather like Lutra's 'nanx', too...

Musekick - noun, music, without which I cannot work.

'feinne - noun, caffeine, essential for correct mental functioning, especially first thing in the morning. I prefer mine in the form of SodaStream Diet Coke. And on that subject...

Skoosh - verb, noun. To skoosh - to add CO2 to a sodastream bottle filled with water to make it fizzy, prior to adding Diet Coke syrup (or just drinking as sparkling water). A skoosh - a bottle of water that has been skooshed. Skooshy - something that has been skooshed, water, or that whipped cream that comes in tins you have to shake then upend and press the nozzle...

Shoogle - verb. To shake gently, for example, of roast potatoes in a roasting tin to ensure they're covered with oil. I have vague memories of this being a real Scottish colloquialism...

Stegasaurus - n, spider of the genus tegenaria. Why? No idea. I just find it easier, that's all...
Edit 08.09.07: Lutra thinks that Brian is a good name for a mini-stegasaurus. From now on, any 'Brian's in the posts may be assumed to be a tegenaria. Except where otherwise specified.

Viterals - noun, vitamins + minerals. Also a pun on victuals.

Splish - verb. A combination of slosh and splash.

Parrots - noun, paracetemol (from the old joke "Why are there no aspirin tablets in the jungle? Because the parrots eat 'em all...")

Maggles - noun, magpies. As opposed to non-magical people.

Flamewings - noun. Swifts. So called because the first time we became aware of them was an early summer evening when they were flying high, the light from the setting sun seemingly turning their wings to flames. Lovely little birds. We always know summer's arrived when we hear their high-pitched squeeing.

Murfs - noun, moths.

Peasant cut - noun, roughly cut up into big chunks, e.g. vegetables chopped in a hurry for a hearty stew or soup. By extension, anything prepared in a hurry - haircut, material, even a first draft of a story...

Giraffe - noun, a carafe (of wine, coffee or water, for example).

Shrumps - noun, mushrooms.

Splings - noun, Kai's spelling homework: by extension, any spelling.

Tyops - noun, typos. var toyps, typso, psyto, psoyt, etc. Usual result of a dose of the fingerials (see next entry).

Fingerials - (pr. fin GEEE ree yalls) noun, fingers that will not type what you want them to.

Haddock - noun, time, of which I never have enough. (Origin of this term here.)

Sleep - noun? vb? a.k.a. sheeeeeeeeep.... I used to know what this word meant...


The Updates Blog

The place to stay notified of WaveWrights' Fiction updates: Zone, Darkside, DarkRealm, Matrix, Vault, Safehouse 13...




my computer gremlin Butch. click the pic to see the larger image

Butch, my computer gremlin. Click the pic for larger version, and read his adventures here...

Butch by the talented 

Sylverthorne

A gift for me! Butch by the very talented Sylverthorne. Click pic for larger image.

Joules' 

Haddock

This is MY haddock. It was caught exclusively for me by Talon. No, you can't have any. I need all the haddock I can get!!



A'lestrel by Valkyrie.

A'lestrel - a gift for me from Valkyrie...



Albino Alsatian Benten (c) MEBird 

2004

Another gorgeous Valkyrie gift for me - Benten the Albino Alsatian! Click thumbnail for larger image.

Radittsu, an oekaki for my birthday 04 

by 

Onna

Oekai by Bakayaro Onna - Radittsu at his sexiest...



The Zone Plant from
The Zone 

blog 

plant

OrganicHTML (which alas no longer seems to exist...)
[::..My Regular Reads..::]
:: Astronomical Pic of the Day [>]
:: What is Space... [>]
:: Dark Roasted Blend [>]
:: BLDG [>]
:: Watchismo Times [>]
[::..Fun Places..::]
::HubbleSite
Stunning...
::PALEOMAP Project
Absolutely fascinating.
:: Skymap
Check out the night sky where you are!
[::..Useful Sites..::]
:: GreenNet
First stop for environmental matters
:: The Forest of Avon
Our local community forest and places to visit
:: The Guardian
Online Guardian Newspaper.
:: Symbols
Exactly what it says
:: World Timeserver
For checking the current time around this world
:: Universal Currency Converter
Actually it's just a terran-global currency converter, not universal, but it's still useful...

So what is it with the haddock? Am I some kind of fish freak?

I'll leave that to others to decide.

The tale (or tail if you prefer) harks back to October 2000, when my GoodTwin and I, ably assisted by Sue, ran the first UK Professionals convention...
It's common knowledge that I never have enough time, and I was determined not to bewail the fact that weekend: hence I promised not to use the 'T' word...
Of course, that didn't really work (if nothing else I had to let the trainees know what times things were supposed to be happening!) so we decided a substitute word would be employed instead. There were several suggestions. Banana came very close to being chosen. However, I eventually decided that 'haddock' fitted the bill nicely. Ever since, haddock=time. Hence the title of my forthcoming autobiography,
My Half-Life in the Haddock Space Continuum....


Normally I wouldn't, but these were just irresistible...

How could I resist?

Just too adorable...

and to complete the rainbow...

These Too-Kawaii Kitties
were adopted from
Ghost's Anime Page (which appears to have disappeared, alas...)

[::..Anime/Manga..::]
Useful sites:

BBTS -
Fabulous anime figures

Anime Lyrics
A huge selection... evil popups

Anime still needed to complete series' I'm collecting... Many thanks to everyone who has helped me acquire the collection!
Ai no Kusabi

Owned:
   DVD
   Dj: June Special
   CD: Ambivalence

Cyber City Oedo 808

Owned:
   DVD
   All 3 eps on Video, dubbed
   Dj: Cyberage 1-3
   Illustrated Book 2 (Benten's) in Japanese

From Eroica with Love

Owned:
   Manga Vols 1, 9, 11

Mirage of Blaze

Owned:
   DVD Vol 1 (eps 1-4)

R.G. Veda

Owned:
   English Manga: Vol 1
   Japanese Manga: Vol 1-7 complete
   Tarot Pack
   R.G.Veda video

Twelve Kingdoms

Owned:
   Anime Vol 1-12: complete

Under the Glass Moon

Owned:
   Manga Vol 1, 2
Vol 3 needed

Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust

Owned:
   DVD

   Vampire Hunter D Book 1



New Vampire Miyu

Owned:
   (Studio Ironcat) Manga Vols 1 -5 (complete)


Yami no Matsuei

Owned:
   Viz Manga: English translation, Vols 1 - 11 (complete: I believe vol 12 is only available online)
   Japanese 3-DVD set
   Central Park Media: Descendants of Darkness Vol. 1, English/Japanese subbed.
   Sketchbook


[::..Joules SP fied..::]


... this is Terra? How the hell'd I end up here...?

(Thanks, Lutra, for the quote!)

[::..archive..::]
07/01/2002 - 07/31/2002
08/01/2002 - 08/31/2002
09/01/2002 - 09/30/2002
10/01/2002 - 10/31/2002
11/01/2002 - 11/30/2002
12/01/2002 - 12/31/2002
01/01/2003 - 01/31/2003
02/01/2003 - 02/28/2003
03/01/2003 - 03/31/2003
04/01/2003 - 04/30/2003
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06/01/2003 - 06/30/2003
07/01/2003 - 07/31/2003
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02/01/2004 - 02/29/2004
03/01/2004 - 03/31/2004
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06/01/2004 - 06/30/2004
07/01/2004 - 07/31/2004
08/01/2004 - 08/31/2004
09/01/2004 - 09/30/2004
10/01/2004 - 10/31/2004
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12/01/2004 - 12/31/2004
01/01/2005 - 01/31/2005
02/01/2005 - 02/28/2005
03/01/2005 - 03/31/2005
04/01/2005 - 04/30/2005
05/01/2005 - 05/31/2005
06/01/2005 - 06/30/2005
07/01/2005 - 07/31/2005
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10/01/2005 - 10/31/2005
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02/01/2006 - 02/28/2006
03/01/2006 - 03/31/2006
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10/01/2006 - 10/31/2006
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02/01/2007 - 02/28/2007
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01/12/2015 - 31/12/2015
01/01/2016 - 31/01/2016
01/022016 - 28/02/2016
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01/01/2017 - 31/01/2017
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01/01/2018 - 31/01/2018
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01/10/2018 - 31/10/2018
01/11/2018 - 30/11/2018
01/12/2018 - 31/12/2018
01/01/2019 - 31/01/2019
01/02/2019 - 28/02/2019
01/03/2019 - 31/03/2019
01/04/2019 - 30/04/2019
01/05/2019 - 31/05/2019
01/06/2019 - 30/06/2019
01/07/2019 - 31/07/2019
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01/10/2019 - 31/10/2019
01/11/2019 - 30/11/2019
01/12/2019 - 31/12/2019
01/01/2020 - 31/01/2020
01/02/2020 - 29/02/2020
01/03/2020 - 31/03/2020
01/04/2020 - 31/04/2020
01/05/2020 - 31/05/2020
01/06/2020 - 31/06/2020
01/07/2020 - 31/07/2020
01/08/2020 - 31/08/2020
01/09/2020 - 30/09/2020
01/10/2020 - 31/10/2020
01/11/2020 - 30/11/2020
01/12/2020 - 31/12/2020
01/01/2021 - 31/01/2021
01/02/2021 - 28/02/2021
01/03/2021 - 31/03/2021
01/04/2021 - 30/04/2021
01/05/2021 - 31/05/2021
01/06/2021 - 30/06/2021
01/07/2021 - 31/07/2021
01/08/2021 - 31/08/2021
01/09/2021 - 30/09/2021
01/10/2021 - 31/10/2021
01/11/2021 - 30/11/2021
01/12/2021 - 31/12/2021
01/01/2022 - 31/01/2022
01/02/2022 - 28/02/2022
01/03/2022 - 31/03/2022
01/04/2022 - 30/04/2022
01/05/2022 - 30/05/2022
01/06/2022 - 31/06/2022
01/07/2022 - 31/07/2022
01/08/2022 - 31/08/2022
01/09/2022 - 30/09/2022
01/10/2022 - 31/10/2022
01/11/2021 - 31/11/2021
01/12/2022 - 31/12/2022
01/01/2023 - 31/01/2023
01/02/2023 - 28/02/2023
01/03/2023 - 31/03/2023
01/04/2023 - 30/04/2023
01/08/2023 - 31/08/2023
01/11/2023 - 31/11/2023

Sunday, September 30, 2012

A lovely long lie-in, followed by a fairly leisurely shop (easier to go with it than try to battle the rampaging hordes of mutoid Sunday shoppers....). fish finger sammijs for brunch, big pig for dinner then Doctor Who. The angels remain as scary as ever. Quite a pleasant day on the whole.

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0 Comments:



Saturday, September 29, 2012

The Poppy Tales  

Nineteenth part of New World - Home Comforts 1 - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above).

Enjoy!


In other news... gah it's been a day...

Actually it's been a very good day, if a long one that's left me with an aching back and hand, and I've accomplished everything I set out to do - two washes (incl bedding) since the weather was so good, stripping/blanching/freezing what little sweetcorn survived (it's only a medium sized bagful but it's good to have a little at least), racked and bottled wine, lifted the carrots (four. Four effing carrots. That's the sum total of our carrot crop this year thanks to the effing weather...) so Kai could hoe, dusted upstairs and down, emptied bins, cleaned bathroom floor, vacuumed right through the house, and finished Poppy 6.19 (as well as continuing with the role play). K&K went to Bath for the afternoon, so I thought I'd take advantage of the time to try to get organised. And do some housework, which was badly needed. Maybe I can have some time off tomorrow...




Moonrise tonight was so pretty. Ken tried to take photos but we don't have the right equipment. But anyway, this gives the general impression.

Tf: Prime was... ack, so good... but Smokescreen has now gone past cute and is fast approaching irritating.



And lastly, here's another SS/Alexis fanvid - another great piece of music (much softer than yesterday's, this one). Yes, they both have a bit of the same content, for obvious reasons. Can't be helped.

There are a lot of other such fanvids out there but most of them are songs I'm not that keen on and/or the video quality is pretty poor, so this is the last one I'll post (unless I find something really good.)


Back to tumblr. A little later I shall continue persevering with Transformers: Energon (decided I'd try to watch the whole of the Unicron Trilogy). It's hard going though. That truly obnoxious brat Kicker has a girlfriend who looks like a creepy little porcelain doll...

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5 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

Four.
That's ridiculous!

1:16 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

[shrugs] that's how bad the weather has been, What didn't rot from the rain got eaten by slugs.

I have some more in the cold frame but a lot of them have been eaten. I'll try to put some sort of barrier down tomorrow.

1:17 am  
Blogger Lutra said...

Damn...

1:19 am  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

I use more carrots than that in a day... ;)

9:14 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Well yes, but you're feeding rabbits and things...

3:10 pm  



Friday, September 28, 2012

Busier than my usual Friday. Sundays are usually the busiest day of the week for me, so I've been trying to take Fridays as easy as possible over the last month or so so I at least get something resembling a weekend off. Today started off with a slow page of nextPoppy written while skyping with Lutra - then the next lot of client stuff arrived... I was still working on it at gone six this evening. Back's aching from sitting too long.

Eh well. It helps pay the bills. And since the TV took an hour to boot up this morning we absolutely are going to have to replace it asap before it dies completely.

You probably remember that of all the versions of Starscream, Armada is probably my favourite. And you'll also know that I have a fondness for fanvids. This is a real favourite - I love the music (even if you're not interested in the subject matter give the audio track a listen, it's great. Fingers crossed it doesn't keep stalling...) and as for the story...

At one point (well, two really) Starscream defects to the Autobots. The girl is Alexis. She was the first human to try to befriend Starscream. And yes, she and Starscream could have had one of the great romances of all time IF

1) They'd both been human, OR

2) they'd both been transformers, AND

3) Starscream hadn't sacrificed himself to save Cybertron.

Tragic, neh?


Oh, yes, and the green crystal is one he brought back from Mars that she had made into a pendant. It cracks in two at the moment of his termination...

Back to Poppy. And tumblr role-play.

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

This is the Decepticon warship the Nemesis.

the Nemesis

And THIS is the UK designed and built electric sportscar the Nemesis.

the Nemesis

[...droooool...]

I WANT ONE!!!!

Later edit: Well, that's (Poppy Tales) Prowl's alt form sorted!

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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

pumpkin


Not a marrow...

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0 Comments:



Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The Poppy Tales 

Eighteenth part of New World - Alarms and Excursions - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above).

Enjoy!


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Monday, September 24, 2012

An entire day of client stuff!

Next Poppy chapter a page and half in and I had a sudden brainwave as to how to resolve a plit popint I had written my way into a corner with. (Not being a fan of the 'with one bound he was free' deus ex machina school of storytelling...) So shall be working on that tonight.

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Sunday, September 23, 2012

It's cold! That horrible damp cold of the start of Autumn. We've had to put the heating on. And I had to pull the lion over me while we watched Dr Who (which was fun, but felt horribly rushed...)

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3 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

We've been cold here today - we actually had the duvet off the bed over us while we watched TV, which is quite unlike us!

10:32 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Whoa! And your place is really warm!

2:42 am  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

Normally, yes. The odd thing was that the temperature gauge said it wasn't that cold, but we were both freezing. Maybe just the sudden drop in temperature generally.

7:57 am  



Saturday, September 22, 2012

guh... didn't sleep very well and brain has gone. Just.. gone. Working on autopilot...

Got the rest of the client stuff done though.

We appear to have something trying to move in...


(That's what's left of Kai's old log scramble.) Whatever it is - fox, perhaps? badger? - has burrowed out the wood and started digging into the ground. Not sure whether to leave it or to investigate further... (Can't get any closer: there's rotten wood under the grass and the chippings and I don't want to crush anything/hurt myself.)

Oh, and the Tf: P ep - wonderful. Gotta love Smokescreen...

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3 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

My first thought was 'oooh, wombat!', but that's not likely.

4:05 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

ROFLMAO!! No, not likely...

4:18 pm  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

hee - if it's a wombat then it's been digging for a long way... :)

8:23 pm  



Friday, September 21, 2012

One of those days today, difficult to get started, everything was a trial to do, and nothing got finished. [grump] Better tomorrow, I trust.

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Thursday, September 20, 2012

Do you think I can find an online pic of G1 Starscream and Megatron standing together so you can see the height difference? Can I hell...

[grump] Megatron is a bit taller than Starscream, but not all that much. Which is why Megatron's transformation into a gun that Starscream then uses as a weapon is so snigger-worthy to Lutra and I (and, really, anyone else who visualises it. Not to mention why the hell would Megatron entrust himself in his vulnerable alt mode to his mortal enemy? As Lutra said, "this wasn't very well thought out...")
SS and M



So - Megatron transforms into a Walther P38 (the Cybertronian version, not the terrestrial one, clearly), in the process reducing himself from a form bigger than Starscream to this ->




Megatron as gun














Here's a close-up. Nice design, but a true wtf moment...

Yerrrsssss...

Agent back from holiday - back to client stuff. NextPoppy coming slowly.

Oh, and I found a cheap copy of The Man From Earth, so we now have it.

Later edit: Remember I said the RiD version of Starscream - Dark Scream -'s alt form is a squirrel? There is a toy available on ebay. It's too pricey right now. I think I may have to get one eventually though, just to be perverse. And because I'm finding the thought of SS as a giant flying squirrel funnier and funnier...

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2 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

... That really is just dumb. I mean, seriously?

1:15 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Quite! Has to be one of the daftest things evar.

1:16 pm  



Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Pretties for a sunny Autumnal morning...

Chilli peppers

Cheerful chilli peppers.

Bathroom orchids

And bathroom phalaenopsis.

APAG AGM this evening - and I have another meeting to go to tomorrow night, oh joy...

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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

[g] I found one of these on ebay going for a song, as the ubiquitous 'they' do say, so once he arrives my Unicron Trilogy Starscream collection is complete.

And when HoS SS arrives, I do believe I'll have a representation of every Starscream from every continuity. Well, except Shattered Glass but I'm pretty much resigned (though not happy) to never getting one of those. And I'm not counting the abomination Dark Scream from RiD (he transforms into a Japanese giant flying squirrel. Come on!!) or the Kre-o versions (Lego? Really??) I'm not interested in tracking down all the different variations with in the continuities either - that can just get silly. But overall that's not bad going!

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2 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

A giant flying squirrel...?
[blink]
BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!

1:32 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

[sigh] yerrs, quite. Trying to find a pic online but it looks like everyone else found the idea so embarrassing too...

1:37 pm  



You probably remember that I need to use an ergonomic keyboard so as to put as little strain on my hands as possible. Such keyboards are not that common or easy to find: Micro$oft make the one we usually go for, the Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (wired of course. We don't use wireless if we can possibly avoid it). They cost around £50: not exactly cheap, so I do my best to look after it.

But I have noticed, with the last two I've had, that the characters rub off more and more speedily. This isn't such a problem if you're an adept touch-typer - but I'm not. I'm going to uncharitably assume, since it's Micro$oft, that this is to force the user to buy replacements more often (let's face it, it wouldn't be that hard to make the keys partially transparent with the character embedded in the middle so it couldn't rub off).

Anyway. This is what I've been struggling with for the last six months:

Keyboard

Lutra has found my typos on Skype quite amusing - 'plit popints' anyone? (Should read 'plot points') - but I've been getting more and more irritated with it. I've tried painting the characters on in the past but no matter what I tried they rubbed off again very quickly. So Lutra suggested painting them on and then covering them with sticky-backed plastic (in the best Blue Peter fashion!)

So yesterday I bought some Tippex at the Post Office, and this morning cleaned the keyboard and had a go...

Heh. The Tippex is horribly thick and gunky and dries unbelievably quickly - but I'd started, so I finished...

Picasso keyboard

Yeah, I know, looks like a four-year old did it. But I'm a writer, not an artist (Jim)! Main thing is I can make out where the keys are now, and the keyboard will last a little longer (I do have a spare but given the finances the longer I can keep 'em going the better).

Hm... Perhaps I can say it was inspired by Picasso...?

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1 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

I saw some stickers at the weekend which would have worked.
And I don't think it's just M$ - my Dell keyboard is knocking on and still has most of the letters visible while Anna's, at least 2 years younger, is missing lots. We have a boss who doesn't touchtype - causes quite some amusement, particularly when he has to enter passwords frequently :)

10:58 pm  



Monday, September 17, 2012

Busy Monday. Got a lot done though, and should be able to spend tomorrow on my own writing.

And I'm sure there was something more I meant to say but it's gone...

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Sunday, September 16, 2012

Usual Sunday. Shopping, generally getting organised for the week, playing with snake, making dinner, getting mouse out of freezer to defrost for snake's meal tomorrow... All fairly mundane stuff.

I asked Lutra if I should worry about finding this unbearably cute, and oddly apposite for Seekers.

She said yes I should... [g]



(The three at the back are the Rainmakers. The green one is Acid Storm, the yellow one Sunstorm, and the blue one doesn't have a name that I've been able to find. So Kai and I have decided he shall be called Drizzle.)

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4 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

A mundane list of tasks, including a couple not many people have to do :)

7:43 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

[g]

10:15 am  
Blogger Lutra said...

[snerk] Drizzle...

Where do you defrost snake food?

1:12 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Yeah, Drizzle [snicker]

In a sealed bag on top of the microwave overnight. Some people defrost them by actually microwaving them, but I don't really fancy doing that. The mice warm up to room temp quite quickly: the rats are larger and will take longer.

3:05 pm  



Saturday, September 15, 2012

The Poppy Tales 

Seventeenth part of New World - Onwards and Upwards - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above).

Enjoy!


In other news... I've brought the pepper plants in from the greenhouse in advance of the colder weather: they have buds and flowers and I might be able to persuade a few more peppers out of them before the winter really gets going.

This week's Tf: P - whoa!! dark... Extremely satisfying though. And the newbie - Smokescreen - is so damned cute!

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[sigh] And now I have to not read any of my usual blogs/tumblr/deviantArt until after I've watched this week's ep of Tf: P on Youtube. I narrowly avoided reading a spoiler half an hour ago! And spoilers DO NOT WANT this week. Too scary stuff...

Poppy now three pages in.

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Friday, September 14, 2012

Working on New World part 17...

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Thursday, September 13, 2012

The Starscreams to date. No background: I'll be doing another when HoS SS arrives, and will worry about the background then.


This pic is a link to a much larger (2000 px width) version, with, obviously, much more detail!

(Lutra, did we decide what a bunch of Starscreams was going to be called?)

... better get some work done now...

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10 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

Ooh, excellent job on clearing the b/g!

[thinks] Was it a smirk? Or a sneer?

12:35 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Ye gods, it was back in July...

I said - " Heh, a flock of Starscreams. Or should that be a murder of Starscreams? A backstab? A shriek?"

and you suggested - "A whine of SSs? A plotting?"

So we are still undecided. Anyone else like to throw in a suggestion?

12:43 pm  
Blogger Lutra said...

LOL! I'd forgotten about those choices. [g] Quite like 'a whine'...

12:45 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Whine is good... I think we can do better though.

1:12 pm  
Blogger Sue said...

Oooh, it's a multi-verse crossover story in the making!

9:23 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

... you're just trying to tempt me, aren't you?

[sigh] And I have such difficulty resisting temptation...

12:55 pm  
Blogger Sue said...

Moi? Whatever makes you say such a thing?

5:28 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Experience!

5:52 pm  
Blogger Sue said...

Hee - and on a separate note, have you seen this?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boneland-Alan-Garner/dp/0007463243

8:17 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

That looks interesting. The W of B and Moon of Gomrath (esp the latter) were favourites of mine as a child. Will have to keep an eye out for this when it comes out in paperback.

9:28 pm  



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

And today went a bit pear-shaped, as they say. Hopefully tomorrow will be better...

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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Armada SS






It's been a while since I drew anything... I'm umming and ahhing about getting a second, role-play account over at tumblr and playing Armada Starscream. Some of the others there are immense fun, especially High Gloss Finish (Knock Out), Ask ST-3V3, and Ask Starscream and Knock Out (not safe for work, this last one, and avoid if you don't like slash). Anyway - would need a pic for the background so thought I'd give it a go. Needs more work but it's not too bad.



And Cybertron Starscream arrived!



Cybertron SS




The usual high standard of design and manufacture - and one thing I like about the Unicron Trilogy figures is their sturdiness. They are solidly built and very tactile, unlike the Prime figures which, while beautiful, are too delicate to handle with any lack of care.



I should make a start on next Poppy...

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Monday, September 10, 2012

Done!




Usual busy Monday, quite a bit of client stuff.

Gave Feather her first meal. Fascinating to watch. Held mouse in the long tweezers provided and wriggled it around just above the substrate: she fixed on it, crept forwards very slowly then lunged, grabbing it in the middle of its body then wrapping around it. I kept tugging it (to simulate it wriggling) until she pulled it away.

Then she bent it in half and swallowed it.

Wasn't expecting that - I thought she'd fineagle it around until she could swallow it head first. At one point all four of its paws and its tail were hanging out of her mouth...

Happier snake now. I'll give her another mouse on Friday, then next week see about a rat.

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6 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

I find the description of Feather feeding less icky than Rosa :)

12:30 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Do you think I'm putting people off? I've had less blog visitors since getting her/describing how she's doing...

12:32 pm  
Blogger Lutra said...

I don't think so. Could be coincidental? 'sides, it's your blog, you're writing about what you find interesting, ne?

12:35 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

True... And it does go up and down a bit.

12:37 pm  
Blogger Lutra said...

There you go then! [sunny]

12:37 pm  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

I could have done without reading that description over breakfast, but that's my fault not yours :)

9:06 pm  



Sunday, September 09, 2012

[g]









So off we went to Almondsbury Garden Centre to buy baby rats and chicks for Feather...



There's only a bus every two hours on a Sunday, so we had to do a bit of hanging around. However, got good advice from the fish and reptile experts and came back with two packs of rat weaners and one of medium mice (which are slightly smaller than the rats and which I'm going to start her off on, tomorrow). They didn't have any chicks - will ring ahead next time and make sure they have some in stock.

So here she is.

Feather


Feather


Such a pretty snake...

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2 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

I see a tongue! :)
Lovely...

10:37 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Lucky timing on Ken's part.
She is, isn't she? Such pretty patterns...

10:55 pm  



Saturday, September 08, 2012

heh


Heh. Entire day spent going backwards and forwards between the dog show at the park (now have a couple of hundred photos to pick through to put on the website) and home. Knackered, legs are killing me (from standing in the sun and walking) and I have another busy day tomorrow.

But at least the Dr Who ep was highly enjoyable, for once. And in a moment I shall watch this week's Tf: P episode (before making a start on the photos...)

I also bought another Starscream for the collection cheap from ebay - Cybertron Starscream, a somewhat obscure one, so obscure in fact the only online pic I can find is the other ebay one here. Not as pretty as Armada SS but for completeness' sake... Transformers: Armada is the first part of the Unicron Trilogy: Transformers: Energon is part two and Transformers: Cybertron is the third and final part. And yes, there is an Energon SS, so I suppose I'll have to keep an eye out for him too. I am trying to watch it (Energon, that is) - it's all up on Youtube - but I got as far as half way through ep two and almost gave up. The main human character is so bloody obnoxious you just want to slap him hard, repeatedly, and make him shut up.

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The Poppy Tales 

Sixteenth part of New World - Healing - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above).

Enjoy!

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Friday, September 07, 2012

SS again




Quite a quiet day, all told. Two pages of next Poppy written - hoping to finish it tonight.



and again







Oh yes - and I found this. The place is on the way to Wells. Fingers crossed for a lottery win!

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Thursday, September 06, 2012

flump





Still tired...



Into town to Wild Oats and Better Foods to stock up on organic gravy powder (use for thickening sauces) and pasta (special offers on at the moment!). Carried too much back but at least the fridge and cupboard are looking fuller.

Day off tomorrow - planning to work on next Poppy. I have a manic weekend ahead - Saturday is the APAG dog show (I seem to have been volunteered to take the photos this year) then Sunday it's the bus out to Almondsbury (nice run but there's only one every two hours, so the timing has to be good) to pick up frozen baby rats and chicks and some deep root killer.





It was supposed to be a pumpkin...

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Wednesday, September 05, 2012

taking a break


Taking a break after all that dancing...









Feather






Feather.


She's making herself at home. Haven't handled her yet but did a little tidying up in the vivarium - oiking out shed skin and shifting the bedding around to make it more comfortable in the hide - to get her used to me a little. She didn't mind, even when the lock dropped into the vivarium very close to her (could do with a new one, the plastic buffer is broken and I don't want to damage the glass) and I had to clip it back into place. Will try lifting her out tomorrow.


Morning phalaenopsis...

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4 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

She's lovely :)

10:28 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Beautiful markings. She's a pretty snake.

11:34 pm  
Blogger Lutra said...

Will she hang upside down when she sheds, too?
(I kid. I know she probably won't. Neither will she spin a web to do it.)

12:53 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

[eyebrow] You mistake her for the nigh-mythical tarantaboa. Feather is simply a ground boa...


Though if you know of the location of a tarantaboa...

11:08 pm  



Tuesday, September 04, 2012

The Poppy Tales 

Fifteenth part of New World - Hurt - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above).

Enjoy!



Later edit (9 pm): SS again




Dat aft...














What a day and 'alf it's been. First Animated Starscream arrived...




Animated SS alt mode Animated SS root mode





















He's... magnificent. And large. [GLOMPS Onna, who forwarded him from the States for me as the seller only ships internally!]

3 SSs




And it was physio appointment, and he's very pleased. I have to carry on doing what I've been doing, increasing the exercises to a maximum of 12 per session and lessening wearing the splint when I'm not doing anything strenuous. If I don't need to see him within the next three months he'll sign me off and I'll be back with the doctor. He believes that, with the way things are improving, I should be approaching what will be normal for me from now on (which still means nowhere near as strong as the hand was originally, but I've lived with that for long enough, a little more caution won't cause any problem) at the end of that three months. So, still a way and some time to go, but things are definitely improving.

And the snake arrived!

Vivarium


You can just make her out towards the back. The vivarium fits like it was made for the space. (Later edit: she's the small dark thing, not the large pale thing, that's the reflection of the arm of the sofa...)

I haven't handled her yet - she was disturbed and a little stressed from being in the car from Severn Beach to Clifton, then in a friend's flat all day, then again in the car from Clifton to Brislington and into somewhere strange, so I'm letting her settle for at least 24 hours. She's very pretty, all shades of brown, and has a somewhat odd history. Apparently she was found roaming outside in Exeter, my birthplace, by a rather startled member of the public; taken in and a call put out for her owner that had no results; then fostered by Ken's workmate; and now she's home with us. I suppose that makes her a thrice-rescued snake.

Anyway - her name is now Feather (because she's a boa, you see), suggested by Vivienne Grainger (her nick, not her real name), my chief reviewer on FFNet and a very fine writer indeed.

Ken says he'll just call her Snake...

VERY tired now. Hoping for an early night.

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2 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

hee, Feather. I like it.
Look forward to seeing some more photos.

8:01 am  
Blogger Lutra said...

Feather! I see what you did there :)

('dat aft...' [snorfel] )

12:39 pm  



Monday, September 03, 2012

marry me?




Is... is that... a proposal?


Nah....










Productive day. Client stuff, and I'm now four pages into next Poppy and have plenty more to say.

And THIS!




Rock Jocks. This is a must see!

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2 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

Depends what's being proposed... :)

10:42 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

It's Starscream. Whatever it is, you can bet it'll be painful or lethal or both...

10:51 pm  



Sunday, September 02, 2012

dancing


"Enjoying Starscream's interpretive dance..." (Lutra, on Skype yesterday...)

(Yes, he does have interchangeable hands - two for the left and three for the right, one of which is shaped to hold Megatron in his gun alt form. One of these days I'll pose him holding it, and you can see why Lutra and I find it snigger-worthy...)

Swans photos now posted here. Quite large images so please allow them time to load.

Hibiscus

And the indoor hibiscus is doing very nicely, ta.

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2 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

The swans are great! I especially like Up Before the Beak :)

2:50 pm  
Blogger Sue said...

Oh the swans are amazing! I like Up Before The Beak as well and
Le Coeur Fidele.

9:38 am  



Saturday, September 01, 2012

wheeeee



For Kai's last Saturday of the hols and because it was nice weather, we bused to Wells and went swan hunting...

And we found 20 of them. I've taken photos of them all and resized/saved/named ready to go onto a page, but I'm knackered after all the walking so it will have to wait until tomorrow. (Annoyingly we missed six that we saw as the bus was leaving to return to Bristol. They'd have been easy to get to as well if I'd known they were there...)


So a little Poppy tonight if I can summon the energy, and a lie in tomorrow I think (it's supposed to rain all day). In the meantime, this is the bathroom phalaenopsis. It seems to like it on the windowsill.



bathroom orchid

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