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
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03/01/2005 - 03/31/2005
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06/01/2005 - 06/30/2005
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10/01/2006 - 10/31/2006
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01/01/2007 - 01/31/2007
02/01/2007 - 02/28/2007
03/01/2007 - 03/31/2007
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01/01/2008 - 31/01/2008
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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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01/12/2016 - 31/12/2016
01/01/2017 - 31/01/2017
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01/12/2017 - 31/12/2017
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
01/08/2019 - 31/08/2019
01/09/2019 - 30/09/2019
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

Friday, November 30, 2012

So what happened today...?

Well, more next!Poppy has been written and I know where this is going now, so should be able to finish and post it tomorrow. Got a bit of shopping. Watched Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (picked it up dirt cheap at a charity shop) - well, when I say watched, I dozed off. But I can watch it any time and it completes the collection to date.

And am now role-playing over on tumblr (which is quite addictive, on the quiet) when I should be writing, but eh, sometimes a break is good.

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1 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

Everyone needs a break :)

6:26 am  



Thursday, November 29, 2012

So, into town to buy coach tickets. K&K are off down to Devon for a day, then Ken and a fellow BCAP member are off to Taunton to scour the records office, and I've been invited to a yuletide client lunch in London by our agent - that'll be interesting!

Picked up some shopping while I was there - actually managed to find something for Ken for Yule! - and carried too much back, so shoulders are aching. Pretender Starscream arrived (that was quick and ye gods he's an ugly bugger!) so now just waiting for SqwerlScream.

Lurgy still lurking...

Labels: ,





1 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

[snorfle] SqwerlScream...

11:59 am  



Wednesday, November 28, 2012

[headdeskheaddesk] So after the deluge, now we have freezing temps and black ice (or worse in areas that are still flooded) forecast for overnight. Oh joy.

The last 20 hours were insane. Or maybe it's just me. I checked e-bay before closing down last night - and found a Starscream I didn't have, Pretender SS (the little jet fits inside the humanoid shell. Don't ask, it's a long story). It's easy enough to find just the shell, but the one I found last night was complete (except for the helmet, which I had to buy separately, but it was cheap. "Crowns, helmets, what next? Tiaras?" said Ken... Starscream in a tiara... yerrsssss) at the excellent price of £9.99.

So at 5.30 this morning after three hours sleep I was online ordering him. Along with Flying Squirrel SS (I gave in...)

Of course, I've now found that the Beast Machine continuity had a version of SS too, and the only one I can find on ebay is extremely expensive. So I've put him on my search list and will see if another, cheaper one comes up...

Snatched a cycle's nap from 8.30 am because my eyes were so sore it hurt to read, but it didn't do much for the tiredness and now I've gone almost completely glaikit. Sorry folks, next!Poppy is going to be delayed yet again.

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0 Comments:



Tuesday, November 27, 2012

[grump] So the bloody lurgy decides it's just going to sit there, not really doing anything very drastic, just being a snuffly achey pain in the aft...

I even took it out for a trip up to Iceland at Broadwalk earlier, to pick up party pack provisions for Boxing Day and Old Year's Night (the usual sorts of goodies - see previous entries for details), and then down to Sainsbug's to get normal shopping, but no, it's still refusing to shift one way or the other. Bum. Shall take it to bed in a bit and see if I can knock it unconscious while I sleep.

There's (yet another) cheapie shop opened up at Broadwalk, and I found a Cyberverse Bayverse Megatron there for £3.99 instead of £6.99, so I bought him. Now I have Bayverse and Prime (Cyberverse) versions of Megs, OP, Ratchet, Bee and Starscream: I could have them fight themselves!

They also had a magnificent Bayverse Voyager class Shockwave - who is very close in appearance to Prime Shockwave - at half price (£12.99) and I was so tempted... I resisted though. Might be regretting that now...

Other than that, not done a lot.

Oh, hang on - my Alternity Carscream arrived! He's in a most amazing snazzy almost completely clear plastic display box and the car itself looks gorgeous, but I can't have him til Yule, so there won't be pics til then. (Yes, Lutra, he's actually being wrapped!)

Heading bedwards soon...

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2 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

Already wrapped? [only slightly sarcastic gasp, in deference to the free-loading lurgy...]

"...I could have them fight themselves!"
And take photos while they do it!

10:12 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Wrapped and in the Yule sack. And oh yes, I will!

1:34 am  



Monday, November 26, 2012

[singing off-key] tell me why   I don't like Mondays    tell me why    I don't like Mondays...

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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Gah. I hate it when lurgies lurk menacingly at the back of your sinuses and the top of your throat, leaving you not knowing if they're going to come to anything or just fizzle out, cackling cruelly...

On the way back from the usual Sunday shop we saw this:

Wheeljack? Is that you?

It's Wheeljack disguised as a Fiat!

(Which is ironic if you think about it.)

[frowns suspiciously] I'm beginning to wonder about that road. First a Defender, then an MG, and now Wheeljack-in-disguise... What next? (If next time I go shopping I find a blue and red Peterbilt semi there I shall know it's 1) all true or 2) a conspiracy. Or something.)

It might be getting close to bedtime...

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2 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

Oh, oh the red and green. I get it now. :)

9:56 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

... I was somewhat alarmed that that was the first thing I thought on seeing it... I am altogether too steeped in this obsession, methinks!

2:35 pm  



Saturday, November 24, 2012

We ran out of Sodastream gas, so I volunteered to tank over to The Range to get replacement cylinders. Took this on the way.

rain-swollen river

Twice as high as normal and it wasn't even high tide. 'Course, this would work better if I had a pic of the usual view to compare it to. Alas, I don't...

Kai has brought some sort of lurgy home from college: we're both aching all over, snuffly and cotton-woolly. Just hoping it's a cold not the flu.

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4 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

Take a pic when the river goes back to normal. Retrospective comparison is still valid :)

11:08 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Planning to. Will repost then.

11:10 pm  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

Is that from the bridge you've taken me over? Looks way higher than I remember, if so...

8:20 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Yep, the bridge over the river on the way to Avon Meads (The Range and the Showcase Cinema are there).

3:45 pm  



Friday, November 23, 2012

It isn't raining! Oh day worthy of being marked with a gold star!

So we did a little garden tending - Ken emptied the small compost bin and dug it into what was the maize bed this year (and piled some on the asparagus island) while I pruned the medlar. Still masses to do - pruning the cherry, bay, greengages and buddleia, sorting out the mess up in the square (well, I say mess but it's actually not too bad. Won't take that long to tidy), weeding the grass out of the strawberry bed, using the deep root killer on the stray brambles, ivy, comfrey and teazels (need a dry windless day and no cat to get that done, the stuff is lethal) and I still haven't finished tidying the greenhouse. Clones, I need clones. Or Muncher. Though he's probably a bit big to fit in the greenhouse...

Poppy tonight!

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1 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

Just a few dry days would help, but the forecast isn't offering that. You'll have to make the most of tomorrow.

10:14 am  



Thursday, November 22, 2012

Just a bit tired of rain...

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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Again. Maybe I should try growing fish and rice next year...

But my Transformers: Prime season 2 is in the post!

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2 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

Our grass is a bit quagmire - and it's blowing a hooley tonight... 8-!

7:04 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

You just can't win. You're on the top of the hill and subject to these horrendous winds but no floods, while we're in the valley and safe from the worst of the winds, but parts of the city were flooded, Clifton roads became rivers, and Kai said the Avon was perilously close to bursting its banks.

The good thing about being on a bed of red sandstone is at least the water soaks in relatively quickly. Our grass is obviously wet, but not sodden and squelching.

8:00 pm  



Tuesday, November 20, 2012

[sigh] And Tuesday became the new Monday. Haven't been able to get a thing done today. Miserable weather hasn't helped.

Ken had a hospital appointment this afternoon - it's been several years since his last course of Hep C meds and a new version has been developed in the meantime. It has a high success rate and since the previous one worked well (knocking the virus down to a minimum even though it didn't quite get rid of it) we're keeping fingers tightly crossed that this time it will do the trick. (It's the third course. Not that we're superstitious or anything.) There's more info here. There are two new 'ingredients': the one they're recommending is telaprevir. Look at the side-effects and wince...

He's also lost quite a bit of weight: we found out recently that in people under 12 stone the previous course of treatment was almost 100% successful, so to give himself the best chance possible he's been dieting (though five months at a job he absolutely hated helped, as like me he loses weight when severely stressed).

The earliest he may be able to get on the course is January, so at least we can have a reasonable Yule. The course itself is 48 weeks, but apparently they check at the 24th week and if everything is going well that period may be reduced. More as it happens.

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1 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

Crossing fingers!

10:35 am  



Monday, November 19, 2012

Nothing much. Posting off Yule parcels (early to try to beat any potential rush and have them stand a better chance of not being lost), a little shopping, a little writing...

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Sunday, November 18, 2012

It's been a strange and busy day and I don't feel like writing much (have just ordered a new Starscream on ebay. He's not a jet. He's a car.... Yeah, that's what I said). So here's something brain bending instead. (Vivienne sent it me. It borked mai brian...)

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3 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

... a car. But...?

Hah, I got 30 seconds in to the clip then I had to switch it off :)

10:11 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

I know! Carscream. It doesn't compute. He'll have to live up with Shattered Glasscream because I really don't think the others will want anything to do with him - and I'll have to keep him faaaar away from G1 and Heart of Steelscream...

Very sensible. I made the mistake of watching to the end. You'll have missed what Kai referred to as "Was that a box of one dozen crazed weasels I saw?" then...

10:51 am  
Blogger Sue said...

OK, I can probably resist teh cute more than most but even I would want to take a few of those home :)

9:16 pm  



Quickie...

Found another band to love - Broken Iris...


Utilize surrendering, when silence falls, to you it sings,
Sterilize our mentality, compromise your reality,
Restful mind and peaceful eyes,
When sound is gone, then you will find,

It's all the same for The Dreamers, it's all the same... for us...

Float on to the painted sky where dreams will be unified as I slip inside Where butterflies never die...

Beautiful. Really liked the other two tracks I checked out too.

We watched MiB 3 on Filmflex this evening - it's great! We were a bit wary after the disappointment of the second film, but 3 is terrific. Really well done. One to buy when the price comes down a bit.

Now I've watched all the way through the entire Tf: Unicron Trilogy I'm a bit lost. I tried Tf: Beast Machines but it left me cold. I watched the Megatron and his rubber duckie section of Tf: Beast Wars but it did nothing for me either. I suppose I'll have to wait for Tf: Prime season 3 or Rescue Bots season 2...

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2 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

But where did the ducky come from? What's its backstory...?

[giggling]

12:06 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

ROFLMAO!!
Perhaps I should write it...

12:07 am  



Saturday, November 17, 2012

The Poppy Tales 

Twenty fifth part of New World - Obsessions - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above).

Enjoy!




... I am very tired...

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Friday, November 16, 2012

And Thursday vanished...

Mind you, yesterday was manically busy with client stuff, and afterwards I decided to watch the last seven eps of Tf: Cybertron...

In the main I've thoroughly enjoyed it. It's bright, cheerful, and doesn't take itself too seriously. The human kids are bearable, the CGI is attractive - and Starscream is wonderful, really dark and dangerous, a credible threat for once, and his final battle with Galvatron (Megatron) is epic.

But if nothing else, having now watched all of them, I can see how nepotistic - if not positively incestuous - the continuities are, and how much of Tf: C appears in Tf: Prime. The Omega Lock, the cyber keys, Megatron's jagged blazing purple sword, they all come from Tf: C. Heh. Nothing new under any sun...

I am puzzled, however. The first Cybertron Starscream I bought, the maroon and silver one, simply doesn't appear in Tf: C. Unless I dropped off at some point and missed him...

But on the subject, have a photo (it's a link to a page with a BIG pic - 2000px wide - and a key to which one is which for those who don't share my obsession. Which I have decided is my preferred collective noun - an obsession of Starscreams. Works on several levels...).

An Obsession of Starscreams

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1 Comments:

Blogger Sue said...

Hee, great pic and I love the collective noun - very apt!

8:17 pm  



Wednesday, November 14, 2012

My big Starscream arrived.

He's... big...


Larger pic here.

[beg]

That's Tf: Prime Optimus Prime and Megatron down on the left. Just in case you didn't know.

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5 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

Yup, that's BIG!

You're definitely going to need that shed in the garden...

10:47 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

[g] I believe one of his cyberkeys also makes various bits of him light up and make sounds - will give that a try tomorrow.

10:59 pm  
Blogger Lutra said...

[blink] Whoa!

10:03 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Cod comes waaaaay past his knees too - in fact, you have to fold it up and click it into place to enable his legs to articulate...

11:20 am  
Blogger Lutra said...

Oh now really, that's just needlessly ostentatious! [smirk]

11:22 am  



Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Another day of client stuff, and discussing his university choices with Kai this evening. Maths with everything!

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Monday, November 12, 2012

Heh. Remember my plan to buy another Cybertron Starscream and redeco him in his original colours because I wasn't keen on the big (15 inch) toy that was available? I've since found out, by watching the series, that he does in fact become enormous (and exceptionally powerful) through taking the Omega Lock and its four keys for himself (I should also note that the toy's colours are actually correct). [sigh] So of course I have to have one...

Aaaaand as luck would have it, there was an affordable one on ebay - crown and all. He is now on his way to me.

Ken is now hoping I don't find any other Starscreams I don't have...

Part of yesterday was spent wrapping Yule presents ready to go off in the post (or be collected. GoodTwin and Sue, do you have any plans to come over before Yule? Just so's I know for posting!) The Gressingham duck we're having is already in the freezer, and yesterday we picked up steamed puddings (traditional for Ken, chocolate for Kai and syrup for me). Slowly getting there...

And I gave Feather her first baby rat this evening (well, actually, Ken was tempting her with it when she took it as I'd been trying for 15 mins and my back was aching, so he took over for me while I unkinked it). She swallowed it down in about a minute and a half, then retreated to her hide (which sits above the heat mat) to digest. Pleased about that - and I think she could manage slightly larger ones next time I have to replenish the stock.

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5 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

er, yes... although I'm not so organised that I've thought about when, yet :)

8:05 am  
Blogger Lutra said...

I went and clicked on the link - v. impressive SS, btw. Beneath the pic it said this: "Full resolution‎ (500 × 619 pixels, file size: 73 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)"

I noticed the 'MIME' misread it as 'MINE' and thought, 'No, that's Joules'!' :)

10:15 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

GoodTwin - no problem, whenever you're ready.

Lutra - ROFLMAO!! Yers - MINE!
I have the perfect photo in mind for when he arrives...

11:13 am  
Blogger Sue said...

Should love to come over, as always. Now, organisational skills, where did I leave them....?

9:16 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

[sigh] They've probably run off with mine to go party somewhere...

10:10 pm  



Sunday, November 11, 2012

The Poppy Tales 

Twenty fourth part of New World - In which Many Things Happen, not all of them bad... - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above).

Enjoy!

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Saturday, November 10, 2012

Sheer Self Indulgence 

And then I discovered that his arm-mounted guns and hip wings are removable - and the latter become weapons...


[happy sigh] He's gorgeous...

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3 Comments:

Blogger Sue said...

Hee - fun! Shouldn't like to get on the wrong side of him :)

6:20 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

[g] Not an individual to tangle with...

10:08 pm  
Blogger Lutra said...

Nice!

10:53 pm  



Friday, November 09, 2012

And yet more client stuff... Still aiming to take the weeekend off though.

Back to Poppy.

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Thursday, November 08, 2012

Pretty much the same as yesterday, mostly...

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0 Comments:



Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Client stuff. All day...

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0 Comments:



Tuesday, November 06, 2012





I'm not fond of Guy Fawkes these days. Partly because the smell of smoke and gunpowder fills my nose and I can't smell anything else until it all dissipates.

This is another reason. ->

The remains of a three foot rocket embedded several inches into my heuchera bed. I found three of these in the garden yesterday. I fear for my greenhouse...











On a lighter note, this is the 'new' bedding. Gert lush, innit?






Beautiful colour and design...


In other news - recent Lovefilm/Filmflex watches have been Up (recommended by Lutra, enjoyed by us), The Cabin in the Woods (interesting idea!) and Dark Shadows (which was better than we expected but still not a patch on the original...)

The holes dug in the garden are being made by a quite magnificent fox who appears fairly regularly around 3 am - I've seen him twice now, once sauntering down the middle of the road (before turning and leaping over our wall) and once on the high wall at the back between us and the PDSA (their PIR security light came on and there he was in all his glory). He's large and perky and well-fed, and unfortunately there's no way I can take a photo of him...

Back to Tf: Cybertron. I'm up to ep 34 now.

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6 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

Purty linen!

Is that from home fireworks tom-foolery? Does the UK still allow that? Egads.

10:01 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Unfortunately yes. I wish we didn't.

And thanks. I am awfully pleased with it!

11:43 am  
Blogger Lutra said...

Home fireworks have been illegal here for years - except in Canberra - and I'm very happy about that!

11:45 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

... if only...

11:46 am  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

I wish they were illegal here as well. There was a motion through parliament a few years ago to ban sales to the public - Cats Protection wrote to the local MP, who came back and said he wasn't backing it because they were only on sale to responsible adults. Being over 18 doesn't mean responsible - last year the idiot next door and his equally idiot mates thought throwing lit fireworks around was a fun thing to do. They only threw one over our fence, luckily for them - I was in the garden and if another had come over I'd have called the police. My main concern is the rabbit shelter - which is mainly why I was in the garden in the first place - but that firework landed just a couple of feet from me.

6:51 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

I remember you saying.
[sigh] I despair sometimes...

7:25 pm  



Monday, November 05, 2012

The Poppy Tales 

Twenty third part of New World - Birthday - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above).

Enjoy!

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7 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

At first I was like: awww... and then I was like: noooooo!

I think you should know I'm frowning at you, quite severely!

:)

10:21 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

[smirk] You understand, of course, that you gave me the idea...

10:26 am  
Blogger Lutra said...

[splutter] What? When! I thought it was just the apples...

10:27 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

You said... [rest of reply private] You should know by now that would be irresistible.

10:29 am  
Blogger Lutra said...

... I should learn to keep my mouth shut, ne? :)

10:31 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

[g] Oh, don't do that! I'd miss these you-inspired pings!

10:33 am  
Blogger Lutra said...

LOL! Oh, all right...

10:34 am  



Sunday, November 04, 2012

... Darkest Hour... it can't end like that. It CAN'T...

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Saturday, November 03, 2012

...And then I discovered his wings extend...


So now, when I lower my gaze, this is what I see.



(Pic is link to large version)

This makes me happy.

This doesn't, though. I was a part of the Vulcan to the Sky campaign, so this is sad (but not entirely unexpected) news.






Ken wanted to check out the art show at Bath Guildhall, so we all bussed over for the afternoon...




<- Interesting spiral staircase!



This was my favourite picture - Kai and I passed along here on our canal walk. If I'd had £95 to spare I'd have been tempted. ->























Chapel and art centre next to a little pedestrian square. Interesting windows.













The little monument.


















And this was another art gallery - more experimental than mainstream, this one. All in all we checked out four galleries and saw some very attractive artwork.

It was a fun day. Unfortunately I seem to be going down with some sort of lurgy, have painful throat and snuffly sinuses. Keeping fingers crossed it doesn't come to anything much - I hate throat ailments.

I forgot to say: the creature that has been digging in the garden is a quite magnificent fox - saw him at 3 am the other night. No wonder Tyjer is frantically spraying all over the garden to prove it's his territory!



Right - off to watch the last episode of Transformers: Prime, Darkest Hour (not Death, as was originally rumoured). I shall be sad to see it end, but season three is rumoured to start showing next spring, so hopefully not too long to wait...

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2 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

If I'd been there as well, and we both had 95 whatsits, there would have been a tussle over that gorgeous pic!

HOSS codpiece. [sage nod]

11:13 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

[g] It is lovely isn't it?

And yers. In every continuity. Every. Single. One. What does that say about him then?

11:48 pm  



Friday, November 02, 2012

And all went as planned, and Hearts of Steel Starscream is superb.


Find the page of pics here.

And the Primefest was wonderful. Kai watched them all with me (Orion Pax 1 - Triangulation but missing the ep Loose Cannons because Cartoon Network...) and thoroughly enjoyed them!

And now I'm knackered again...

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Thursday, November 01, 2012

Lovely day with Wendy! Thanks - it was great!

Earlyish night planned - notification dropped through the door today that HoS SS has arrived and they're holding him to ransom for £19.09 (why the 9 pence? No idea...) and the sorting office opens at 7 a.m. so if I leave here around 6.30 a.m. I'll have time to get there, collect him, and get back ready to watch/record tomorrow's Primefest. (And we lubs run-on sentences.) Assuming all goes well there will be pics...

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