J-Life Journal

mchicago @ 2009-09-23T16:14:00

2009-09-23T15:24:04Z

I'm afraid I dont have much time for pleasantries, but in descending order of priorities:

Kaz's god father has passed away
Kaz's birthday is rapidly aproaching and I have bought her the sum total of 0 presents
The car is 50/50 whether it will be written off or not
Hotel is booked for night of the wedding

Just when you thought you couldnt have more stress:

2009-09-22T08:39:52Z

Karen on Friday night managed to broadside another car with ours. No-one was hurt, but, place your bets on whether the car will be written off or not.

L

2009-09-18T10:37:47Z

I used to be lunatic, from the gracious days.

Its been a while since I posted, and a lot has happened, but none of it particually interesting (apart from an amazing weekend trip to bletchley which I will deal with in another post another time another place.My Paid LJ has expired, and I have decided not to renew it. I'm not moving on from LJ - but I don't see the benefit from the paid account any more. To be honest, I feel that it has gone downhill since Six Apart took over.

Whats with the Annie Lennox Lyrics? Some of you say, obviously, madness has descended, but lets use some (psudo) scientific method to diagnose myself. Lets do some dream diagnosis:

There are monsters outside

Dream one: Its September the 11th, and its also Chistmas Eve, about seven thirty. We're at my parents, and I havn't bought any presents yet, - I've been to busy doing wedding things. So I decide to head outside into the snow to find a shop still open (in this tiny town) to buy presents. Nothing can disuade me from this task, and I get chest pains. Instead of telling kaz, I get my sister to listen to my chest with her stethoscope, and she confirms that I am having a heart attack. I leave for the snow, and wake up, wondering what madness this is.

And so restless at nights.

Dream two: Its September the 12th. I'm walking down an alleyway in norwich, between the Marquee and Crystal House - the back way to the Ninja church. Bill Bailey and Jmon are with me, both the gentleist creatures you've ever met. Bill Bailey makes a joke about something, I don't like it, so I attack him. Jmon pulls me off him. I wake, shocked at my actions.

And the monsters are crazy.

Ok, so I hear people going, this is the product of someone who's very stressed about upcoming events, and that I really could just do with more rest, and everything will be ok. If I dont get rest, I run the risk of a small mental breakdown.

Well, You're wrong. The correct analysis of these dreams are this:

My House has been invaded by the Fey. I will be setting Jmon on them and my dreams will return back to blissful normality. I am not mad, I am not anywhere near mad, I am meerly being attacked by supernatual forces. Thank you, goodnight.

mchicago @ 2009-05-18T19:29:00

2009-05-18T18:58:07Z

A long time ago I used to do these things, but then I stopped, mainly because everyone who reads my LJ is more mature then I am. Also, you get bored answering the same questions over and over, but I havn't for a long time, so I think I will. But I'm lazy so I'm only going to answer the *interesting* questions. (stolen from lil_starry1

2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM?
A set of post it notes about DNA sequences mixed with phone numbers (I hope they are not the sequences to the phone numbers), circuitry diagrams, an article with a big picture of Alan Turing, a picture of a heron, and four barn owls, a dozen QSL (read post) cards, and the words to Jerusalem. Oh and a Lib Dem calendar for 2001.

5. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT DESKTOP PICTURE
My Main PC has a background of a phrase because I was making screen-casts from it, and my little one has the windows-vista default bamboo picture because I have to take it into work and look professional. Although, if Jmon logs in, he has a background of Godzilla destroying Tokyo, and on my laptop, well... I dont let Jmon have an account on there.

10. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
The sounds of my computers whirring. I wanted to do some programming, but then I relised this is a massive job I'm taking on, and am avoiding it, which is why that I'm doing this quiz.

11. DO YOU GET SCARED OF THE DARK?
No I'm rational, I'm scared of things *in* the dark.

12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY?
Kaz hit me in the balls the other day. She claimed she didn't mean to, but I know differently.

13. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPISITE SEX?
I'm a brunnette man myself.

15. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINKS ?
Coffee - some energy drinks taste vile, and at the end of the day, I'm drinking to make my brain work, not because I don't have enough sugar or energy. Coffee and a marsbar if *thats* the case. Its a drug and I use it to perform.

19. DO YOU SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE?
Oui monseiur. J'mappel James. Je voudrais le pizza sivousplait.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST GIFT SOMEONE GAVE YOU?
It was my birthday recently, and I saw becca and dave after my birthday and it was HOUSE!!! HOUSE!!! how to be arrogantly right in 100 new ways :D. Although, as established today, its House with the wrong theme tune and or possibly Five US have been breaking the law (I say that in a very inflamatory way)

23. FAVORITE FRIEND(s)?
Chloe: I have all my friends listed against a value so that if I had to make a life-or-death descision over which one I would save I can meerly look it up. Right now you're scoring 5.6 and Jim score actually isnt listed here (I don't know him that well and I did sit next to you - you blog and amuse my life, althoug admitidly, you do blog about him which I suppose means I aught to add a few more points on to him.) Now. the guy who lives next door to the left, he only scores 2.1 and the guys who park opposite our garage are in serous negative numbers. I guess kaz scores a 9.8 but my mum scores 9.9 (automaticly of course) I think my dad probably comes in somewhere around the 9.8, and I think kaz's sister is only a 5.5. Its a very delicate balance. Yes I am joking, I do NOT keep a list of you lot scoring your numbers.

28. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TELL SOMEONE HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO YOU?
I'm a great fan of using the powers of interpretive dance.

29. SAY A NUMBER FROM 1-100.
ok, I did it.

30. BLONDE OR BRUNETTE?
Didn't we have this conversation. I wouldnt say its *all* about the brunettes but it is about 90% ... oh wait you're asking if I'm.. doh how silly do I feel.

31. WHAT IS THE ONE PHONE NUMBER SHOWS UP ON YOUR PHONE THE MOST?
Kaz. I dont answer half the time and she *KEEPS* ringing me back.

34. YOUR WEAKNESS?
I find that like superman, I'm susceptable to Kryptonite. Unfortunatly I'm also susceptable to viruses and bacteria. Not to mention cars falling on my head.

35. WHAT WAS THE LAST GIFT YOU GAVE?
Dawn of War II to Gareth. Between guys, a gift of a big fucking gun means a lot.

38. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE THIS?
Programming.

43. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF ALCOHOL BECAME ILLEGAL?
I know how to make it. Unfortunatly, I don't know subtlety.

45. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
James is my Grandfather who I never knew's name, and John is my dads name, and my mum owns a bear called Edward... (actually I think that might have been my grand fathers name, but she does have a bear called Edward)

50. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Yes, although few can read it consistently

52. DO YOU SING?
Oh, only death could stop me.

53. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING CD ON THE SHELF?
I have the backups from my last job. Look, I take professionalism seriously.

54. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
No. I'm an arrogant ass.

61. ARE YOU AFRAID OF GROWING UP?
Its a terrifying prospect.

62. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Yes, but at the wrong time and in the wrong place.

64. DOES 11:11 MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU?
You can't tell if its a binary number, hex number, a pair of octects or 11:11. If its a time you cant tell if its morning or night. Yes I know its a secret mystic number...

73. WHAT'S THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?
I just finished bable 17 which I need to blog about because its *RIGHT*

75. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
No that would make for a boring read.

I guess now I need to stop and do something useful with my evening.

EEEE! BIKE!!

2009-05-17T17:29:45Z

Ok I *was* going to post a post about my bike, but I hadn't realised I hadn't finished my previous post about me dying. So this post is about me living my life to the max... again...

So recently I've been resiting buying a Mac Mini and a HDTV. Resisting quite well in fact, even through proximity of Apple stores etc etc, but this weekend was a slight dent in the "lets save LOTS" plan of life.

I might have bought http://www.boardmanbikes.com/road/road_team.html

For those of you wary about clicking links, heres a picture.

Yes its in my kitchen, yes it says CB or Chris Boardman, or Boardman 17 times over the entire bike, and yes, it moves like lightning. It also weighs less then my packed briefcase and I love it. NEEOOOWWNWN

Theory of a Dead Man... or one thats going to be Part TWO

2009-05-17T17:08:44Z

Ok when I started writing this sequence I have to admit how this came about. I realised one night as I drifted off to sleep that I was moving in a seemingly never ending eastbound direction. The next day with a roughly drawn map of England on the whiteboard, I plotted some sample points and my theory was proved - I was definitely due to die because of drowning in the North Sea.

Unfortunately, the problem is I gauged the position of Manchester to be too far south (or did I mis-position Germany in respect to Norwich - the argument is mute - I was wrong). I now see the errors of my ways, and can now give more evidence to actually show the corrected information.

I will die in Dortmund.

The problem is, I can no longer give any reasoning behind the nature of my death. So I'm sorry to have you all worked up in part one for this quite disapointing second part. I wonder what goes on in Dortmund...

Infallable Proof of My Death Part One

2009-04-20T19:30:50Z

Ok so my previous post, each sentence out of context makes perfect sense - I had little time to post it for two reasons, one because I was cooking dinner, and two, because I am soon to move house. You will see why the second of these two statements is important in a moment. I know where I am going to die because I Know when I am going to die (well. Probably) and :. I can assume how.

Firstly, lets just remember the rules of the game.

1) Logic, is absolute. Infallible.
2) Maths (of which Logic is a subset of) is also absolute and infallible.
3) Combining Logic and Maths in anyway you like proves things.
4) You must obey the law. (Like Gravity (OBEY GRAVITY. ITS THE LAW).

Finally this leads us to tonights fun, which ironically gives away some information about me which you can a) find out on the internet already so its not that secret and b) allows you to kinda pretend that you're me when filling out important forms.

What	Year	Long	Lat
I was born in St Mary's Hospital in 1983.	0	-2.227027	53.46069
I moved to Yoxall in 1984	1	-1.79163	52.769332
I moved to Bourne in 1990	7	-0.385208	52.773901
I moved to UEA in 2001	18	1.244717	52.622956
I moved to Bowthorpe Rd in 2002	19	1.262655	52.633688
I moved to St Benedicts St in 2003	20	1.28819	52.631161
I moved to Southwell Rd in the same	20	1.27892	52.619256
I moved to Kings Street in 2007	24	1.283298	52.626342

Ok, well I'm as sane as the next man (for various values of next) but you must be a FOOL if you can't see the PROOF in the NUMBERS. Its all CLEAR man CLEAR as DAYLIGHT in a *VERY SUNNY PLACE*. Ahem. Ok what we have here is a clear progression. (for those of you who don't believe, I have got a map here with a line on it so there can be no mistake in what I'm claiming.

Ok, I can't do all the maths this evening- I've got to change the sheets and do some laundry and stuff. But I will be back with MY DEATH... PART TWO...

“Each man is the architect of his own fate.”

2009-04-20T17:34:54Z

I am running out of time to post this, so this is just a very quick post.

I know when, and where, and, I can make some assumptions on the nature of my death.

In other news, we should have our mortgage all sorted now, so moving house is ON YEAH BABY YEAH!

mchicago @ 2009-04-05T14:31:00

2009-04-05T13:34:22Z

Ok, for those of you who know me, you'll know about the fact that I don't really cook "very well" that is I cook a few dishes a lot and those that I do are very random. So this week, JN at work convinced me to try for the real Roast Chicken. A REal one, not half one and not one already cooked.

See! I did it! (Thanks to Jamie Olivers cookbook. Officially Suitable for cooking morons)

Student Loans

2009-03-19T22:03:24Z

Its ridiculous. I was in full time employment BEFORE I graduated from University. I've not had a day of unemployment during that time. I've been in work for longer then I was at uni, and for all but 6 months of that time, I have been earning more then the minimum repayment levels.So when, on the 4th of April this tax year comes to an end, FIVE YEARS LATER how come that it is that I still owe six grand?

This is ridiculous (not to mention the fact that the SLC lost more then £800 of my repayments in the previous tax year that they then had to find.

Novel

2009-03-17T21:51:09Z

Ok so some of you are aware that I'm writing a Novel, and some of you are aware of the slightly annoying news recently that if I want to sell it for charity I have to rewrite massive chunks of it, but I've actually made massive progress over the past two three days on basically what would be a prelude book, if any of them had been released. But they havn't so basically I'm writing book one. I'm aprox 6.5k words into it, and loving the changes that I've had to make.

I now have a war mad elvish magi who flies a steam punk Zeppelin, dropping Orcish assassins onto human forts, not to mention the taurenic warrior race that seeks harmony in the universe.

This Will Be Cool

HOUSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

2009-03-10T22:13:29Z

Ok I must be turning into the worlds most annoying person to know. More links about our house, to answer the questions that where posted before: Lets start with why we arn't moving in yet...

	Walless Ok this is our house, see no walls. Not good
	Bits of the Master Bedroom To answer about the "loft" thing, this is bits of the master bedroom. Theres a walk-in-wardrobe (and I am tempted to build a wardrobe robot to pass clothes out. This, obviously isnt our house but the show room. We are thinking about putting our bed against this wall on the right so we can look up, through the skylight to the stars.... awwww
z	Bits of the master bedroom showing showerroom door. The alcove there is where the foot of the bed would be and I'm probably going to have to make a chest of drawers ... DIY!! OOH I CAN DO DIY ooooh ooh.. oooh. ooh
	The showerroom showing a sink... mmm interesting. And sinky.

I Can has house?

2009-03-09T09:54:00Z

So Saturday was slightly expensive, but we now kinda own a share in a house. That is a 0.5% share of a home. Soon to be bigger and better. Not a lot of photo's at the moment, but here are some of the fateful moment:

	Kaz and Mum outside our new house House at this point is for sale!!!
	Kaz Reserving House Not anymore mwhahahaha
	Its this one The house

Mortgages and Life

2009-03-01T19:52:39Z

I've been working very hard over the past two days on a spreadsheet which emulates the 1988/1989 interest rate change, and with a couple of handy excel/google spreadsheet functions I managed it. I now have a model for repayments of a mortgage that is a fixed-rate for five years which then exits straight into May 1988 (@7.5%) The pattern then increases till the mortgage reaches 15% (which is an unrealistic level again) within a year and drops back down.

What's interesting is that we could still afford it (for the target amount).

PMT(InterestRate, NumberOfPeriods, Principal, FutureValue, PaymentsDue)
Calculates repayments for n per year

CUMPRINC(InterestRate, NumberOfPeriods, Principal, Start_period, End_period, PaymentsDue)
The CUMPRINC function calculates the amount of principal repaid in between a specified range of periods.

CUMIPMT(InterestRate, NumberOfPeriods, Principal, Start_period, End_period, PaymentsDue)
Similarly the CUMIPMT function returns the interest paid in between a specified range of periods.

When I was young...

2009-02-27T23:11:37Z

When I was young, I used to have a book or a poem or something which started like this:

"Deep in the dark green Congo
Where the sun hardly goes
There lived a whistful Pongo
who sang softly though his nose"

Now, if this isn't enough to make you go down and get a copy of this book - it gets better. He becomes a pirate on a pirate sloop and everything.

But I can't for the life of me find it on Google and I really want to know what it is.

Cooking for Noobs. That is, me

2009-02-11T17:54:22Z

I hate cooking rice. Its really difficult! I can do the entire rice-in-a-bag cooking, but Kaz dosn't like it, instead, I should be making fried rice, which is actually a whole other level. Let's just consider this for a moment. You have to cook it not once, but twice. Why is this? What was wrong with the just boiling it but NO you have to fry it first. Plus I'm a clumsy fool so I usually get the entire oil amount wrong and everything begins to go wrong.

Anyways. I'm cooking for her tonight a thing in a tin foil tray which is from Morrisons, so that just goes in the oven for 20 min, and the rice. It might be pasta by the time I've finished with it.

ITS A HAPPY POST

2009-02-04T10:14:36Z

So I don't get to write here very often, and as previously stated I would provide a happy post for everyone to see that my life really isn't that bad. Ok....

erm...

hrm...

No seriously, everything is going perfectly fine. I'm working hard on a top secret project. Secret plan 7001 I suspect - I haven't had many secret plans since I hit 7000, so that's pretty unusual for me, and also unusual for me, I actually feel that my job means something.

For those of you who know about it, the WoW guild is going well. VoA and OS are basically on farm, Nax is proving a little more interesting. I've become more and more annoyed with other guilds and players though - the latest advertising one which got to me was:

myRandomGuild is a new non-hardcore raiding guild which is looking for new fun members. only apply if well geared and have full raid experience. All content on farm (10 man only). Raids 3/4 nights a week.

How many issues can you see in there? Its just another raid guild who are elitist and demand gear over personalities. After the stew got back together, I'm still amazed at how many people came back, and how many who come back to WoW go "wow, can I get back in". Its kinda nice that is - not because we're aweseome (we are) but because its a nice place to be.

This weekend promises to be rushed and lack of rest - We're meeting with the Vicar and Kaz has trying on session in the afternoon, that and dinners with both parents (mine sat, hers sun) and then lots of driving on either side is just exactly what I need after a week of work.

I've also started on django/python this week - why? See secret plan 7001. Now everyone can stop having a moan at me about my perfectly rational fear of languages beginning with the letter P.

mchicago @ 2008-11-08T19:30:00

2008-11-08T19:30:18Z

Paris is beutiful. I was told that in ww2 the French didn't resist in Paris so the Germans wouldn't destroy the city, and if this is true then we should be thankful.

I walked between the two hotels one evening and there was a light fog. The search lights on top of the Eiffel tower where in full swing, beaming their light across the city and up from the museum of orsay, through a statue, the sillouette of a statue was projected into the sky.

I didn't have charge in my phone to photo this, and I was, like so many of my British heros, in love with Paris.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

mchicago @ 2008-11-08T19:30:00

2008-11-08T19:30:18Z

Paris is beutiful. I was told that in ww2 the French didn't resist in Paris so the Germans wouldn't destroy the city, and if this is true then we should be thankful.

I didn't have charge in my phone to photo this, and I was, like so many of my British heros, in love with Paris.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

I can has iPhone

2008-10-15T20:18:01Z

Woo replacing very old phone.

Still working on the apple fear factor.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Gwen has died

2008-09-23T08:08:43Z

So I am making this journal depressing by writing really depressing posts, and I promise to write the next post which *isn't* depressing, in any way shape or form. Unfortunately, I have to inform you guys that Gwen died last week. My Little Monster. Much sadness etc.

I'm really wary of a column I once read (and believe it or not, I think it was in an FHM) which was titled "Why I hate Bloggers". This article is one of two which really changed the way that I blog. It was very simple article - it was an extract from a blog in the UK, and an extract from a letter from a soldier in Iraq. The UK blog read something like "Waaah! my life sucks, nobody loves me, waah!" in true Emo-kid style (which I hope I never blogged like). The letter was more serious, it was about a soldier telling his mum how he had seen mortars hit his convoy, and how scared he had been at the time. About civilian casualties and everything.

I think the thing is, that these blogs are personal. So I try to write about things which are personal, and relevant to other people who read this. A lot of people seem to find it funny that I took her death so seriously - I think the difference is that Gwen was *my* gerbil, not my kids pet or anything like that.

I still miss her.

What does Dark Knight and Howls Moving Castle have in common?

2008-08-06T22:53:23Z

Ok, so we went to see Dark Knight this evening, and let me tell you, it was absolutely awesome. Talk about tense! Bloody good film. My only comment would be it shouldn't be a 12a (well, we all know that I don't even think 12a should be a rating anyway). This should defiantly be a 15 if not even an 18.

And the other film that I love (and happened to see today) was Howls Moving Castle. This is an another awesome film, absolutely fantastic, really gets me all geared up wanting to build a walking castle and have tons of cool stuff in it, especially a court yard and a shop front. Most importantly, lots of valleys for it to roam around in.

Anyway, what links the two?

Christian Bale

How random is that (Voice of Howl, and of course, Batman).

Active Smart Posters

2008-08-04T23:14:57Z

The Glue4 Team, lots of cool, froody people.

So I know I'm not supposed to be posting techincal junk in this blog, but hey, every now and then I have to remind you norm's that I'm imba. Imba to the point of uber, and then add on a bit of imba on top and then sprinkle with a little bit of genius and more imba. Don't forget theres uber inside like jam in a jam cake.

Ok, So what the hell is this? This is the a prototype active-smart-poster and yes yes, I know some of you guys can't work out *why* this is a great idea, and I know a lot of you are saying "ooh but I can do this through another mechanism" like bluetooth or blah blah blah. But that's like saying Post-it notes will never take off, just because sellotape and paper existed before hand "why would you want a bit of paper which was allready glued? That isn't as flexible as selling bits of paper AND glue seperatly you fool". Well... I'll show you.... just you wait.

p.s. Yes I know the movie is a little naff, and looks like a 1980's training movie, but I had a really crap computer doing the manipulation.

mchicago @ 2008-07-24T15:49:00

2008-07-24T14:53:15Z

The Kaz Monster Is HOME!!!!

She's feeling much better and only on paracetamol's! When she moves around she gets a lot of pain, but at the moment, I hear little monster snores coming from the other room. They've given her a sick note and lots of various pain killers, but at the moment, I have to say that every things looking good.

Update erm 3?

2008-07-23T12:29:43Z

She might not be being released this evening, but maybe tommorrow, dont know yet, visting in half an hour.