'Inc LM'

WARNING - THIS IS A SHAMELESS WORLD OF WARCRAFT 'IN JOKE'

Don't feel bad if you don't get it.

A view from the High Level Bridge, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

The view I get every day walking to work.

New Job

Yes, it's been a while since I've posted here. No, I won't leave it as long next time.

Started my new job working for the Care Quality Commission last week (the new regulator for social care services in the UK). It's interesting work, although there's obviously a lot to take in and it's very early days.

It's nice to be able to put down some proper roots and get my teeth into a role without worrying when it'll end. It's only with the agency for 12 weeks, moving to permanent right after. I've been advised that this isn't even some kind of probation, it's simply the arrangement that the deal was done under. I'm not complaining, as the weekly pay of the agency works better for me in this 'pull out of the financial nosedive' period I'm currently in.

It's a lovely office building, the people seem really nice and the pay and benefits are more than decent. It's also very easy to get to by bus, and the fact that I can commute under my own steam has obviously delighted Sharon as she no longer has to come and pick me up or take me in anymore.

I'll try to ensure that I update this more regularly. Damn Facebook for diverting me from my one true expressive stream!

It's been a while since I last updated - shame on me. More soon :)

Xivier rocks

Random WoW Screenshots

Drunk at New Year's Eve (2007 I think?)



Sunrise over Menethil.



Me (as my main, level 70 Paladin 'Tylk') in my very own flying machine over Shattrath. I was among the first to get this on the Emerald Dream server, I think - didn't see any others around for days.

08AMA VICTORY!

The last time that I can recall being this tired I was, funnily enough, on the return leg of my honeymoon coming back from New York. The 2008 Presidential Campaign has been no less exhausting, or rewarding than that trip.

I finally got to bed at 4.45am this morning (GMT) having vowed to stay up until I was absolutely certain that Obama had done it. I'm glad I did, despite feeling all washed out and bleary today. It's hard to avoid cliches when trying to put into words how exciting and momentous an occasion it was, even for myself as a non-US citizen. I really got the feeling that, as a new dawn was creeping up my window, a different kind of dawn was breaking over Washington.

Experience has taught me the value of being a political cynic, but over the last year the small, still whisper of hope dared me to dream that Barack just might be able to do it. It was a child's voice, gently chiding me for being so jaded, but giving me sound reasons to think that this time might be different. Becoming a father gave me a new perspective on life. Obama's campaign in many ways struck a very personal chord with my hopes and fears for the future of the world in which my little girl is growing up.

This was the complex power of the simplest of messages; that the hopes and dreams of the little guy had become submerged in debt, blood, fear and crude oil. It was time to clean house, and more generally, to move forward as responsible citizens of the World.

It became clear pretty early on that Obama was very likely to win this, but I was still surprised as the full extent of the inroads that the Democrats had made into key battleground states. The BBC online coverage made for compelling viewing, if a little rough round the edges due to it being live, and it was interesting to note the differences between the US and UK electoral apparatus, principally the vote-weighting of the electoral college system.

McCain's speech conceding the race was as gracious as I've ever seen a beaten ticket provide. I can’t help but feel that if he'd been allowed to keep away from personal attacks and mud-slinging, and really tried to clarify key ways in which he would differ from Bush, then this election might have been a darn site closer. Indeed, the McCain campaigns insistence on an incredibly narrow agenda of soundbites and issues presented less of an image of clear focus, and more one of not wanting to enter discussions about things that they could not provide competent answers to.

The yawn-inducing merry-go-round of 'job creation', 'alaskan energy security' and 'we're mavericks!' became extremely tiresome and more hollow every time it was deployed. And, yes, it was usually Palin doing much of the deployment, sticking to her little list like her political life depended on it. You could almost picture her advisors and debate trainers shaking her by the shoulders and screaming 'stay on the path', fearful that to stray would mean that she'd be quickly devoured by more cunning political animals - especially Katie Couric :)

As an aside, it was with great satisfaction that I witnessed Sarah Palin standing close to tears beside McCain last night, a look of childish glumness etched upon her face. This is about as near to missing another Bush-sized political train wreck as I hope the US ever comes again. I'm sure that she can serve Alaska well, but hope that the Republican party are never quite so desperate to turn to her in future for answers or leadership. It'd be a faustian pact indeed if it succeeded, but if she is indeed the next bright young hope of theirs, then Barack & co. can sleep soundly in their beds for the next 4 - and probably 8 - years.

I don’t think it's overdramatic to say that the Winds Of Change and optimism were very much at Barack's back during this campaign. In the end, a powerful and heady combination of several factors has propelled him to the highest office in the land :

1) The powerful 'anti-republican' protest vote. We saw this effect in the UK when the Conservative party were finally booted out of power by Labour. Voting for someone because they are not the status quo (that has been so terribly divisive) has to be a huge factor.

2) A new generation of young, energised, and inspired voters who could finally identify with a candidate on many different levels. Besides the obvious african-american vote, Obama is a superb orator who oozes sincerity and control in a way that McCain just couldn't combat, nice guy as he is.

3) The Obama camp's ability to seize the initiative in logistical terms; exploiting new contact and fundraising methods on the internet (such as Facebook), harnessing huge amounts of donation money in the correct way to enable a real concrete, personal presence within the States they were really fighting for. Frankly, the Obama campaign caught the imagination which then had a snowball effect on popularity, and from thence voter turnout.

I'm no expert (hell, I'm not even a US citizen, I'm a Brit) but I honestly believe that the vast majority that they've polled shows that the US has signalled a firm readiness to move even further away from it's shameful past, and that with this new generation of informed and forward-thinking voters, a significant proportion of the old, stale race arguments are truly consigned to the history books, never to re-emerge no matter how desperate the Republicans may get.

As the line in the song goes (I forget which one, maybe it was several different songs?), I had personally wondered if the US had been 'down so long' that it had 'forgotten which way was up.' Obama now has a clear mandate to help clear the country's conscience, as well as reminding us of the simple human truth that no man is an island.

Unrestrained, unfettered competition and super-capitalism may be the traditional American way, but this election proves that Americans as a whole are no longer willing to aim for success at any human or social price. They may not be ready to embrace the idea of being their brother's keeper yet, but they can at least stop turning him into roadkill chasing personal prosperity.

In closing, words cannot adequately express how delighted I am that Barack has been elected. Quite apart from the vast historical significance this holds for the african-american community in the US, at its core it's a triumph of transparent pragmatic humanism over entrenched, aged pessimism. I hope that Obama and Biden will stand by their stated bi-partisan approach, gaining enough consensus to briskly move required legislation forward while not compromising too much the central promises and aims stated during their honourable campaign.


Barack Obama, 44th President Of The United States Of America, I salute you sir.

OMG Flashback No.1

Me, aged about 12 I think, kicking back in the garden and soaking up the latest reviews in Amstrad Action magazine.

How rad am I.

Best Hot Air Balloon Ever

"During the debate, tell-tale signs of the strain Senator McCain was under began to come to the surface."

Another random SWG screenshot

Hehehehe...

I scanned this picture from a very, very, VERY old primary school 'news book' - I think I was about 5 or 6 at the time I drew it?

Apparently, I spent most of that weekend defending a castle from parachuting spacemen using arrows fired either from my trusty bow, or from the amazing automatic arrow turret (see centre of picture, beware - high awesome content).

And in case you're wondering, that cannon really is SAYING 'boom' :)

Random Vintage SWG Screenshot

Deepsea sits in one of the alcoves of the DarkR trading post, by the shuttleport at the city of Reavers Retreat, on Lok.

These three vendors were my three main 'space' ones, for selling chassis blueprints, guns, armour, engines and so on. The free-rotation and placement of objects within the environment made for some interesting and innovative displays!

I spent many hours here stock taking, restocking, relisting, discounting, deliberately undercutting the Shipwright opposition etc. etc.

Good times :)

Roll on the Emulator!

Football Lookalikes

I challenge you to avoid laughing at these! Absolute quality.

I was sent them a good while ago by a mate, but decided to condense what I consider the best ones into one single image to put it here. As you can see by the tag I added, they were originally from www.football365.com.

Huzzah!

Timing. It's a funny thing, isn't it.

Having been unemployed since mid-July, I'd put all my energy into finding something else but had no luck. A lot of companies seem to advertise jobs which aren't actually there (which they only tell you when you've PASSED the interview) so that they can put you on a shortlist to call when (if?) they need you.

This creates the tension and indescribable annoyance of having lots of people say 'yes, you're great, we'll definitely hire you' - and then nothing happens. As I didn't want to have to deal with the political faff and form filling of applying for JobSeeker's Allowance, I'd held off and held off until my financial reserves were absolutely at breaking point. I'd had a good interview on Friday for a job, which I'd also passed and been told that as soon as a start date could be agreed, I'd be in there. All well and good - again. But no firm date is a painful thing when you're wallowing in ever-deepening red ink...

So, nerves in tatters and more than a little down in the mouth, I bit my pride and went down to the JobCentre for my arranged meeting to start a JSA claim today, having been reassured by the person I'd spoken to on the phone (who wanted to know the far end of a fart, by the way) that I could easily backdate my claim from the first date that my last temporary post ended. 'That's good' I thought, 'that should give me a little breathing room for a short while'.

Turns out that she'd been talking bollocks. I was told that while I could, if I wanted to, put that earlier date, the odds of getting any payment for it beyond a simple National Insurance credit would be extremely small. I could claim from the 7th of September, which is when I first started the ball rolling to make a claim (I knew it'd take a few weeks) - oh, less the 3 day waiting period (!) which would make it from the 10th instead. She'd also asked tons of totally irrelevant questions on the phone, some extremely invasive to be frank, and I had to fill in another form from scratch when I arrived! Jolly good, you call centre numpty!

After glumly trudging through the paperwork, and accepting the signing on form & booklet with all the bitter reverence of a cyanide coated turd, I made my way home. Josie had been dropped at my Mam's house earlier on, as Sharon had to pop to the Doctor's at a similar time to my appointment.

After a bit of a cuddle from the little 'un, a bit of a moan and gripe about how shite the administration of the benefit system in this country is, and a good cup of tea, we all popped back home just round the corner. I then checked my phone, which had a missed call on it.

'Probably the JobCentre asking me to come back to measure my inside leg or something' I mused, checking my voicemail. However, it was Claire from Select recruitment (a very nice lady who had taken me through my interview and tests for the Friday interview I mentioned earlier). I called her back, and she told me that she had a start date for the admin job I'd been tested and accepted for.

Tomorrow!!!!!!!

The relief is incredible. It's like a 10 stone weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I can sign-off that horrid little claim form to show that my last day of claim is TODAY, post it off, and wait for the interim payment to enter my account. This should help tide me over until my first weekly pay goes in, which will be the friday after this coming one. Yes. Weekly pay, too. Awesomeness.

My sleep patterns are all to shit, so it would have been nice to have just a couple of days to pull them round, but I'm not really complaining. We don't live in an ideal world, but the timing of things that have happened today is about as ideal as it could get. I don't believe in an all powerful deity, or fate, or providence - but I'm just one lucky, lucky boy.....

Timing. It's a funny thing, isn't it. :)

Unsettlingly Accurate Battlestar Galactica Parallel

Wise Words - Indeed!

(reproduced from nufc.com - hope they don't mind, it's a top site, please visit it!)
_____________________________________________________________

Quotes that came directly from Dennis Wise in February 2008 (home match programme v Middlesbrough):

"Kevin has the final word - no-one else.

"A lot of people have got mixed up with the reason why I'm here and we need to straighten that out quickly.

"I'm not here to be involved in the first team, I'm not here to manage. I'm here to help Kevin as much as possible with bringing young players through and also recommending certain players to him.

“He'll say yes or no. He has the final word, no-one else. I'm not going to do things like bring players in behind his back - I'm not into that.

“Everything that happens will be run past him and he'll say yes or no. I get on very well with Kevin. He's a good man and has a good rapport with the players. He treats players like proper men. He treats players with respect and that's why he gets the best out of them.

"I've got to concentrate more on the academy, we need some young blood coming through of our own, that's something that needs to be looked at.

"We also need to look abroad for players and that's my intention over the next few years."

Goodbye King Kev

He's resigned now - I've not been this angry in a long time.

Will be interested to see :

a) Who Ashley & co. try to install as the new manager. If it's Wise, then they DEFINITELY don't understand what fans up here are like. The guy is universally despised, and seen as pivotal to the issues KK brought up over the last few days.

b) How many turn up to the Hull game, how loud they are - and what they're chanting!!

c) Will Ashley dare to sit with the fans at any game, anytime soon? He better have minders with him; or get someone to check his pint for arsenic. He's totally underestimated how KK was viewed up here. The 'Messiah' thing is a joke created by the London media to paint Toon fans as mindless zealots, the reality is that the guy was extremely well liked and respected as being 'one of us' who would always give you a straight answer and made the players understand what it means to the fans to wear the shirt.

d) Who even declares an interest in a manager's job where it's now explicit that control over players in/out is completely and utterly out of their hands...?

When Kev was first asked about Wise coming in, he said that 'he (ie. KK) still retains full control over comings and goings'. The position was simply meant to provide a streamlined scouting network to largely suggest YOUNGER players to sign for the long run, nothing to do with proper first team matters in most respects. Did KK misunderstand, was he lied to, or did the goalposts change?

Already the media are laughing their arses off over 'crybaby' Keegan running away again (gimme a break, learn to read) and what a joke the Toon are.

They can only really import a foreign manager now, who is totally compliant and used to working 'the european way' where, basically, they simply and purely coach what they are given by the higher-ups, and keep their trap shut. I didn't rate Curbishley, but KK and Curbs walking within a couple of days over essentially the same issue? This has to be a wake-up call that this is two more clubs turning into corporate committees, and away from their roots.

Could you see the Glaziers telling Fergie who to buy? I think not.

I read someone elsewhere make a really good point - look at Portsmouth! They were sinking out of sight under the 'new european way', but as soon as they cleared out the totally unnecessary 'admin & meddling' layer at the club and let Harry wheel and deal, they were on the up and up.

Iam seething.Even if 'the new guy' somehow steadies the ship, it'll take an awful lot to bring the fans back on-side, and Ashley & co. will be stained badly by this. He needs to sell up, take his cronies (all of them - Wise, Vetere, Llambias, Jimenez) and play Champ Manager 08 or something, where he cannot revive then slowly strangle a real club ever again.

The 'Good Wife Guide'

This just goes to show how much attitudes have changed towards being a wife in the 53 year gap.

It's absolutely hilarious. If this was published now, the magazine offices would be burned down for sure.

I particularly like the last two points; just about guaranteed to get a sharp object thrown at you if you were to even suggest them to a girl in 2008... :)

"Kevin Keegan - Official NUFC Statement

NEWCASTLE United can confirm that meetings between members of the Board and manager Kevin Keegan were held both yesterday and today.

Kevin has raised a number of issues and those have been discussed with him.

The Club wants to keep progressing with its long-term strategy and would like to stress that Kevin is extremely important, both now and in the future.

Newcastle United values the effort and commitment shown by Kevin since his return to St. James' Park and wants him to continue to play an instrumental role as manager of the Club.

For the avoidance of doubt the Club has not sacked Kevin Keegan as manager."

This statement appeared today on the official NUFC website, following a full day of feverish speculation and assassination of the club, manager and fans by the London media. The wording and content of this statement, to me, is extremely clear in what it's trying to set out; 'WE'VE NOT PULLED THE TRIGGER'. I reckon they've put this out there in good time prior to Keegan deciding to walk, so that the club isn't painted as the villain in all this.

Although things were explained to KK regarding how the club is set up now (with the poison Dwarf Wise and co. being 'in charge' of transfers) I think he - quite rightly- wanted more input over who we get in. He's not used to working like this, and could quite rightly be angry by the fact that we have one loanee and one new signing when he's been told we've got about 3 almost dead certs to come in.

After all, you'd think if Wise & co. purely DO that kind of thing, as their dedicated and sole task, they'd be able to come good in time. Kev has probably sounded off to the board about how sluggish the new structure is compared to other clubs, and hence the apparent impasse.

I'm sure Spurs would be happier if Comolli had sod all to do with transfers, instead of the huge number of flops he brought in. I have a strong feeling that, if KK had been allowed to target and pursue the players he wanted, in his own way, we'd be a lot more positive about this whole situation. I wonder if KK feels as much of a passenger in this as the fans do..?

More news on this tomorrow, I hope.

Atheism

I couldn't have put it better myself...

PS. Yes, Atheists has been spelled incorrectly. It's still bang on the money.

Whitworth Hall

We decided that, come rain or shine, we'd make sure to get out of the house and do something today. And so, option 1 pouring itself in spades onto our collective heads, we took a venture out to Whitworth Hall Country Park.

Sharon and I were married at Whitworth Parish Church, a very small traditional church almost hidden in the vast grounds of the country park itself. It was a beautiful venue, full of character and life while not being in the least bit pretentious or overblown, and it's really nice to go back there. We had the reception at the hotel there, which was also excellent.

If you get the chance, and live anywhere near Spennymoor or Durham in general, I'd highly recommend having a day out there. It's very relaxing and picturesque, and being able to walk among the Deer in such a tranquil and historical setting is nice.

You can find out more about it by visiting their website, at www.whitworthhall.co.uk .

Above are some pictures I took today, to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. The skies were sodden and grey, but you can (almost) forget it when you're wandering in a place as nice as this.

Oh, and they sell Ice Cream at 'Shafto's', the family pub there too. This was an important point that I don't think Josie would want me to leave out.

She left few points uncovered herself; there were perhaps three small areas of her clothing which the Ice Cream avoided.

More 3D Pavement Art

I think these things are superb - what a skill!

Happy Birthday To Me!

And so, upon the 8th day of the 8th month in the year 2008, it came to pass that He turned 30.

The answer is 'no', I don't feel any older.

Had a nice relaxing day, the obligatory slightly-too-much-to-eat that underlines a good birthday, and I'm feeling more than a little warm and sleepy now. Simple pleasures, eh?

Hitting this kind of milestone should naturally be a time of reflection, and to say that I've been thinking about a lot of things recently as this day approaches would be fair comment. However, I find myself looking more forward than back. I've accomplished so much in such a relatively short time; I have a house, I have a beautiful wife who is an amazing mother to my equally amazing little girl. The fact that, as I write this, I'm out of work, doesn't really worry me too much.

A lot of people pour their energies into their careers, their jobs, their 'stuff', and end up with very little to show for it in the end except material possessions and the moebius loop of 'bigger, better, more expensive' clinging to their psyche like a leech; like the Car they drive or the house they own is really important. Sure, to them, it really is. But I think of it this way; if a hurricane came tomorrow, and took our car and house and all our stuff, we'd still be a family.

And that counts a hundred-fold more than anything else, in my book.

I've made a lot of mistakes in the 30 years I've been on this planet. Some huge ones, some small ones. But I think I've turned out alright. I'd like to think that I'm a good father, and a good husband, and essentially a good and well-balanced person.

Life, for me, is great; and as my fatherly and husbandly experience matures into my salt-and-pepper hair phase, I'm confident that while tough times will always lurk just around the corner like a semi-cloaked malevolent poo on the pavement of life, my natural agility and easy-clean shoes will see me OK.

Thanks to everyone for their kind wishes! I hope you'll continue to keep a check on my Blog, and that it may raise the odd smile or two to brighten a dull day.

PS. The 'donate' button is STILL on the top of the webpage. It does actually work, it's not just for show. Seriously, you don't believe me? Try it out! Remember to put the zeros in the right place now, y'hear?

Quality Product, Great Price!

I saw this sign in a shop today and thought 'yeah, that's today's Blog entry for sure'.

A street painting by 3D artist Kurt Wenner, at Waterloo Station in London.

BROKEN VIDEO :(

- blog post removed