Can Someone Suggest An Unusual Vacation Please?
August 6, 2008 (7 Responses)
I NEED YOUR HELP folks. I want to go on vacation in September, for approximately 2 weeks but I’m bored with all the usual options. I need something different this time around. Read more
A Seriously Crappy Sci-Fi Weekend
July 20, 2008 (No Responses)
THEY SAY the first step is acknowledging that one has a problem so here goes… I’m addicted to sci-fi, and the worse the better. Think of it like a B movie addiction, the type of guity pleasure you wouldn’t even admit to your wife, and this weekend I couldn’t resist the lure of killer bugs, rampaging mutants and lethal viruses in a marathon of futuristic fun… all due to the wonders of Rapidshare and direct downloading. Read more
Cosmo @ 6 Months Old - Lock Up Your Daughters!
March 26, 2008 (One Response)
THE LITTLE BUGGER is growing up fast, and filling out into his dog shape at a fierce rate. It wasn’t that long ago that we had a small pup on our hands, cowering in the corner of the room wondering where the hell he was and how he was going to handle a 10 year old female cocker spaniel who ruled the roost, but that was then and things have changed rather dramatically since he arrived.
It’s now six months on and Cosmo is already the same size as Amber and looks like he is going to tower above her when full grown. Amber no longer rules the roost as well as she used to; he’s big enough now to challenge her and usually drives her nuts on a daily basis.
The last time you saw him he was still a pup and trying to dismantle my bookshelf, but now he’s full of beans, and progressed to much more ambitious projects (constantly eating the house, and I mean literally eating furniture, CDs, telephone cables, remote controls, internet connections, money, papers… the list is endless). Now he’s showing the classic cocker spaniel show-dog profile as he grows into his frame.
Hell - you should see how tall this chap is when he stands up (check out this photo of him in the kitchen last weekend with SusiQ) and given the size of his legs I reckon he is going to be even taller still.
He has of course aquired some new names along the way, most of which don’t leave much up to the imagination (little big man, crapweasel, monster, scumking, mad bastard, big shitter, the destroyer) but I reckon we’ll stick with Cosmo for a name going forward.
The good news is he is a healthy, happy and mad-as-a-bag-of-frogs cocker spaniel with a lovely disposition (gentle, great with kids, not afraid of anything, great with other dogs etc.) and has made this home of ours his new playground, which is exactly what we needed after losing Bonnie.
It’s hard to believe it’s already been six months, but I figured I’d post this here for posterity and to let those of you following his progress see how he’s getting on.
If you want to see the progression from pup to dog you can check out the Cosmo gallery and see the various shots of him; we decided after losing Bonnie that we didn’t want to make the same mistake this time (i.e. never took enough photos of her until it was too late) so we’re doing a few shots every few months and sticking them online for storage.
Anyhoo, he’s a handome devil isn’t he?
The Answer To Life, The Universe And Everything
January 26, 2008 (4 Responses)
I AM THE ANSWER, or rather I will be tomorrow. You see tomorrow I become the Answer To Life, The Universe And Everything… and I’m not quite sure what to expect going forward.
If you know what I’m talking about then you’re about as old as me too, and you remember the iconic pop-culture reference as well as I do. If not… well then you’re probably too young to know what I’m talking about and I can’t be arsed explaining it to you, so go search for the reference on the ‘Net and it will all make sense for you.
There was a time I thought I wouldn’t make it this far. I used to think I’d never make it past thirty. Hell, now that I think of it, I’m only five years off the age my father was when he died of a massive heart attack… so that’s something to look forward to I suppose!
I think the symptoms that were supposed to kick in a few years ago when I hit the so-called mid-life crisis point were offset by my Year of Debauchery, so now - as The Answer rapidly approaches - they are returning with a vengeance. I’m starting to take stock and look backwards at where I was and how I got here. I’m also starting to become more and more concerned about what happens next… which is an odd and new experience, for me anyway.
In my head I’m still fifteen and in my heart time has no dominion. I still marvel at the way a plane stays in the air. I still love cartoons and cool animation with a jealousy approching rage when I think of the talent the folks that create such wonders have. I have never been able to shake my absolute love of cinema with the whole popcorn and coke thing and I’m still blown away by something as simple as the sight of a full moon on a clear night. I suppose I still get excited by the smallest of things. Most of the time I just get on with stuff, and dream my way through the horrible realities we all face and continue to hope for a lotto win to ease the burden of having to work to live - just like you I suppose.
It’s actually weird to think I’ve been working for more years now than not; so basically over half my life has been in pursuit of Wonga. Cashola. Paydirt and all it entails. Still there are some things that make me smile when I look back. Those friends I made [for life] actually turned out to be just that, hell I even married one of ‘em. Those principles I made such a big deal about when I was young and dumb actually did matter and make a difference; they still do. The life I have now is not even close to the one I’d imagined when I was young; it’s way better. And as for a career… I’m constantly amazed anyone wants to pay me for my opinion, but they do anyway. One of these days someone will take a good look behind the wizard wall and realise there really is nothing more there than a big kid playing at living an adult’s life.
And yet there is a feeling creeping in from the peiphery now that perhaps things are happening faster than before, that maybe I’ve less time ahead than I had behind me and that somehow I should grow up and really take stock of things… but the child inside is still firmly in control and my imagination constantly outpaces my good sense, so I guess for now I’ll keep that particular genie in his box and just continue to bounce along and see what happens next.
I suppose the main thing is to remember the central advice of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy… DON’T PANIC!
Ah what the hell… Happy Birthday To MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Christmas In Summary, Cartoon Style
December 24, 2007 (No Responses)
Alien Anthropology: Religion Is Dead, Faith May Yet Prevail
December 16, 2007 (16 Responses)
WE VISITED AN ALIEN WORLD this morning. It had been many many years since I’d seen the inside of a church, excepting of course the usual weddings and funerals that require perfunctory attendance but none of the usual alertness I’d associate with the giving and receiving of actual organised religion.
This morning SusiQ and I attended a mass (the reasons for which are not really central to the theme of this post) and as I sat there and looked around at the church, the audience, the priest, the whole interaction I was struck by how alien it all was for me. The church in question was one I’d frequented when I was a young boy growing up in Dublin, but by the time I was twelve I’d basically bailed on the whole organised religion thing and left mass and churches behind in the process, much to the distress of my mother.
And so it was that I found myself back in this church, with my mother as it happens and SusiQ, and the occasion provided me with an opportunity, anthropologically speaking, to observe the alien process in action and see for myself how things had changed in the decades since I last found myself in that church.
For starters, the audience congregation had changed dramatically. I’d say only 25% of the seats were taken up, and of those probably 90% of the participants spectators were at the over-sixty stage. I only counted two kids in the entire church and probably four or five middle aged or young couples, most of whom were eastern European by appearance. Attendances have dropped off significantly from when I was a boy.
My first surprise was when the priest stood up and announced the start of the service for ‘those listening at home’; they were broadcasting over a church radio network. An obvious progression I know, but still I wasn’t expecting it for some reason. As the priest droned on in the usual monotones I took stock of the churchgoers in the rows and rows in front of him and would liken them to robots, going through the well established and comfortable motions, rather than active partipants in any religious ceremony. They came in, sat down, switched off and performed when required. There was no real engagement as such.
Then of course it got weirder, which is only to be expected I suppose in an alien landscape… Read more
Our Cocker Spaniel Story Continues…
December 1, 2007 (3 Responses)
IT HAS TAKEN a few weeks, and there were times I thought it would never happen, but eventually Cosmo and Amber started playing together and now they get on like a house on fire. There was a collective sigh of relief when that happened because we were worried Amber just wouldn’t accept him after the death of her sister, Bonnie. A 10 year old Cocker and a new pup is not always the best combination, but in this case we either did everything right, or just got lucky. Either way, we couldn’t be happier.
The house will never be the same of course without Bonnie, and we had forgotten just how much work a pup is and, worse still, the bloody damage they can do in chewing everything that’s not nailed down… but it’s worth it.
Lots of people have been asking us for updates on Cosmo and his progress so for anyone that has been following the Cosmo story thus far I’ve uploaded a bunch of new photos into his gallery. He is now 3 months old and growing like a mad thing. I think he has the longest legs I’ve ever seen on a young cocker spaniel, so it’s highly likely he will be a very big dog when he grows into his frame.
He really is a typical mischievous, shifty and sneaky cocker spaniel pup though, so much so that he has earned the title of ‘silent bu deadly’ around here. It’s hard to catch him in the act, but so far he has managed to eat my telephone cable, kill my PC speaker system, eat some money (notes not coins!), destroy some guide books (he has a fondness for guidebooks about Paris for some reason!), dismantle his bed into molecular form, shred what was left of the carpet at the top of the stairs and much more… nothing is safe, but it’s fun to watch him grow up and I do believe Amber is happier now with the company. Read more
