Literatea

It’s Christmas Eve! A very happy Christmas to everybody. Only one sleep to go!

Ever find yourself questioning what life is all about when you realise that you just can’t take another rendition of “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” or “Band Aid” or Christmas shopping or eating stuff you’d never normally dream of putting in your mouth?

Have a read of this. An excellent review of that latest game “Real Life”.

Only two sleeps to go!

Going home for Christmas. What a mixed bag! The excitement of seeing your family mixed with the tedium of getting there is quite strange.

So I got to Euston station in good time, tried to look a bit cool reading my NME yearbook and tapping my foot to Xfm on my mobile phone (help! Anyone got a spare Zen Jukebox MP3 player for little ole me?) and waited for my train. Now I wonder if anyone could shed some light on a little matter of some annoyance to me, for me? How is it that there is always a fat kid sitting just opposite one with a Gameboy whose, according to the little blighter and to every other weary traveller’s chagrin, volume “can’t be turned down, mum, honest, and I’m really really really hungry I ate ages ago and no I don’t have five packets of sugar from the catering car in my fist mum, honest”? Oh- and while I’m complaining; why does Virgin have these spangly and comfy new trains whose various interesting components never work? The loo’s are always broken and the seat reservation thingies (that’s the technical term) never work.

Well I got to my folks’ place in the end and lovely it is to be home too.

Are you feeling Christmassy and excited yet? Yes? Well you should try this as an antidote. Only three sleeps to go!

The Christmas menu for Christmas day at my house this year (it’s my first year without family; it seems strange): Salt and Pepper Roast Turkey with Port and Ligonberry Gravy; Glazed Ham; Cranberry and Chestnut Stuffing; Spicy Christmas Stuffing; Rosemary Roast Potatoes; Glazed Carrots; Honey Roasted Root Vegetables; Sprouts with Orange Hazelnut Butter; and Steamed Brocolli and Peas. Starters haven’t been decided on although a bit of smoked salmon and some good ole prawn cocktail wouldn’t go amiss. Then there’s the dessert which will probably consist of too many chocolates, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, Stollen and ice cream with chocolate sauce (in case we’ve not had enough chocolate already). Fantastic!

Six sleeps to go!

I decorated my Christmas tree today. My bf thinks it’s too puny. But then I’ve seen his parents’ house and they have three.

The theme is white (there are lots of snowflakes involved) but I haven’t managed to procure anything for the top yet. Any suggestions for a diy tree-topper?

Seven sleeps to go!

At last we have our fourteen-foot tree. It arrived last night and was unloaded, shoved, pushed, pulled, placed and decorated and is now standing gloriously in our courtyard at the church building waiting for Sunday night’s Carols in the Courtyard do. Now all I have to do is my own tree, Christmas shopping, Christmas food shopping, finding out what I have to do for Christmas day (for which I have to tidy my house) and survive Christmas.

Now I don’t know about you but I’ve always found (with a few exceptions) the cases of computers- in fact the whole setup- fairly dull. It’s that sort of off-white-greyish colour that I find so off-putting. Recently I have discovered that there are some creative folks out there who have come up with some interesting ways of taking the cold and impersonal look out of computing and making it an altogether showier affair. And I don’t mean changing your desktop or opting for a flashy mousepad.

This guy clearly liked the look of the rusty, grimy, alien-slime-encrusted gadgetry of Doctor Gordon’s world in Half Life 2. I was so impressed with this that I decided to look into other examples along similar lines.

Next up was this confectionary delight. It’s a server cunningly disguised as a gingerbread village. That’s right. Not a house- an entire village.

Now I love lego as much as the next twenty-four year old. I remember hours spent trying (unsuccessfully) to build the Millennium Falcon- so naturally this person amazed me with their skills. Shouldn’t all home pc’s be built like this?

Should you wish to start your very own case modding project* this site has lots of helpful linkies.

As a parting shot I would like to present to you something a little silly. Enjoy!

*projects I would like to see include a Christmas pudding, an Olympic stadium a la the London Bid and a Wibblethorpe-inspired build.

24 sleeps to go!

Ooh! Look! There I am….sorry, got lost in the mountains of sales, piles of Christmas lights, swathes of stocking fillers and masses of Christmas markets. But I’m back now. And with only *cough* Elven *cough* *cough* sleeps to go! Huzzah!

Here’s a little Christmas pressie for you all. I’ve noticed among honourable friends and colleagues the general stupor that hits workers around the festive season. You know the one I mean- Christmas decorations start going up and work productivity starts slowing down. So here, for your delectation, is one of the best webcomics around. Surf wisely, friends! Don’t let the Man catch you. Or if he does, introduce him to scarygoround.

16 sleeps to go!

A charver family overheard in my local Sainsbury’s:
“What? A foiyver fer a shtupid liwwle bo”le o woin aynd a bi’ o chayse? Wha’ a ripoff.”

Translation:
“What? A fiver for a stupid little bottle of wine and a bit of cheese? What a rip-off”.

Be thankful this person is not buying your Christmas presents.

18 sleeps to go!

Today’s entry is a Rubbish Paintmash that is all about my day on the 6th of December. I hope you all had a fantabulous day too.