I just saw Avatar. It's a decent flick. It's pretty. It made me tingle in the right places. 3D was okay.

More importantly, it did something that films don't seem to do for me much anymore - it let me put aside my cynicism. I actually managed to watch it and feel some things I've not felt in a long while. Dragonish, flying things, beastly things, alien things. Despite a mediocre and predictable story that didn't teach me anything really new, it let me think of things that have been on the back burner.

Things I don't feel enough anymore. Things I regret not feeling enough of. Things that give my life shape and texture and brilliance and wonder.

Not to say that I don't have other things in my life that do this - I've discovered plenty of them over the past few years. But..

I've lived as a normal human being for a bit too long. I don't want to lose sight of something I've had since my childhood that let me be more that. It would be truly shameful.

Susanoo is my first car. He's a Toyota Rav4 XT3 (2003, 53 plate) VVT-I two-litre petrol. He's very shiny and zoomy and despite having required a new battery already (I got him in a private sale) works very well indeed.

No, I have not yet passed my driving test. Hopefully will do by the end of February.

Click for a better look!

Nicked from the fabulous theweaselking:


Ia!

Saw District 9. Very Awesome!

The Prawns are adorable.

That is all.

I passed my driving theory test on thursday.

And so I am a step closer to one of these...

One of the things that makes me prone to a lapse of faith in humanity, is most people's lack of faith in humanity.

Or perhaps its just people's readiness to declare someone else less than human because they're (a criminal / the wrong colour / gay / the wrong religion / of a differing opinion / differential du jour).

Also, I should remember never to read the BBC Speek you're branes pages. Ever. But especially in the morning. And especially when I'm in a bad mood because the cat chewed through the cable of my expensive headphones.

I'm about three quarters of my way through Neal Stephenson's wonderful Anathem.

Its probably just the romanticism of the book, but for the first time ever, I'm have a good old think about what it might be like to engage in a monastic lifestyle. And if the others around me could converse in the way that people do in the book.. well, I think there's a good chance I'd give up my current existence for it.

Now we just need to describe the Discipline and found a Math.

Okay, so I'm working out what sort of car I'd like. Perhaps some of you might have suggestions - my requirements are as follows:

1. No more than £6k. Not interested in a new car.

2. High driving position - I like to laud it, and it makes it more likely that my legs will be accommodated.

3. Plenty of room - for a couple of folk to be comfortable in the back, plus when not encumbered with people, carrying ability for.. well, a bunch of stuff. Lets assume I might like to carry 2 bass bins, 2 tops and a couple of amps and crossovers, or something of equivalent volume :D

4. Reliable. i.e., not French.

5. Comfortable. Land Rover Freelander - yes, Land Rover Defender - no.

6. Better than 35mpg. Don't mind if its petrol or diesel.

7. Not hugely-long-wheelbase. Parking on my street is at a premium.

8. Pretty would be nice. I will consider MPV's but only if they don't look like children drew them. No bubblecars.

I'm considering Freelanders, RAV-4's, CR-V's and various others at the moment - anyone got any experience to share in this arena?

New VNV is really pretty good.

A week saturday, I will have my first driving lesson. Woo!

I am now (prematurely, of course) eyeing up cars. I think I might want a RAV4.

Doot de doooo...

Some of you will already know that my dad has been receiving chemotherapy for non-hodgkins lymphoma. I just wanted you all to know that he phoned me last night to let me know that he's had a post-treatment scan and consultation, with the result being a complete response to the chemo, and everything looking good.

Win!

I'm old now!

Well, there we go, I saw that doc, and I have a Fatty Liver. No big surprise and not directly life-threatening but something I have to fix, and there's only one way to fix it - by losing weight. I'll also be nice to my liver by mainly not drinking (exceptions for my birthday this weekend, and special occasions, of course!) and eating healthily (in terms of content as well as quantity). I've gotten my game back on to some degree gym-wise and I've ordered two new sets of scales - one to weigh me, and one to weigh my food. My bike is also fixed up a bit now with a seat that ought to be a bit less sore on my arse (hur hur) and some other bits and bobs. So if I miss a gym day I can go out on the bike instead. I might ponder a new suspension fork at some point too, not so much because I punish my bike going over bumpy things, but because I'm so damn heavy that the standard ones that the bike came with tend to be halfway compressed before I even go anywhere. But I'll see how things go. Anyway, lots of opportunity for exercise now! No excuses! I might even pluck up the courage to cycle to work, though 8 miles in the morning seems like a lot still. I'd like it better if there weren't any, y'know, people and cars and stuff.

In other news, a few weeks ago I bought some Sennheiser in-ear headphones for £17, just sturdy but un-fancy ones for the gym and travelling to and from work (I have proper cans at work and in the studio). They had a nice way of fitting and a clip to attach to your collar - I thought them quite nifty. But no....
Remind me never to pay less than forty-five quid for headphones. The rubber bits that hold them in one's ears have fallen off and gone to the place that small rubber things go to. So I've just ordered some Shure SCL2's - my e2c's lasted me 3 years without a complaint and I still have a load of the memory foam inserts for them left over, which should fit the SCL2's as well. £49 on Amazon, bang.

I recently went to the doctor to see about some nausea problems I've been having (which seem most likely to be stress and/or food/weight related, and are being treated) and I had a blood test to rule out h.pylori (and therefore an ulcer). Whilst this came back negative it did show that I have elevated liver enzymes indicting a possible problem in that respect. I'm supposed to be hearing about when I get an ultrasound scan to look at my liver, with a view to a possible detection of Fatty Liver Infiltration. This is apparently very common in obese folk like myself and is reversible through, well, not being obese any more.

This ought to be a radically life-altering bit of news and I should be worried - and I am! But also it's fixable which is good.

The thing that's getting me down this evening is that this has made my tendency to worry about health matters substantially worse at times, but not in a way that has so far pushed me into full-scale fixing my lifestyle mode.

How does one keep up enough worry to motivate one's self but avoid the crippling despair and morbidity associated with that worry? That last bit might sound dramatic but its what I feel for very short bursts when I'm proper worried, like when I have a headache that lasts a bit too long or I feel a bit wobbly when I wake up in the morning twice in a row without drinking.

Those of you who know me well know I am prone to hypochondria and over-introspection.

Can that neurosis be put to a good use, and how?

Meh. My head hurts.

So be there!

What should we do with people that insist on listening to their music on mp3 player and phones out loud via a tinny speaker in public places, e.g. The bus I take home from work every day?

Andy ad I have been working hard on my new kitchen and its looking proper mint! We got the sink done today and I was a bit inspired afterwards:

Does anyone in Aberdeen need anything from Ikea? I'm planning to rent a van and have mr. andy drive me down next weekend so if you want to split the cost...

I really love music.

Its just upsetting that all it takes is a snippet from a tune I really like, to make me feel totally worthless because I will never make anything as good as that.