Blue Steel

Work: Much the same, still a few things going on. I've learnt quite a lot recently about the AS/400 boot process which is interesting and frustrating in equal measures. The new head of ICT is also cutting the number of desks to enforce hotdesking and I'm being made homeless. Due to issues with the docking stations I've perfected the art of piling my laptop, second USB screen, USB headset, mouse and power supply into a neat carryable heap that I can put in my locker. The challenge is unpiling it all in the right order so the cables don't get tangled.

Exercise: I am a pathetic and useless fat bastard, all there is to say about that.

Archery: Got the new bow set up and working on Sunday. It's heavier and much harder to draw than the club bow, which makes it more challenging, but at the same time it shoots much more quietly and accurately. I was a bit dubious about the sight and release aid, but they work OK and will do for now. The shoulder workout I get at the same time is a bonus. Due to the rather nice blue flame finish, Em nicknamed it Blue Steel, and it's stuck.

Misc: Went to see Guardians of the Galaxy with Andy and Rob G, what a great film it is. It does sometimes feel like the script is trying a little too hard, but it was still really enjoyable.

My Dad has moved house. It went reasonably OK but I think they miscalculated how much room they had and a lot of stuff went into the garage or storage. It's a nice house though, and I think it'll do them nicely. Another nice coincidence is that Andrea that I used to work with lives just around the corner, and it was nice to catch up with her.

Our own house sale is progressing as far as I know, the solicitors are doing their thing.

Been playing around with computers a bit. I picked up one of the OLPC XO-1 laptops recently. They aren't very common in this country and I've always been quite interested in the hardware. It works fine but needs a software update. It's fun to play with. I could replace the standard OS with a more normal one but I'm not sure how well it would work. My beheaded Latitude E4300 laptop that was running as an ESXi host died again after a power cut, so I've retired it for now.

General state of mind has been up and down a lot recently. Feeling quite unhappy about a lot of things really but at the same time helpless to do anything about them. Seem to be pushing people away but I don't know why. My lack of exercise motivation and failure to do the VoC 5k last Sunday hasn't been helping either and I've put on weight. Some days are OK, others less so.

Still going through Skyrim with the latest thing being that I'm now a werewolf, which is not as fun as I thought it would be as you're surprisingly fragile in beast form. I accidentally became it in the middle of a town as well and the entire place hated me instantly.

The car is getting to the point where I really need to book it in for a service. Since I got it a couple of months ago I've been surprisingly happy with it. The 1.1 litre engine is gutless on hills, but otherwise it's nice to drive and surprisingly comfortable. The exhaust is getting a bit loud though and I think it needs new brake disks as they judder above 40mph. And it's probably well overdue for a service. It was beeping to say it needed one when I bought it but I reset the counter as it was becoming irritating.