Its a waste of time innit?

Social media I mean.

More and more I'm finding it to be nothing but a chore to look at.. I like the keeping in touch with people and the ability to keep friends together despite distance, but there are other more horrible aspects to it.

The fake news, the disinformation, the rise of the Dunning-Kruger experts and the dumbing down of expectation for lifestyle choices...

I mean, flat earth, mudflooders, Moon Landing deniers, gravity deniers etc

Its absurd, but socal media gives these loons a platform and sure enough others go, shiiit he's got a point I ain't never been to the moon so no one else can have duh I'm going to back this wise person he know things me no no.

It wouldn't be too bad if you could just tell them, no, thats not right, but you can't. People who are wrong, but are convinced they are right, have the backing of all their back slapping buddies to tell them how right they are, even though they are wrong, and they are wrong and their back slapping buddies tell them they are right... the circular back slapping in the echo chamber of stupid thought  expands, no matter what any history/science/medical text book might say 
Its mental and society will suffer for this rise of the "here's what I think it is" expert!

I saw this 10 years ago when my ex was and probably still is, majorly into homeopathy, the worlds dumbest form of alternative "medicine" but could she be told.. nope. I bit my tongue so many times with her, ahh the dumb shit she used to come out with but never face the fact it was utter bollox.

We're seeing it everywhere on so many subjects, know alls, and gold opinions from brainless celebs dictate our progress.... Lets not even start on Brexit.

I can see me going into my old age seeing a generation of utter morons taking power in 20 years, and suggesting that everything we learned was propaganda from deep state anti Trump experts... Its depressing

Ahthankyew

Old and smelly

Oh boy

59

59 years old today and I feel it, I really do...fat, old, in pain and grumpy, but happy when Im around Jirawan.

Last year of middle age, then old age... I'm genuinly starting to look forward to retirement, But stil 8 years away, maybe 11.  I want to find a nice place somewhere with no bills and no stress and just sit on a veranda sipping on rum then coding in the evenings before watching movies with J and snuggling up.

So much for conquering the world.....age sucks.

Ahthankyew

Ding Dong merrily on...

December already, getting chilly outside, and dark, quite a contrast to how we started November in Thailand.

Still need to sort out visa for Jirawan to travel so we can go see/meet mum, who's not been in the best of health recently...going to try to sort that next week, there's a chap in town who specialises in visa's since our efforts to date have been stumped by delays and stupidity.

Nothing major to report, healthwise Im still having issues with the diverticulosus but learning to live with it, thanks to loperamide :D. Also a spot of foot pain which troubled me in Thailand and isn't really getting better despite buying some insoles designed to help with planter fasciatus (sp) but seems I can go to a physio and have a masochist make me scream to help it heal..... can't wait.

Roll on Christmas, even if I cant get Jirawan over, I'll pop over to blighty to see mum and the weans. I'll start making plans.

Ahthankyew

Honey mooooon

Yes, I am on honeymoon, with my wonderful wife, of 2 years... we were not able to get away during the whole covid thing so we took the chance to extend my autumn holiday and spend some time in Thailand 

In part to spend time together but also for her to catch up with friends and family and show me off as the eye candy I am...stop sniggering....By Thai standards, Im quite a catch.  And boy has she been catching up with her friends, she's missed them and they missed her. Its good that she wants to show me off to friends.. I plan to do the same when I finally get the chance to take her to the UK,  uk visa's not withstanding...

Thailand is wonderufl, just wonderful, its so varied and different in the north and south, and Bangkok is crazy, but for sure this is a place we will probably find ourselves living out our old age. Time to start making plans about where, what and how we retire. Its a country of contrast, modern in parts, rural and  backward in others  but very very wonderful.

So many new things to do and try while here, but I have resited eating insects.

The only thing I don't plan to do again ever, is ride a scooter in a city traffic system... I have never been scared on a bike before,...this was the 1st and last time I ever try that..

Anyway.. one more day, we'll spend being tourists in Bangkok and doing a bit of shopping, my collegues at work have been good to cover for me while I've been sunning myself here, so I need to find incredibly cheap but meaningful gifts for them :D

Ahthankyew

when ineptitude becomes normal, you get uk.gov

I have to say, 2 times now we've tried to work with the UK visa system to get a visa for Jirawan to come with me to the UK, 1st time we had to cancel due to delays, this time we had to cancel....due to even longer delays...

Its absurd, that they charge a small fortune for a visa, don't make the process even remotely easy, insist on making you drive to Amsterdam to use some cheap shoddy service company who charge you 15 euros to drop an A4 sheet into a 1 second scanner, per sheet mind you..And then insist that you have no right to a prompt service... not that 3 weeks is prompt.

While you wait you have to surrender your passport, which means no travel... normally not a big issue after all we are not the jetsetters we plan to be when we retire, but we do have a trip planned for the end of this month which needs a passport, so you'd think applying in June would have the whole thing sorted.

Nope, no appointments available till August, then wait for the UK dept to process the visa, which after 8, almost 9 weeks was still no closer to being done.. Then a flurry of standard reply emails (which you have to pay to open a dialogue), and every response of, no thats not what I asked, gets a the same standard cut and paste... ffs

We eventually had to request they cancel it, via the same standard cut and paste replies, which eventually had 1 line added that said, they were processing our cancellation..

And the next day, our passport is waiting for us in Amsterdam, in that same shabby service centre... So we have to drive up there this moring, hoping that maybe, just maybe rather than a cancellation, it was in fact the visa... but no.. no visa, no refusal of a visa, just the passport, returned as asked... so they can do some things quick

We're pissed as fuck about this shambolic system.. Ignoring the very clear fact that a spouse should be able to travel freely with their british partner to the UK, that passport sat in a pile for 8 weeks at least. The dept can't provide the service its that simple, they don't even say until you submit how long the delay is likely to be, its supposed to take 3 weeks, but maybe 5, worst case 8... but you only hear once you've submitted it might be 12... we couldn't wait 12, we had to get our passport back so we can travel in 2 weeks...

hundreds of euro's tossed into the wind for nothing, and an unrepentant uk.gov apologising for the "frustrating:" delay but please wait.

tossers, utter utter tossers. Thai's welcome british passport holders into their country, I don't need a visa to go visit Jirawans family, but the UK will drown us in red tape and delays rather than let my wife in to meet my family... I'm seething.

Ahthankyew

So that was a good thing then?

I had 4 polyps removed during my colonosopy, and it turns out 2 of them were the nasty pre-cancer types... so... yeah... good... 

Had I not had this test caused by my unwelcome attack of divericulitis, I would have been quite unlikely to have gone for a colonoscopy and within a few years would be dead.

Basically...dead .

So.. yeah... funny eh! The nasty attack of constipation that caused me to go to hozzie basically saved my life.

I have to go back for checks every 5 years to snip any new ones, but thats fine, I will be happy to do that.

phew

Ahthankyew

97kg even more shit

My final weight before the procedure was 97Kg, after a long long night of running to the loo every 30-45 mins I basically emptied out totally.

The procedure was fine, I felt nothing at all, I slept through it mostly, but they did remove 4 polyps, which is a good thing as it will prevent future cancers forming.. However they warned me there might be a little blood and pain when the painkillers wore off.

The wore off.... they lied... it wasn't a little, it was quite severe, but hey ho, its only for a few days.

I have a phone appointment booked on the 26th to discuss the results and move on to managment of my diverticulosos...which will mostly revolved around continuing to lose some of that weight which I hastily put back on with a massive steak and tatties when I'd got home and snoozed for a bit.

Ahthankyew

98.4kg, I was so full of shit!

4 days of fasting, (only 3 bowls of soup) and now on the meds to shit for the UK in the world diarrhea champiopnships, before tomorrows camera up the bum fun.

Its not fat of course, its litterlly my bowels emptying out, so as soon as I start eating again this will slide back up, but I'll try to maintain a lower intake to keep the drop going.

Even so, being under 100kg for the 1st time in several years is a nice boost to the confidence..Though I do feel a bit wrecked from the meds waking me up at 7am for a Jackson Pollock event.

I'm dreaming of sausage and mash though, soon as I'm able.

Ahthankyew

And the Fast continues

Im hungry

thats what happens when you fast...

And also you lose weight, but I'm not even remotely convinced I've lost any body mass yet, just emptying out my bowls, but thats enoiugh for 2 kilos.

Hovering on the 100.2 mark this morning, probably going to break it tomorrow.

Ahthankyew

The Fast begins

I have my colonoscopy on Monday, so have had to switch to a strict low fibre/content diet ending with liquid only on Sunday.

That'll drop me under 100 fucking kilos.... bahhh

Anyway no biggie, just got to stop eating now, drink water when hungry and flush my system clean so the nice doctors can give me some happy meds before sticking cameras up my ass....

At least I hope they are happy meds....

Ahthankyew

hang on... still not under 100?

No, despite being mega careful with my intake and trying my best to excercise more (I walked all over Paris for 4 days... to the point of wearing out my comfy shoes)
Im still over 100kg... hmm ok well, we're home from our holidays and that means I can reduce my use of immodium which might be the cause, after all if it goes in and its not going out... it has to add something.

The immodium is needed due to the diverticulosis, it basically gives me 2 minute warnings of go to the toilet NOW, which isn't terribly practical when you're out and about, so immodium offers a degree of control.. With a downside that you ermm fill up, and it can take a few days to empty out.

The colonoscopy is set for the 19th Sept... and I'll have to starve myself for a few days before that, so for sure the weight will drop, and whatever is stuck inside will almost certainly find its way out when I have to take the nuclear waste clear out juice before hand.

Anyway... was a nice trip to France, what may turn out to be our last gig with Rose as she's now confirmed her intention to move to France with her SO and start a new life there raising dairy cattle and running a music holiday operation.. We wish her all the best, but also we're sad that the 1st iteration of FBR has come to an end... just as we were getting good at it :D

We'll try to arrange one final farewell gig soon, and also start looking for a new singer... no easy task I have to say, FBR isn't just a singer and 2 guitar players, its 3 friends enjoying what we do.. it will take time to find that connection again, but we will try.

hmm I feel an urgent need coming on... will catch up later if I survive.

Ahthankyew

100kg.....almost

Before I got sick, I was 105.xx kg (can't remember exactly, probably .2 or .3 ) but while in hospital on the starvation for 3 days diet, I lost a couple of solid kilos.

Since then I've been much more careful with my food and drink intake and weight has  continued to fall. 100-200g a day,  today its 100.9. ....ok ok still bascially 101 but I havn't actually had a poo yet which is when I usualy weight myself so Im taking it.

The next few days will see me break the 100kg mark and keep going..  Target weight is anything below 80, ideally 70, in spite of the flabby outer carcass Im a fairly skinny bloke really so getting down to my 29inch waist  65kg of my youth, would be great but I think unrealistic at my age. 

Anyway, still waiting for the colonoscapy and there's still a lot of shall we say, looseness in my bowels that the extra fibre isn't totally fixing, but no sign of any pain of other tell tale sings of a flare up. Just have to keep a careful watch on what goes in and out.

Also making a bit, just a bit more effort to excercise, slowing increasing my walking and use of stairs (though the 3 floor climb to my office is on hold for 5 weeks)
And the bike is coming out of the shed so I can cycle a bit more.

Summer is going to see a big drop off in the lardiness..

edit.,... actually I just checked my old youthful 8-9 stone was only around 55 kg...I was almost anorexic... not going to get that extreme, sitting between 70 and 80 will do, even though for my height 67 is considered normal... a little bit of pudding is ok...its the extra lard and icing on top I have at the moment that needs to go.

Ahthankyew

Uncle Max RIP

Sad to hear yesterday that my uncle Max passed away. He and Ann, my mothers sister, were the cool auntie and uncle when I was growing up. I used to vist them often in their apartment in Livingston, on the way or coming back from visiting my first real girlfriend  when I was 16, who lived near them.

There's a picture my mum has of my parents and 2 brothers, its probably the last picture we ever took of all of us as a family, when I was around 13. It was taken at Ann and Max's wedding. 45 years ago. Thats pretty amazing. They were a loving and fun couple and I always enjoyed spending time with them and their pets.

I remember one time I didn't have enough bus fare to get home from my g/f 's and Max had offered, perhaps jokingly to let me borrow his bike to get home. I happily took up this offer and cycled the 15 miles or so from Livingston to Fauldhouse. I took me hours. When I brought the bike back some days later, Max was confused why it took me so long to cover such a short distance (in his view)... I had done the whole journey in 1st gear.. I learned about cycle gears that day :D Max found it hysterical.

Like many of my relatives I lost touch with them when I left Scotland, and they in turn made a decision to start a new life in Canada so we never really reconnected.  I know they made a good life for themselves and enjoyed their time becoming commited Canadians.

I'll raise a glass to happy memories of Max, and sending my condolances to Ann. 

RIP uncle Max.

Ahthankyew

1 more day, well morning

just tomorrow morning to survive then we're on holiday, can't wait

Things are still a bit up in the air, not sure about J's visa yet, trying to get docs together still... but we'll find things to do..

mostly looking forward to long long lie ins.

Ahthankyew

Am oot

sorry should have updated, sooner.  They let me out on Day 5 when it was clear I was feeling a lot better and could self medicae with paracetamol and laxatives at home.

I need to follow up some outpatient tests and also do some lifestyle changes...losing weight..arrghh and eat more bran, and smaller more frequent meals with some pro biotics

Thing is this can happen again at any time...regardless of changes... so...fuck

I have a condition, its managable but it won't go away.

getting old sucks

Ahthankyew

On the mend or dead

day 5, still in hospital and since not much happens in hospital on Sundays it might be tomorrow before they decide if I can go home, or if they want to do a dreaded colonoscopy before letting me out.

Either way I am feeling a lot better, the pain has greatly subsided and I am more myself again. 
Since the danger of the infection causing any significant damage has passed, I'm pretty sure I'll be home again soon with some quite important changes to my lifestyle and diet and a few outpatient visits.

This may be a recurring thing, if I don't take better care of myself, diverticules don't just dissappear after an infection and can get reinfected for all kinds of reasons, but being obese and not having a sensible regular diet are issues. 

I eat very well and good fresh food, thanks to Jirawan, but I eat far too much and need to regulate intake and increase my fibre and start taking more probiotics to avoid future issues. I also have to cut back a bit on my rum tipples...oh well, once a week is ok.

There may also be a few trigger foods we need to check and cut them out. But I think more than all my other complaints about having to diet, this incident is the one that will kick me into it. I NEVER want to experience pain like that again and if losing weight and exercise is going to prevent it I have my motivation.

oh well, bored now, want to go home, but have to just look out the window at a very cold and rainy Breda which has had  a heatwave for the last few days while I was stuck here in my air conditioned room with Jirawan staying to keep me company.. There are worse ways to spend time with the one you love.

Ahthankyew

Normal service has been disrupted

Im in hospital....I had some issues over the weekend where my bowels basically shut down, and by Monday I was in some degree of discomfort, and by Tuesday I wasn't farting with confidence, in fact I wasn't farting at all,...0 flatulance, life and games can't exist without flatulance.

Anyway, comedy aside I had some issues resulting in some astonishing levels of discomfort and pain and after a strong telling off from Jirawan I called the doctor who made a same day appointment, and said exactly the same as Jirawan when examining me... Not normal... My bowels that is, the rest of me is prime.

She sent me directly to hospital, not passing go,  where they did some more tests and it was decided to keep me in.

This is all a bit worrying and considering the number of surgeons who were poking and proding me it was clear they were prepping for something, but after a CT scan it was decided that there's no cancer/tumours or signs of obstruction which would need emergency surgery. 

There's an infection in my bowls almost certainly caused by diverticulitis, an unpleasent complaint which in itself isn't life threatening but can have knock on implications.

So they are keeping me in for a few days to monitor the infection, and make sure it does not get worse which might mean surgical intervention, also to do a few more tests to check things that are not obvious on scans. A colonsopy is on the cards soon...that will be fun.

Im ok in myself, yesterday was rough getting prodded and stabbed and having things down my trhoat and up my ass, but the pain levels have dropped due to IV painkillers (surprisingly only paracetamol but effective) but they won't feed me in case surgery is needed. I didn't sleep well with various iv alarms going off like a snooze button so am tired, but in much less pain.
So if nothing else Im going to lose a few Kilos while here, which isn't a bad thing.

Ahthankyew

Such fun

The Shadow is such a fun bike, but also a bit tricky, I am having to relearn a lot things compared to my old style on short wheelbase sports bikes., It has no great acceleration but you do need to watch out for the heavy front wheel falling into a lock at static/slow speeds. Im not too sure how nippy it can take off at a junction either, since I''m still mastering the smooth take off.

But for sure its fun, noisy, slow, wallowing around... but great to jump on with Jirawan on the back and head off into the countryside for an hour. Our new intercom working well too which is a bonus, but it does need to be turned up a bit at 100kph,

Thats the fastest we've been so far on the motorway for a short time to try out the 4th gear, it seemed to work :D

But as much as this is great fun, it again confirms my view this is not an everyday bike  and needs to be kept for trips and fun times.. I'll  keep using the little shared electric scooters for short hop commutes around town.

Ahthankyew

A Chapter closed

8 years of work... not always enjoyable... actually seldom enjoyable, it was hard... and often would grind to long and protracted halts as bugs/memory/hardware issues prevented progress and I would stop to think about it, or stop to avoid thinking about it.. It was a nightmare job, which I was only able to spend a few hours per month on for a long time. Thanks however to a very, patient and understanding publisher, and eventuially to a very talanted and supportive retro coder who stepped in to clear a path to the end, we pushed this over the line a few months ago and now its out in the wild. Only 150 copies will ever be sold, and they will be much prized for their rarity as well as the blood, sweat  and bruised keyboard bashing knuckles that went into it.

Thanks to Jan and Allard, and my apologies again for so so many delays... it was just so much work, and so crazy to try to convert such a big game onto such a really limited system.  

But here it is... my 1st, and without a shadow of a doubt my last, retro hardware project.

Ahthankyew

Dreams can come true

I rode bikes, motorbikes that is, since I was 16, starting with a Yamaha FS1e-dx (50cc's of raw unrestricted powaaaah and a top speed, downhill with a tailwind around 45mph) then a range of 125's to fit in with the legal learner limits at the time, before passing my test and moving on to big old tractors like Trumph Tridents which were fantastic fun and could pull 130mph if you wanted, I had a few of those. I was never into speed though, The odd moment of madness on a CBR1100 not withstanding I liked the flexibility and ease of access of bikes, not the whole need for speed culture.

But I stopped riding about 15 years ago, when I gave away my last Triumph to a friend of my ex's.. It had been sat in the front yard for a year and I was feeling guilty about it being unloved and siezing up.

I have since been a steady car driving man, and after a love affair with a Mercedes CLK I couldn't afford, I finally bought a tiny Kia Picanto, 1ltr 3cyl  town car.. and I love it. Its such a nice wee car, gets me around all over the place here in NL, and even when I had to do the odd long trip to France or  Germany it did its job well.. I will keep it till it falls apart. 

But recently my university stopped giving us access to free parking on site, making the short, but at my age, needed, car trip to the office a bit of a chore when there was no space on the road to park.. So I was thinking about getting another bike...maybe an ebike...but why only get a bike to go to work (and yes I do cycle sometimes). It might be nice to tour around NL and its neighbours on a bike?

But one thing I have always hankered over was having a particular type of bike, a Honda VT1100c mk2 Shadow... Not the Ace, Mk3, 4 or the many other later versions, the Mk2 it is just the nicest looking bike I ever saw.

I saw one on the cover of a biking magazine years ago, and fell in love with its good looks and gushing reviews for its reliability and comfort,  and wanted one so bad. But they were so hard to find in the UK, since they never went on sale there, all versions around were US imports, and quite rare, and pricey.

The one time I managed to  find one was in a bike shop in Dewsbury. I was riding a Japanese import XJ400 at the time, a nice solid commuter bike with a bit of flair. And I wanted to PX if for the shiny chrome beast in the shop. But they din't want my XJ and only offered me a tiny amount for it, so I had to raise more cash...by the time I did, the Shadow was gone... and I moved on to an XJ600 and a couple of Honda's, then my love affair with Triumphs..

But I kept my eye's peeled for another Shadow... Nothing ever came up when I had the funds...

By the time I moved to NL, the bikes were a thing of the past, but I did notice a certain love affair here for cruisers, the catagory of bike the Shadow falls into, lots of Harleys and Suzy Invaders... and.... more than a few Shadows, all marks.. But certainly a fair number of Mk2's  which would pop up on facebook or Marktplats from time to time. Even more amazing,  these are almost all old man summer cruiser bikes stored in the Winter and only brought out a few times a year to ...well, cruise around.. They are almost all well preserved and looked after despite being made 25-30 years ago with super low milage and regular servicing. And....cheap...ish..

Finances never quite synced to the point where I could afford one though when they came up.. until now.

My local bike shop put one up for sale...I asked Jirawan what she thought...like a good hubby, and....she said... yes if you want it you should get it. <speechless>

So... test ride to make sure she's all good, a small issue with a split on the seat they are going to repair and in a couple of weeks when the seat returns from the upholstary place..this is going to sit outside.. and maybe get wrapped in cotton wool in the winter.

 

A 1988 VT1100C M2 in not quite mint, but very very good condition, with around 22.5K miles on the clock... Pulls like a tractor, drives as though you are sitting in an armchair with a go faster button.  

And we bought it. 

Dreams can come true.

But only when you have the best wife in the whole goddam world.

Ahthankyew

No good deed goes unpunished

Its taken me a very very long time to realise this... But, being nice to people, helpful, understanding, caring.....very often does not produce the same in return. Actually, thinking hard about my life, with few exceptions, it never produces the same in return.

People with agenda's are never going to change their agenda because you are nice to them. In fact your niceness may indeed push them off their agenda, or be seen to harm their agenda and then they turn on you.

Its deeply upsetting to see people you are trying to help lash out and attack you with utterly absurd comments or actions. (yes we're talking a very very few students).

Its almost part of the job these days which is upsetting. Times are changing and now we have to be careful not to hurt peoples feelings which in turn removes or at least narrows the range of criticism you can give to people.. Nothing  resonates more loudly than a failing student, who hasn't actually done any work, complaining that the work is confusing or too hard, or... they just don't feel they can handle it???...Its as if they somehow decided  that complaning is even more effective than doing.

Get a fucking grip.

Its not, it never will be, doing the work, well, is how you progress in life. Listening to teachers telling you  you're not doing well isn't an insult you need to get butt hurt about, its advice to try harder, or in some cases, reconsider... An honest teacher caring that you don't go down a path of clear failure should be something to respect...It isn't it really isn't, and thats very sad..

In the last couple of years, I've had incidents where such advice has resulted in massive and very public melt downs from "vicitmised", students, complaining of "toxic" behavious and poor education. Now victimised means, asking where's the work more than once a week, and toxic means, if you don't stop doing that, I'll have to remove you from the group..... wow... wait till they get to the real world eh!

Only a couple, I must state clearly, out of hundreds, but it only takes 1 or 2 to throw chum in the water to have the sharks circling. The adage there is no smoke without fire, isn't helped by the fact that Im well known as a grumpy old man... but also a cuddly fat bear.... you get to choose which, simply by trying to do your best.

I remind you dear reader... we are currently ranked amongst the very best schools in the world at what we do...so... clearly we're doing it wrong becuase students who don't want to follow the course we set up, feel a need to vent and have their clearly well thought out professional and seasoned opinions heard and immediately acted on....immediately... or else.

I need to re-evaluate how I deal with students now,  even though this is a tiny tiny minority of students who get this agitated, its a noisy group who like to be heard.. Of course these complaints have been dismissed they have no merit whatsoever, quite rightly, but even so, the sense of sadness I feel that this is what teaching is bcoming. Student relationships are becoming a minefield of hurt feelings and excuses for not working rather than the driven success it used to be. 

In part this is due to covid, the lockdown changed a lot of things... so mabye it will be better in a year or so, but also... have to say, some if it is due to students just not being as driven as they were...there's a serious change in the students now, compared to 10, even 5 years ago..  

I'll have to detatch my personal feelings and hopes in students a bit more.. 

Basically no more Mr Nice guy from now on, Im not interested in having my care and attention in their progress thrown back at me.

Retirment is now starting to look all the sweeter... but still 10-12 years away... but happy to start planning.

I better point out, for the sake of any legal issues (even having to say this makes me angry) that these opinions are my own....as is everything I ever post on this blog... Its just stuff for my family to read.

Ahthankyew

question

What happens when you go to an event with thousands of people wansdering around wearing masks but eat lunch with hundreds around not wearing masks.

You get Covid.... 

A nice pressie I discovered on my return to NL, despite several tests while there, my test when I got home was positive as was the follow up 2 days later....

Im ...ok...kinda, got some symptoms, cough for sure, headache and raspy chest with slight breathlessness, about the same level as a bad cold.. But the worst part is how utterly exhausted I am. Going upstairs requires planning what step I should make camp on to recover....well, ok a slight exageration, but I do totally run out of steam quickly then have to snooze for a bit and its very hard to keep my focus on one..oh a butterfly.

Its a good job I had my jabs, it was almost inevitable that I'd catch it sometime, and if this is mild, I'd hate to get the full version.

Should be ok in a few more days.

Ahthankyew

edit 4/4/22 recovered and tested negative... am now bulletproof for about 6 month

Sad Francisco

Im at GDC and the show itself is cool, meeting some old faces, and some new, and learning a few new things at some of the sessions. 

But

I have a stinking cold thats wearing me down...just a cold, did 2 covid tests just in case  both neg.. So taking some grade A usa cold meds, which kinda help but Im a snot fountain with a cough and regular sneezing which in these covid times freaks the fuck out of people lol

And another thing, this place...jeez this place, so many homeless, sleeping/ pissing in doorways, shouting at the world at every corner, so much incredible poverty in a place were a burger costs $30,  which even shocked the out of town American ahead of the queue I was in at Carls Jr. Is it made of gold he asked... but he paid... I didn't, I found a much cheaper BK and had a very nice burger for half that...

The contrast of seeing someone sleeping rough in front of a Rolex superstore is insane... and thats everywhere in this high end financial district.

Anyway, missing Jirawan, wish she was here, but also I'm glad she can't see this. Looking forward to getting hack to her soon.

Ahthankyew

wow, am I slipping?

Kinda, sorry mum, been mega busy with my project, also work, this is an intensive block for me personally, and getting it up and running was hard work.

And just generally having fun.. doing.... this... My Pi game... its still got weeks, maybe a few months left to do but I am seeing a light at the end of it

Ahthankyew

Happy its not 2021 anymore

It was quite a year wasn't it, I don't think there was a lot to salvage from it, but Jirawan and I enjoyed the time together, I hope in 2022 I can finally take her out for a nice meal in Breda....once this lockdown ends.

But be positive Brian.... Happy New Year mum, hope its going to be good, we'll try to get over to you as soon as we can but too many restrictions at the moment.

So...2022...ok resolutions......hmmm I've done that before, but of course my weight is out of control, 103kg now... there's a downside to being married to a good cook... But ok going to try and drop 23kg and get down to 80....who knows.

My Raspberry project is coming to an end..well its starting to come to an end, aiming for Feb/March its been great to work on. Also the long long horror of the colecovision project might be finally getting resolved, Another z80 enthusiast has stepped in to help push it through as I failed to overcome  the near total codeblock I had on doing assembly, I even managed to write a few lines last night, that did...nothing, but at least I felt I did something. I hope it gets done this month and I can learn from it.. the block is very real, and most upsetting. I hoped that the Raspberry project would pull me through but its a quite different psychological impact, I just can't think in z80 any more....so sooner its done and out the sooner I can bury any efforts to do any more assembly.

Time to do some home shopping too, we need a new couch, and a new bed, and at some point new bathroom and kitchen. Finances will get a bit better in June once an ill advised loan is paid off, and I think we'll use that income to fund the kitchen, Jirawan will enjoy a kitchen with a bit more space and a proper oven. Sadly no gas though, as its being phased out in NL.. strange to think that electicity is cheaper... oh well, its a summer/autumn project.

I got another week off before we start work again, online for the rest of the block sadly but hopefully we get back to normal soon. The government says 14th Jan...fingers crossed...but...cases of Covid are still high....we'll see.. I'm planning a massive curry night to celebrate end of lockdown...hope we can do it, I'll start the cooking soon and freeze the curries.

Right, off to do some coding, a bit of Z80 if I can manage it....tots ziens.

Ahthankyew