Today marks the start of a very expensive period, all of which relates to my car.
I got the new car in April 3 years ago and so this year my free service comes to an end. I mean, I get this one free, but from now on it's going to cost me money. And it's going to cost me money anyway today, because as well as being in for its service, its first MOT is due. Not sure how much that is since I've not had one in a long time, but it's got to be about £35.
I'm not anticipating any particular problems, though I suspect I made need some new brake pads, which I'm guessing will be fairly expensive. Also, there's the wheel wobble which I'm hoping doesn't point to anything more than a wheel weight being in the wrong place.
Anyway, the other stuff is that I also need to get my car tax. I can do that online, but it's still another £150 or so.
Then of course there's the Nissan roadside assistance (the RAC, basically) and given the problems I had with the wheel not so long ago, I don't fancy giving that up. I've still to look at the details, but I think it's about £100 for the equivalent level to what I've got now.
And finally of course, there's my insurance, which is due. Now that I'm in my thirties and I've got a long period of no claims, that's not actually bad value, but it's still the best part of £350 for a year, which all adds up.
So yeah - at minimum, this weekend is going to cost me about £650. Money will be veritably pissing out of the bucket that is my bank account.
Friday, 12 March 2010
Thursday, 11 March 2010
venice or bust
I think I'm not hugely impressed with the Anno 1404: Venice expansion.
The problem is that the main thing it's added is the espionage element. Whilst this kinda sounds like fun, in actuality it's a little tedious.
I mean, one of the things is that, even though you're doing espionage, which is meant to be secret, in reality it's more like sabotage. Plus it's not secret. If you do anything, then your victim knows it was you - how is that espionage?
Plus it focuses on adding another of the more tedious elements into city management. Basically, there are a couple of things in the game that I always found a bit boring and tedious. These are kinda 'passive' elements, in that you build the building and then essentially they do their job independent of you.
Of course, they take up space and add cost to your city, which makes them annoying and that's why I always used to turn them off. The things in question are the carpenter, who repairs building and the fire station, that puts out fires.
I mean there are a few other similar things - the game can have storms and sandstorms too - but again, those are pretty tedious, so I used to turn them off too.
Well, the espionage introduces another building like that. The acts of sabotage you can do also mean that you need the other buildings I turn off, because you can start fires and stuff.
Plus, whenever there's an enemy spy in your city you have to do a mission to find them before they cause any problems. Well, those missions were always the most tedious as well - the 'find the person' missions.
So I'm roundly unimpressed.
There are some good aspects - there have been some good game mechanic tweaks (which I suspect are actually mostly in the v1.2 patch - not sure if that's available without the game), for example, and having the new Venetian NPC is quite good. Plus volcanoes are interesting.
They've also done lots of scenarios, which can be fun, but there's no new story element. I would have liked the game much more if there's been a new story-based campaign, I think, as I really liked that part of the original game.
So yeah - mixed bag.
And what doesn't help is that I got so far with my previous open-ended game and the thought of starting a new one, especially now I'm back watching anime and just starting scanning again, actually feels like something I don't want to do.
The problem is that the main thing it's added is the espionage element. Whilst this kinda sounds like fun, in actuality it's a little tedious.
I mean, one of the things is that, even though you're doing espionage, which is meant to be secret, in reality it's more like sabotage. Plus it's not secret. If you do anything, then your victim knows it was you - how is that espionage?
Plus it focuses on adding another of the more tedious elements into city management. Basically, there are a couple of things in the game that I always found a bit boring and tedious. These are kinda 'passive' elements, in that you build the building and then essentially they do their job independent of you.
Of course, they take up space and add cost to your city, which makes them annoying and that's why I always used to turn them off. The things in question are the carpenter, who repairs building and the fire station, that puts out fires.
I mean there are a few other similar things - the game can have storms and sandstorms too - but again, those are pretty tedious, so I used to turn them off too.
Well, the espionage introduces another building like that. The acts of sabotage you can do also mean that you need the other buildings I turn off, because you can start fires and stuff.
Plus, whenever there's an enemy spy in your city you have to do a mission to find them before they cause any problems. Well, those missions were always the most tedious as well - the 'find the person' missions.
So I'm roundly unimpressed.
There are some good aspects - there have been some good game mechanic tweaks (which I suspect are actually mostly in the v1.2 patch - not sure if that's available without the game), for example, and having the new Venetian NPC is quite good. Plus volcanoes are interesting.
They've also done lots of scenarios, which can be fun, but there's no new story element. I would have liked the game much more if there's been a new story-based campaign, I think, as I really liked that part of the original game.
So yeah - mixed bag.
And what doesn't help is that I got so far with my previous open-ended game and the thought of starting a new one, especially now I'm back watching anime and just starting scanning again, actually feels like something I don't want to do.
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
zack and miri make a porno
Most of Kevin Smith's films - especially his first few - were set in the "View Askewniverse". What this meant was that they were all set in the same world, so although the main character of each film might change, the characters from other films would be kicking about somewhere.
Some may appear as secondary characters or as cameos, or not at all, but the idea was they'd all be kicking about somewhere. The films were all pretty much also set in Smith's native New Jersey, although they'd occasionally venture elsewhere too.
But the key point was that the films all shared the same sense of humour and the same overly-verbose style of writing that Smith built his career on.
But more recently, Smith has tried branching out. For example, there was Jersey Girl, which was definitely not a VA film and also marked a very different style, notably with the huge monologing dialogue pretty much gone. By all accounts it tanked.
And that's been kinda a theme: when Smith has done a VA movie - a 'proper' Smith movie - they've done good business, but when he steps outside, there's been a tendency for a more mixed reaction. Sometimes you can see why, but others it's not so clean cut - I quite enjoyed Jersey Girl, for example.
Anyway, the point is that Zack and Miri isn't a VA film, but it might as well be. There's a lot in common here with the VA stuff - the humour is the same, the monologing is very much in attendance and even the theme of the movie is very VA. But it doesn't feature any of the VA characters and isn't set in Jersey, etc, etc.
It does feature some of the actors who have been in VA films, though they don't play their VA characters... except they're not 100% different.
See what I mean - it's technically not a VA film, but it doesn't really represent a huge departure, ether. It's like Smith wanted to make a movie similar to the other VA stuff but by tweaking some things he thought he could sneak it past people and hence break out. Only he change enough stuff, so it's a half-way house film.
I know I've wibbled on a bit about the same basic point for ages, but it kinda sums up my feeling on the film - because it's not a VA film, it kinda feels wrong, somehow. Because it's meant more as a regular comedy, the insertion of the usual Smith stuff also feels odd.
Which isn't to say there's not plenty to laugh at and that the story basically hangs together, it just disconcerted me a bit. I enjoyed it, but it confused me.
There was one element that didn't really work for me, though. The making of the porno stuff felt like a kind of rose-tinted view of it. I mean, they didn't really have any particular problems making the thing. Well, there was one big setback, but for example, there were no performance problems for the porn stars, even though most of them weren't actual porn stars.
Plus the porno that they were making looked like it would actually have been really bad, but then I think that was kinda the point.
I was also a little disappointed with the package - there were no extras at all. I mean, I appreciate it's probably a rental version, but it would have been nice to have something by way of extras.
Some may appear as secondary characters or as cameos, or not at all, but the idea was they'd all be kicking about somewhere. The films were all pretty much also set in Smith's native New Jersey, although they'd occasionally venture elsewhere too.
But the key point was that the films all shared the same sense of humour and the same overly-verbose style of writing that Smith built his career on.
But more recently, Smith has tried branching out. For example, there was Jersey Girl, which was definitely not a VA film and also marked a very different style, notably with the huge monologing dialogue pretty much gone. By all accounts it tanked.
And that's been kinda a theme: when Smith has done a VA movie - a 'proper' Smith movie - they've done good business, but when he steps outside, there's been a tendency for a more mixed reaction. Sometimes you can see why, but others it's not so clean cut - I quite enjoyed Jersey Girl, for example.
Anyway, the point is that Zack and Miri isn't a VA film, but it might as well be. There's a lot in common here with the VA stuff - the humour is the same, the monologing is very much in attendance and even the theme of the movie is very VA. But it doesn't feature any of the VA characters and isn't set in Jersey, etc, etc.
It does feature some of the actors who have been in VA films, though they don't play their VA characters... except they're not 100% different.
See what I mean - it's technically not a VA film, but it doesn't really represent a huge departure, ether. It's like Smith wanted to make a movie similar to the other VA stuff but by tweaking some things he thought he could sneak it past people and hence break out. Only he change enough stuff, so it's a half-way house film.
I know I've wibbled on a bit about the same basic point for ages, but it kinda sums up my feeling on the film - because it's not a VA film, it kinda feels wrong, somehow. Because it's meant more as a regular comedy, the insertion of the usual Smith stuff also feels odd.
Which isn't to say there's not plenty to laugh at and that the story basically hangs together, it just disconcerted me a bit. I enjoyed it, but it confused me.
There was one element that didn't really work for me, though. The making of the porno stuff felt like a kind of rose-tinted view of it. I mean, they didn't really have any particular problems making the thing. Well, there was one big setback, but for example, there were no performance problems for the porn stars, even though most of them weren't actual porn stars.
Plus the porno that they were making looked like it would actually have been really bad, but then I think that was kinda the point.
I was also a little disappointed with the package - there were no extras at all. I mean, I appreciate it's probably a rental version, but it would have been nice to have something by way of extras.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
pray continue, my good man
Continuing from yesterday...
6) I got infected by Malware from icanhascheeseburger.com
I used to go there every so often and look at the lolcats for a little light relief, but on Wednesday Lunch I got some malware from something on the site. Specifically it was one of those bogus anti-virus jobs that claims to find stuff and then gets you to pay for software that does nothing.
I've no real idea what it was that infected me, but it kinda ruined the afternoon of work, as I spent a lot of time getting rid of it.
7) I updated trismugistus.com
I've uploaded a new review for steamboy and already prepped two more weeks. I've also got a further dozen or so where I've done the review and scanned stuff, but I need to actually turn them into reviews I can upload.
It's weird that it's March already - it only seems like yesterday I was last updating the site, but it was November since my last review and Christmas since I uploaded the chrimbo message. I can't believe that Easter is nearly upon us!
8) I bought some new shoes and clothes
My current ones are falling apart and I'd been meaning to for a while, but never got round to it - much like everything on this list! - so I got a new pair.
I find the sizes weird - these new ones are a 10, but others I've got are 11s, and these 10s don't feel uncomfortable. Well, no more uncomfortable than any new shoe while you're breaking it in. The sizes seems to vary so much from shoe to shoe. Or maybe my feet keep changing sizes - who knows?
I also bought some clothes. Being so fat, I have to get special big-size clothes. There wasn't much of a selection at the usual place I go to. I hope they're not going out of business and running down there stock and it was just a case of me catching it "between lines".
Do clothes shops suffer during recessions? I honestly don't know :/.
9) Steam sucks cock
This is steam by valve, not steam the boiled water.
Basically I put a bunch of auctions up last week on e-bay and they came to an end on Sunday, but someone contacted me asking if one of them - Modern Warfare 2 - would be accompanied by access to my steam account.
After some investigation, I found out that when I registered it on steam, as I was required to on install, that basically locked the CD-key I got with the game to my steam account.
If I'd known I would have set up a special account for the purpose, but I didn't, and I'm unwilling to hand over my entire steam account to someone else.
But seriously - what the fuck is that all about? I mean, it really pisses me off the way these piracy controls have been going - I've now got a game I've no interest in ever playing again that I can't sell second hand.
Selling games second hand is almost at the heart of gaming - it's why the astronomical prices they charge for new games doesn't hurt so bad, because you know you'll get a chunk of it back again. If you're now saying that that's dead, then I may well have to stop buying your games altogether.
In a way I don't even blame them - it's the fuckers that are the pirates that have driven it that way. But still, there should be some consideration for us legal purchasers - what about the ability to simply transfer your CD key from one account to another?
Anyway, it also meant I had to piss off some poor bloke on e-bay who won the auction in good faith, sent his payment and then got all these messages from me apologising, saying it couldn't be transferred and then refunding him his money.
10) I did some scanning and watched some anime
This has to be one of the biggest shocks - I not only sat down and finished Maria Holic, but I also started Dragonaut: The Resonance. Indeed, I've gotten 10 episodes into dragonaut (I think if I'd gone for a half series, I might have made an extra push and finished it, but I didn't, so I didn't). Here are some mini review type notes:
Maria Holic was very inconsistent. Some episodes were very funny, but others a lot less so. Indeed, some were more like a proper dramas than something in a comedy. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best drama, so that didn't really help matters.
Also, I have to admit this is one series that could really have done with a dub. Several of the characters talked incredibly fast and with a few translation notes popping up too, it was horribly difficult to follow at times without pausing and rewinding.
Dragonaut I've been kinda enjoying. I read a lot of stuff totally slating the series, but I think it's alright. I mean, I'm not gonna pretend it's the greatest thing ever, but it's not bad either. Well, not so far, anyway - maybe it goes terrible at the end?
I've a sneaking suspicion that a lot of it is fuelled by the rather extreme character designs, which features more than a few boobs-bigger-than-heads characters. But then to be fair, the actual fan-service is relatively minimal. I mean, there's even been a "hot springs" episode, and even that had little fan service in it. Indeed, it wasn't really a hot springs - more like a swimming pool/water flume place, so everyone was in swimming costumes, rather than naked like they'd be at a hot spring.
And here's the real kicker - I did some scanning too!
Half of it was scanning the freebies and fliers I get with my cd-japan orders, of which there were a surprisingly large number, but I also did a complete issue of megami! I know, I was stunned too.
And while I scanned, I watched some fansubs (it's almost like the old days!):
Needless
Bit of a mixed feeling on this. I kinda liked the first episode, but the second was rather badly paced.
Overall, the show seemed to bare a close resemblance in tone to Gurren Lagann - a mish-mash of familiar ideas, but done with lots of gusto and energy. However, in the second episode there were long periods of people talking at each other (and supposedly during a fight :/), which smacked a bit too much of Dragonball Z syndrome and cheap budgets.
So I dunno - I'd probably watch it, but I've a feeling it would annoy me almost as much as I liked it.
Hipira: The Little Vampire
This is a series of shorts. It's actually cg animated, but it's done in such a way as to look more like normal anime than most.
In essence, it's a kids show and while there's nothing wrong with that, it didn't really appeal to me, to be honest.
I think I might have a bit of the old vampire fatigue too - they're absolutely every-bloody-where.
Charger Girl Juden Chan
A while back I was... well, I wouldn't say up in arms, but I was a bit miffed that Crunchyroll's streaming of this series was being edited. You should note that this was before I'd come to the conclusion that Crunchyroll's streaming is a hateful experience, so it was with reluctance at that time that I dl'ed an uncensored fansub version .
Well, to be perfectly frank if I'd known what Juden chan was like I would have not bothered and tried the Crunchyroll version (as I say, before I came to my current stance on Crunchyroll streaming). Now I say this without any sort of assurance that what I found objectionable is the stuff that's been removed, but I'm fairly sure it is.
The stuff in question is pee.
At least I'm pretty sure it's pee - it's yellow, and it runs down the female character's legs so I'm pretty sure it's pee. Trouble is, there's also a suggestion that it appears not only when the character gets knocked out (and hence looses control of their bladder - quite what the appeal of this fetish is I really don't know. It keeps cropping up in Ikkitousen and to me it's just plain gross.) but also when they're getting sexually aroused.
Of course that's sexual arousal in that faintly misogynistic way that still crops up in anime where the merest hint of contact with a woman's nipples, breasts or crotch area instantly has them dripping. Even when the person touching them is a complete stranger or, worse, a rapist or molester.
To be frank, this is the one aspect of mainstream anime that really annoys me. I can understand it in the total-fantasy that is the world of hentai, but in non-hentai anime, it's just plain wrong, because it's just plain wrong in real life.
I dunno - it's a double standard from me, I guess, as mostly I like fan-service, but to me there's a world of difference between getting a flash of panties or boobs and this.
Anyway, the point is, if it wasn't for the girls peeing themselves all over the place, this would be okay, but with it in, it's just nasty.
6) I got infected by Malware from icanhascheeseburger.com
I used to go there every so often and look at the lolcats for a little light relief, but on Wednesday Lunch I got some malware from something on the site. Specifically it was one of those bogus anti-virus jobs that claims to find stuff and then gets you to pay for software that does nothing.
I've no real idea what it was that infected me, but it kinda ruined the afternoon of work, as I spent a lot of time getting rid of it.
7) I updated trismugistus.com
I've uploaded a new review for steamboy and already prepped two more weeks. I've also got a further dozen or so where I've done the review and scanned stuff, but I need to actually turn them into reviews I can upload.
It's weird that it's March already - it only seems like yesterday I was last updating the site, but it was November since my last review and Christmas since I uploaded the chrimbo message. I can't believe that Easter is nearly upon us!
8) I bought some new shoes and clothes
My current ones are falling apart and I'd been meaning to for a while, but never got round to it - much like everything on this list! - so I got a new pair.
I find the sizes weird - these new ones are a 10, but others I've got are 11s, and these 10s don't feel uncomfortable. Well, no more uncomfortable than any new shoe while you're breaking it in. The sizes seems to vary so much from shoe to shoe. Or maybe my feet keep changing sizes - who knows?
I also bought some clothes. Being so fat, I have to get special big-size clothes. There wasn't much of a selection at the usual place I go to. I hope they're not going out of business and running down there stock and it was just a case of me catching it "between lines".
Do clothes shops suffer during recessions? I honestly don't know :/.
9) Steam sucks cock
This is steam by valve, not steam the boiled water.
Basically I put a bunch of auctions up last week on e-bay and they came to an end on Sunday, but someone contacted me asking if one of them - Modern Warfare 2 - would be accompanied by access to my steam account.
After some investigation, I found out that when I registered it on steam, as I was required to on install, that basically locked the CD-key I got with the game to my steam account.
If I'd known I would have set up a special account for the purpose, but I didn't, and I'm unwilling to hand over my entire steam account to someone else.
But seriously - what the fuck is that all about? I mean, it really pisses me off the way these piracy controls have been going - I've now got a game I've no interest in ever playing again that I can't sell second hand.
Selling games second hand is almost at the heart of gaming - it's why the astronomical prices they charge for new games doesn't hurt so bad, because you know you'll get a chunk of it back again. If you're now saying that that's dead, then I may well have to stop buying your games altogether.
In a way I don't even blame them - it's the fuckers that are the pirates that have driven it that way. But still, there should be some consideration for us legal purchasers - what about the ability to simply transfer your CD key from one account to another?
Anyway, it also meant I had to piss off some poor bloke on e-bay who won the auction in good faith, sent his payment and then got all these messages from me apologising, saying it couldn't be transferred and then refunding him his money.
10) I did some scanning and watched some anime
This has to be one of the biggest shocks - I not only sat down and finished Maria Holic, but I also started Dragonaut: The Resonance. Indeed, I've gotten 10 episodes into dragonaut (I think if I'd gone for a half series, I might have made an extra push and finished it, but I didn't, so I didn't). Here are some mini review type notes:
Maria Holic was very inconsistent. Some episodes were very funny, but others a lot less so. Indeed, some were more like a proper dramas than something in a comedy. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best drama, so that didn't really help matters.
Also, I have to admit this is one series that could really have done with a dub. Several of the characters talked incredibly fast and with a few translation notes popping up too, it was horribly difficult to follow at times without pausing and rewinding.
Dragonaut I've been kinda enjoying. I read a lot of stuff totally slating the series, but I think it's alright. I mean, I'm not gonna pretend it's the greatest thing ever, but it's not bad either. Well, not so far, anyway - maybe it goes terrible at the end?
I've a sneaking suspicion that a lot of it is fuelled by the rather extreme character designs, which features more than a few boobs-bigger-than-heads characters. But then to be fair, the actual fan-service is relatively minimal. I mean, there's even been a "hot springs" episode, and even that had little fan service in it. Indeed, it wasn't really a hot springs - more like a swimming pool/water flume place, so everyone was in swimming costumes, rather than naked like they'd be at a hot spring.
And here's the real kicker - I did some scanning too!
Half of it was scanning the freebies and fliers I get with my cd-japan orders, of which there were a surprisingly large number, but I also did a complete issue of megami! I know, I was stunned too.
And while I scanned, I watched some fansubs (it's almost like the old days!):
Needless
Bit of a mixed feeling on this. I kinda liked the first episode, but the second was rather badly paced.
Overall, the show seemed to bare a close resemblance in tone to Gurren Lagann - a mish-mash of familiar ideas, but done with lots of gusto and energy. However, in the second episode there were long periods of people talking at each other (and supposedly during a fight :/), which smacked a bit too much of Dragonball Z syndrome and cheap budgets.
So I dunno - I'd probably watch it, but I've a feeling it would annoy me almost as much as I liked it.
Hipira: The Little Vampire
This is a series of shorts. It's actually cg animated, but it's done in such a way as to look more like normal anime than most.
In essence, it's a kids show and while there's nothing wrong with that, it didn't really appeal to me, to be honest.
I think I might have a bit of the old vampire fatigue too - they're absolutely every-bloody-where.
Charger Girl Juden Chan
A while back I was... well, I wouldn't say up in arms, but I was a bit miffed that Crunchyroll's streaming of this series was being edited. You should note that this was before I'd come to the conclusion that Crunchyroll's streaming is a hateful experience, so it was with reluctance at that time that I dl'ed an uncensored fansub version .
Well, to be perfectly frank if I'd known what Juden chan was like I would have not bothered and tried the Crunchyroll version (as I say, before I came to my current stance on Crunchyroll streaming). Now I say this without any sort of assurance that what I found objectionable is the stuff that's been removed, but I'm fairly sure it is.
The stuff in question is pee.
At least I'm pretty sure it's pee - it's yellow, and it runs down the female character's legs so I'm pretty sure it's pee. Trouble is, there's also a suggestion that it appears not only when the character gets knocked out (and hence looses control of their bladder - quite what the appeal of this fetish is I really don't know. It keeps cropping up in Ikkitousen and to me it's just plain gross.) but also when they're getting sexually aroused.
Of course that's sexual arousal in that faintly misogynistic way that still crops up in anime where the merest hint of contact with a woman's nipples, breasts or crotch area instantly has them dripping. Even when the person touching them is a complete stranger or, worse, a rapist or molester.
To be frank, this is the one aspect of mainstream anime that really annoys me. I can understand it in the total-fantasy that is the world of hentai, but in non-hentai anime, it's just plain wrong, because it's just plain wrong in real life.
I dunno - it's a double standard from me, I guess, as mostly I like fan-service, but to me there's a world of difference between getting a flash of panties or boobs and this.
Anyway, the point is, if it wasn't for the girls peeing themselves all over the place, this would be okay, but with it in, it's just nasty.
Monday, 8 March 2010
the dreaded return
Well, I'm back at work.
Boo!
And of course, there's been tonnes for me to do. That's one of the problems with only having a couple of days off - people just stack things up on your desk 'because he'll be in a couple of days'. If you're off for two weeks, they don't because it would take so long before you turned it around.
The weekend was pretty much a success. Certainly I did, like, 95% of what I'd intended to. Here's a bit of a list/run-down:
1) Opticians
Went and got my eyes checked. I went to the Specsavers in Farnham - well, when I got the right place I did. Bizarrely, there's another opticians just 2 doors down and I initially went in there. I used to go to an independent opticians in Alton, but the last time they bent the frames of the glasses I'd picked and so I decided not to go there again.
I haven't really had any troubles with the glasses I've got, other than they're scratched to buggery - so much so that I can see weird lines across my vision. Interestingly they said my prescription hadn't really changed, which think is the first time I've ever had them checked and they've not changed, but I got some new specs anyway because of the scratches.
It was a bit weird actually in Specsavers - all of the employees seemed to be in a rush. They all even spoke really quickly. It was like they'd all been downing coffee all day :/. I'll pick the glasses up next Saturday and I guess I can check if they're still all in hyper-fast mode.
2) My dental hygienist is a sadist
You know when the dentist tells you to "have a rinse"? There are two reasons for that - they've either just done something messy, like polish your teeth, so there's gunk all over the shop, or, they've done you some damage and they can't see anymore for all the blood.
I had to rinse three times during my hygienist appointment. None of which were due to polishing.
On the third time she'd given me my glasses back (taken off to prevent splashes getting on them) and I could clearly see big clumps of flesh in the bowl.
A big part of the problem is that the inside edge of my gums is higher than the outside edge, so whenever you stick something through the gap from the outside, there's a good chance you'll injure or impale my gum. She did that a lot.
3) Halfords don't sell wheel nuts!
This was a bizarre one. I've detailed in the blog about my wheel/tyre problems, one of which was these appalling locking wheel nuts, so I thought I'd go to Halfords and see if I could get some ordinary ones to replace them.
But they don't do them - they only sell locking wheel nuts. Initially I thought I was being stupid or that they might only be available to order, so I asked the guy at the parts desk and he said they didn't do them. The reason - they can't make any money on them.
I was a bit stunned, so I just left, but I've been thinking about it and I might get some of the locking nuts. There seemed to be some with much better designs so I may get them. Plus it means I still get the security side of having locking nuts.
4) Got my windscreen fixed and car booked in
It's only taken, like, 5 months, but I went to Autoglass and they did the old crack filling thing. Obviously I wasn't in any sort of a rush, but it took them a good 45 minutes to turn it around from when I got there.
To be perfectly frank, it's not really a lot different to what it was before, but it only cost me £10 and hopefully it means it's sufficiently good to pass an MOT. It's not in the main line of sight, so I think it should be all right.
And I booked said MOT for Next Friday. It's also going in for a service, which will be the last free one as part of my service plan. I've also asked them to take a look at the wheel wobble I've been getting. I've a dreaded feeling it might be damage from the pothole, but I'm hoping it's just a wheel weight not on right.
5) I figured out what I'd done wrong with my scanner
Basically - the answer was the same as the answer to "what's the shortest distance between two points? A straight line - basically, I was trying to thread the cables around the desk, like I do with the other cables, but actually what I did with them was simply have them hanging loose.
Unfortunately, I'd already been to PC World and bought a hugely long USB cable, but I'm sure it'll come in useful anyway. It wasn't cheap - cables are a right rip off at PC World - but I had a voucher thing my dad had given me, so it wasn't too bad.
I also...
Actually, this post is already massive, so I'll chop it in half and post the rest tomorrow, I think. That'll actually help me out because I'm off to a meeting tomorrow.
Boo!
And of course, there's been tonnes for me to do. That's one of the problems with only having a couple of days off - people just stack things up on your desk 'because he'll be in a couple of days'. If you're off for two weeks, they don't because it would take so long before you turned it around.
The weekend was pretty much a success. Certainly I did, like, 95% of what I'd intended to. Here's a bit of a list/run-down:
1) Opticians
Went and got my eyes checked. I went to the Specsavers in Farnham - well, when I got the right place I did. Bizarrely, there's another opticians just 2 doors down and I initially went in there. I used to go to an independent opticians in Alton, but the last time they bent the frames of the glasses I'd picked and so I decided not to go there again.
I haven't really had any troubles with the glasses I've got, other than they're scratched to buggery - so much so that I can see weird lines across my vision. Interestingly they said my prescription hadn't really changed, which think is the first time I've ever had them checked and they've not changed, but I got some new specs anyway because of the scratches.
It was a bit weird actually in Specsavers - all of the employees seemed to be in a rush. They all even spoke really quickly. It was like they'd all been downing coffee all day :/. I'll pick the glasses up next Saturday and I guess I can check if they're still all in hyper-fast mode.
2) My dental hygienist is a sadist
You know when the dentist tells you to "have a rinse"? There are two reasons for that - they've either just done something messy, like polish your teeth, so there's gunk all over the shop, or, they've done you some damage and they can't see anymore for all the blood.
I had to rinse three times during my hygienist appointment. None of which were due to polishing.
On the third time she'd given me my glasses back (taken off to prevent splashes getting on them) and I could clearly see big clumps of flesh in the bowl.
A big part of the problem is that the inside edge of my gums is higher than the outside edge, so whenever you stick something through the gap from the outside, there's a good chance you'll injure or impale my gum. She did that a lot.
3) Halfords don't sell wheel nuts!
This was a bizarre one. I've detailed in the blog about my wheel/tyre problems, one of which was these appalling locking wheel nuts, so I thought I'd go to Halfords and see if I could get some ordinary ones to replace them.
But they don't do them - they only sell locking wheel nuts. Initially I thought I was being stupid or that they might only be available to order, so I asked the guy at the parts desk and he said they didn't do them. The reason - they can't make any money on them.
I was a bit stunned, so I just left, but I've been thinking about it and I might get some of the locking nuts. There seemed to be some with much better designs so I may get them. Plus it means I still get the security side of having locking nuts.
4) Got my windscreen fixed and car booked in
It's only taken, like, 5 months, but I went to Autoglass and they did the old crack filling thing. Obviously I wasn't in any sort of a rush, but it took them a good 45 minutes to turn it around from when I got there.
To be perfectly frank, it's not really a lot different to what it was before, but it only cost me £10 and hopefully it means it's sufficiently good to pass an MOT. It's not in the main line of sight, so I think it should be all right.
And I booked said MOT for Next Friday. It's also going in for a service, which will be the last free one as part of my service plan. I've also asked them to take a look at the wheel wobble I've been getting. I've a dreaded feeling it might be damage from the pothole, but I'm hoping it's just a wheel weight not on right.
5) I figured out what I'd done wrong with my scanner
Basically - the answer was the same as the answer to "what's the shortest distance between two points? A straight line - basically, I was trying to thread the cables around the desk, like I do with the other cables, but actually what I did with them was simply have them hanging loose.
Unfortunately, I'd already been to PC World and bought a hugely long USB cable, but I'm sure it'll come in useful anyway. It wasn't cheap - cables are a right rip off at PC World - but I had a voucher thing my dad had given me, so it wasn't too bad.
I also...
Actually, this post is already massive, so I'll chop it in half and post the rest tomorrow, I think. That'll actually help me out because I'm off to a meeting tomorrow.
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