Time Is Not An Infinite Dimension In Space

12:09am: Honesty In Advertising
Laura(00:09:17): sheguards (00:04:01): And then this will be sold in an ebay listing where I will try not to insult it too much

Tzi(00:04:04): Daddy's had good luck with his Dell

Tzi(00:04:08): *dies*

Laura(00:04:17): "Works as well as any Toshiba which is not at all really"

Laura(00:05:30): "Has a brand new charger as the old one developed a weird ticking noise and died. It's offbrand, as the last charger developed the same fault and fixing it apparently involved taking my whole laptop for over a month"

Tzi(00:05:54): My poor darling.

Laura(00:06:24): "Works for playing Sims 3 as long as you don't keep it plugged in. If you do it will overheat and die. Look on the bright side, this limits your playing to around an hour!"

Tzi(00:06:34): *dies*

Laura(00:08:00): "Occasionally bluescreens out for no obvious reason. I don't recommend asking Toshiba tech support why this is, but if you must, ask for X at head office. I'm sure she's recovered from the nervous breakdown I gave her last time I returned a completely nonfunctional machine."

Tzi(00:08:25): *giggles* I love you.

Laura(00:08:27): "Apparently under warranty for another six months. Good luck with that."

10:21pm: Because I know you all care
I hate the new fee plans for universities. Hate hate.

Shall we just stick a big sign up saying "kids from sink estates, learn your damn place at the local ex-poly" and be done with it? Because there's a VAST NUMBER of kids who aren't within travelling distance of a good university. Especially without student loans to cover travelling costs.

Want to compare Teesside University to one of the big Good Ol' Boy Unis? Really?

My baby sister graduated last week. From Durham. (she got a damn good degree as well, thankyouverymuch) And we sat among the masses of porsh upperclass accents and giggled a whole lot, because we knew damn well our own thick accents stood out like a sore thumb. Kids' from council estates already start a dozen steps back. Can we QUIT MOVING THE LINE BACK, please?

Also, I hate Nick Griffin. I need to not watch tonight's news because I now want to punch someone in the face.

I would write to my local MP again, but I think it might just come out as incoherent screaming.

8:31pm: Noted for future fic-ing
sheguards (20:00:49): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8126671.stm
sheguards (20:01:04): Does this remind you of Making Money or is it just me?
aislingodubhaine (20:05:10): lol omg yes, yes it does.
aislingodubhaine (20:05:41): Question is, is there a closet clown running the place?
sheguards (20:05:56): And a small dog
aislingodubhaine (20:07:18): Yes. And a mad scientist in the basement.
sheguards (20:09:07): I'm imagining there's probably a position of "guy who checks the gold is still there" going with them shortly
sheguards (20:13:42): Also, I know that picture is at a funny angle but... it appears to be of copper coins to me. Are they actually gold?
aislingodubhaine (20:14:37): Ha, indeed. And I can't really tell either ... They look morelike copper though ...
sheguards (20:14:58): I was just picturing the photographer being told "No, you can't photo the gold we've lost. You idiot. We lost it."
aislingodubhaine (20:20:30): "You have one of those lenses that finds missing things, do you? Call us if you get one, we could really use you then." XD
sheguards (20:21:03): "You can photo the space where it used to be if you want."
aislingodubhaine (20:23:35): "We could get someone to sketch what it might look like, but to tell you the truth, none of us remember well enough what it looked like, it's been so long ... "
sheguards (20:23:57): ...there should be a Making Money fic about this
sheguards (20:24:04): There really should
sheguards (20:24:37): With Vimes and the hard stare

8:06pm: Pratchett strikes again?
Does this remind anyone else of Making Money, or is it just me?

10:40pm: Hullo?
There are only 4 people on my AIM.

Did the world end?

8:38pm: Random thought of the day
I feel the Stig should be a Power Ranger.

Hides behind helmeted costume to hide true identity, drives massive powerful machines.. IT ALL WORKS.

8:27pm: Prizes
Got in at 7. By 8...shopping is unpacked, two cherry cakes are in oven and I am eating tea of pork chop, new potatoes and sweetcorn in front of top gear.

I caught myself thinking that I deserved a prize for this amount of domestication and then realised that the prize for making cake.. is cake.

(If I made, maybe 8 cakes? I might run out of cherries)

CAKE! Though I had to use two small aluminium disposable tins so mine looks...nothing like this.

4:08pm: I have no willpower
This should surprise no-one. But the car boot sale stall sells fruit AMAZINGLY cheap and, well, everyone has a weak spot.

I have uh. Bag of satsumas. Punnet of peaches. Punnet of nectarines. Pound of grapes. Pound of apricots (this looks like a hell of a lot more than a pound to me. I think he got sick of weighing stuff). BOX of cherries (somewhere over three pounds?)

I'll eat a lot of it just as is, but does anyone have any decent recipes? (I have no food processor, so smoothies are out.)

7:37pm: School's Out Forever Poll Is Up!
All done!

(I never knew there were so MANY school-like stories in the world.)

12:28am: HUGE News!
UK people! Do you remember the old milky way advert with the red car and the blue car and the bridge?

Well, it's BACK!

I just did a little dance when it came on Dave. 1989 IS CALLING MEEEE

(But smart ol' blue, he took the milky way)

10:24pm: Discoveries
Have just discovered that What Katy Did had five books in the series and not, as I thought, three.

I'll be over here with Project Gutenburg for the night *delight*

9:29pm: This bugs me
Laura(21:20:30): Is it VERY wrong that every time I see that "women need to settle down and have babies earlier" news article, my brain subtitles it "women need to settle down and have babies earlier, say lonely single male scientists"?
Kat(21:23:14): No
Kat(21:23:15): It's not
Kat(21:23:23): Because I also question the basis of this research
Kat(21:23:37): also, if the scientists would like to STOP ME FROM DATING LOSERS, I bet I could get on with it
Laura(21:23:48): *DIES*
Kat(21:23:59): FIX THAT FIRST, YOU OVER_GROWN PRICKS
Laura(21:24:52): Yeah, the second subtitle adds "Of course, as we're all higher rate tax payers, we'll also hate you when you're single mothers after the horrible divorce."
Kat(21:26:54): *DIES*YES
Kat(21:26:55): YES YES YES
Laura(21:27:18): I MAY BE A LITTLE BITTER

1:23pm: School Story Fic Exchange
After throwing the idea about for a day or so, 'tis done.

http://schoolsoutforever.dreamwidth.org/

Come join? It doesn't matter if you're busy right now - hand in isn't 'til September, so you'll have AGES.

6:50pm: Further Attempts To Release Inner 12 Year Old
After I mentioned Chalet School, people started mentioning other things I'd forgotten being in love with, like Mallory Towers, and St Clares', The Naughtiest Girl in the School and the only faintly-remembered Trebizon.

And my brain helpfully supplied other things I'd forgotten associating with the boarding school genre, like A Little Princess, Little Men, even Billy Bunter. (My boarding school reading phase appears to have been a little more obsessive and eclectic than I remembered.)

So, I ask this tentatively, in a my-god-what-am-I-thinking? way, would anyone be up for a school stories fic exchange? It wouldn't be to start for at least a month yet, but I'm vaguely conscious that I'd need at least that time to a) gather the various schools into a list, and b) give a sign-in period anyway. I'm thinking to do hand-in at the beginning of September, just because it feels completely appropriate to hand in school stories at the end of the summer holidays.

(I am in two minds about whether to include more modern series such as The Babysitters' Club and Sweet Valley High in this. On the one hand they're not boarding schools, on the other I can't help thinking they're the modern day Chalet School equivalent.)

Would anyone be interested, or should I stop finding excuses to read my kid sister's book collection?

2:42pm: I Miss Being 12
Somehow, my paypal account has, with no assistance, ordered several Chalet School books we didn't have off ebay. I cannot think how this came to pass, but if I start telling you that things are simply beastly, or that they're absolutely topper then it's not my fault.

Research has shown me several things. Firstly, that there are several authors who have written "authorised fanfic" - something I suspect Brent-Dyer would wholly approve of, as even JOEY started out by writing school story fanfic. Girls Gone By has apparently purchased the copyright and is working on reprinting stuff in small runs - which makes the books costly, but, I guess, better than not having them at all. Also, there appears to be a paper fanzine which I'm currently resisting joining.

Precious little fanfic online that I could find though. One archive last updated in 2006. I did venture into ff.net and uh... then ventured back OUT again.

...how many of us exChaleteers are there? Am I the only one with a hankering for outdated girls' boarding school stories? I would be totally on board with a fandom revival. Especially if someone wrote me Juliet fic.

12:38pm: Durham Miner's Gala
Here's how it goes.

There's this thing called the Durham Miners' Gala Great big march through most of the north to Durham, huge gathering of trade unionists. There are banners, and brass bands, and speeches and suchlike.

I cheered them on until they left the village last year, and it was good. Our village never quite gave up on communism and from a heritage point of view, if nothing else, it's something that's kept up.

This year it's the 125th Miners' Gala, and I was planning to drive along to Durham afterwards to watch. With all the fuss about Labour, I want to see what is said in the speeches, and besides that, it should just be a good day out.

However, there's the whole safety first aspect. I'm starting to worry a little about the possibility of the BNP showing up, or if it gets a little rough. Lindsey Oil Refinery have just walked out again, and all this union activity should mean it would be quite busy there even if it WEREN'T the anniversary. Because of that, I'd rather go as two or three people rather than me on my lonesome.

Would any UKers like to come along? I've got a spare room, an additional spare bed that pulls out in my room, and if all else fails the front room, so you could sleep over here without worries even if there's a couple of you :-). If you don't drive, I can pick you up at Newcastle Station Friday night and beetle you back to mine. We could even make a sleepover weekend of it, with pizza and the like.

You'd be looking at the second Saturday in July - my calendar tells me that's the 11th. Anyone up for it?

12:07am: Someone Remind Me I Want This
( Chalet School fanfic wanted )

12:54am: It may kill me tomorrow but...
There's a couple of us on AIM result-watching if anyone wants to join us. Though I think we have to hop to News 24 in a minute.

(NO BNP IN WEST MIDLANDS! I LOVE YOU, WEST MIDLANDS!)

12:02am: Urgh
When they elected a BNP MEP in Yorkshire and Humber (dammit, I was BORN there) I got out the emergency Hotel Chocolat.

When they put Nick Griffin on TV I got out the lemon liquor.

Hopefully, they will not elect anyone else from the BNP. Emergency supplies running low.

(This is the UK, right? There'll be a protest on the guy's house? Possibly involving superhero costumes? Right? Please?)

10:19am: Someone Here Will Know.
Okay. I haven't read the Chalet School books for a few years. So, I need to know, what are they scared Robin might get? Asthma? Cancer? Leukemia?

They keep referring to it as "that thing we dread" which is just bewildering. And that Joey blames it on Robin being *worried* one night when she didn't come home doesn't help.

12:37am: Evita's Turn in Gordon the Musical!
( So, what happens now? )

9:30pm: When You Don't Get Canvassed With Policies... Make Them Up?
I was slightly thrown by my voting paper having a Christian Party, when we had no leaflets whatsoever from them.

Vicky has, and says their motto is "Vote for God".

We are unsure of God's opinion's on Europe.

I feel that the Tower of Babble shows that God would prefer us not to be part of Europe.

Vicky argues that the Kingdom of Heaven might be in Europe for all we know.

Anne says that God must be a resident and citizen of an EU country to be eligible, and that if he's representing the UK, he can't represent any other country. That has to piss some people off, especially Italy. (We could however see the Vatican's MEP being able to make the claim of having a vote from God).

Kat says that they need to define if they're representing the Old Testament or New Testament God, as these are likely to have radically different stances on Europe. The Old Testament God, if voted in, might smite us all for pork products, and really is unlikely to get on well with Germany. And there would probably be some invasion involved somewhere.

Really, speculating is far more fun than actually looking up the website. I feel it should continue!

9:56am: Oh hurrah
I feel BETTER.

Thank GOD.

Seriously, there's nothing like waking up after a knockout headache and... there is no pain. It's gone!

(Ears still feeling a bit itchy and stuffy, and nose still stuffy so I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to prevent re-occurence)

9:56am: Oh hurrah
I feel BETTER

9:34pm: If My Head Falls Off, I Blame You
Okay, NHS direct have clearly gone to hell in a handcart.

I was calling to verify the Vicky's diagnosis of sinusitis and to find out if I'm likely to get a headpat and a "come back if its still bad in a week" if I go to the doctors tomorrow. Because dammit, I'm not getting up at 8 to call for an emergency appointment, and struggling down there for a headpat.

7PM "We're busy and only dealing with urgent cases. Please only stay on the line if it's urgent. If you stay on and it's identified as nonurgent, we'll arrange to call you back"

Well, it's nonurgent and I'm a good girl and obedient. So I hang up, figuring hey, just after dinner, busy time.

8PM "We're busy and only dealing with urgent cases. Please only stay on the line if it's urgent. If you stay on and it's identified as nonurgent, we'll arrange to call you back"

9:30PM "We're busy and only dealing with urgent cases. Please only stay on the line if it's urgent. If you stay on and it's identified as nonurgent, we'll arrange to call you back. THIS WILL BE IN FOUR HOURS SO YOU MAY WISH TO CALL BACK ANOTHER TIME."

I thought NHS direct WAS FOR nonurgent cases?

(I gave up in any case. I'll call my doctor tomorrow)