Quiet weekend in.

[zotz]

Alice Stewart, the epidemiologist I mentioned in my last entry, has died aged 96. The Guardian obit is here. It's been a quiet week, but not unproductive in work terms. Seven this month, which was better than i expected for a lot of it. I got sent an extra copy of First Annual Report by Diverse Vinyl so I had to flog it to a friend (what trauma). I also picked up some tickets to see The Damned with my boss and her sister, in Northampton. This should be a laugh, but I'm not entirely sure about how many people will be there - it's next week and I got tickets 4, 5 and 6. Still, time will tell. There's an only slightly misleading article about them on the Beeb - obviously nobody specifically mentioned that the rest of the world exists, so the London-based journalists have assumed that there aren't any concerts apart from their one. Good to see that the profession is keeping up its usual high standards.

The Galloway and Porter book sale was on today also, and I got taken for better than a dozen volumes, including a new road atlas to replace the one I lent to shekhmet and keep forgetting to ask about (you can keep it if you want - I'm obviously never going to remember to ask for it. Anyway, the replacement was mondo cheap), something by Rollins, Richard Hell's 1973 novella "The Voidoid", a book on the GIMP, a copy of Tihkal, a couple of copies of God Bless You Dr Kevorkian - a good haul, basically.

I need during the rest of the weekend to go to the supermarket and buy food - and offload a whole load of recycleables while I'm there. I could also do with a spade (explanation follows) and a little drainer for the cutlery, and to drag my machine back out and get to work burning a CD or two. And mow the lawn, do some reading, conquer the world and the rest of the known universe, end death disease and conflict, uncover the secret of life . . . it's just work work work sometimes.

Anyway. The spade. My room still isn't finished. the cables for the TV, net and telephone are still emerging from the middle of the floor. I asked NTL (ack spit) to send someone round to reroute them, but on the day in question nobody turned up. On my third call I discovered that they'd realised the previous week that they were going to be understaffed, so they moved the appointment back. And didn't tell me. Most helpful. When it came time for the rearranged appointment, the technician came round, took one look, refused to touch it and rescheduled again.So we're due someone on the 11th. I AM GOING TO MAKE DAMN SURE THEY HAVE NO EXCUSE THIS TIME. This involves digging out the cable where it dives under the foundations and making sure that it's free within its little conduit. I'm not having them cracking the concrete floor to do the job, no matter how much they'd enjoy it. So I need a spade. For some reason the place has no fewer than three garden forks, but no spade. Not even a trowel. I actually am tempted to get some cable and a crimping tool, dig out my soldering iron and do it all myself. NTL would flip, but they've made no serious effort to solve my problem themselves, despite me asking over a month ago. Once that's done, I can arrange getting a carpet, and eventually curtains. Maybe even move back in, if I'm feeling enthusiastic.

Addendum : Most of you have probably seen this, but I had a look today after having kboyd point it out to me a while back. An animation at www.matazone.co.uk

Comments

[bootpunk.livejournal.com]

re matazone: Aha, that explains the "I can smell your brains" T-shirt I saw someone wearing last Weds night.

There should be a goth/Black Santas one, with I can smell your pint/cider. If I wasn't so damn busy I might even try doing it myself (d'oh).