Random stuff

My brain's too manic/hyper at the moment to focus on one thing for long right now ...

Gaming is helping there as it forces focus on one thing so you beat the game instead of the other way around. Work's more of a struggle because of juggling lots of different things. (If there was no challenge, there would be no fun).

Current game is Deus Ex Human Revolution (still!) because it's just downright awesome. Within its limits it is easily one of the best games I've played for a very long time. The downside is that it is another On Rails game where you are herded along the storyline. The upside is that you can tackle getting through the story driven missions by whatever method you choose. For some reason, I always go the Pacifist route which must say a couple of things about me :

I prefer the sneaky beaky route to getting stuff done.
I'm such a powergamer I go for the tougher route for better reward
(being Pacifist gives more experience to the character)

Resistance to getting Skyrim is dropping ... A more open ended game might be on the menu to follow on from Deus Ex HR.

Skin stuff - my legs are almost completely back to normal now :-) That's been a Very Long time coming. The problem first surfaced in July and spread until a patch roughly 6 inches by 3 inches on my left calf was affected. It also got infected (ick). It's not completely healed yet (right leg is behind) but is definitely headed the right way. It worsened until the end of August when I got stuff from the doctor. I've also changed the stuff I put in the washing machine. I think the washing machine stuff is the main thing that's turned it round. The doctor stuff will have sorted out the infection but I think an allergy to washing machine stuff may have caused a problem to turn bad.

So that's another tick for "yes I should be able to play cricket again this summer" :-)

Which takes me to : when did sport shops become slaves to fashion instead of places you could get sports gear ? You'd think that one thing you'd find in all sports shops would be supports for joints. My old knee supports were getting really manky and their velcro wasn't up to the job any more so I got some new ones last year. However I think the new ones initiated the leg troubles due to being too tight. So I need some new knee supports ... can I find some ? They're rarer than pink hats !

Ah well - I guess a trip to Globe Sports is in order.

And I just looked in the clearance area on the Globe Sports site, which was a horrendously dangerous thing to do. (I may also need new spikes and those bats are real shiny)

Driving ...

Oh crikey how standards on the roads have fallen. It's been a fairly gradual decline but those roads are definitely a lot more Evil now than they used to be. I partly blame modern cars as they insulate the driver from the dangers of the road. In the days of my first 2 cars before the days of the Safety Nazis, you wouldn't dare get close to anyone. One tap by another car and that Mk1 Fiesta and Mk1 Astra would have folded like the bacofoil they were made out of.

And moving swiftly on before I go into rant mode ...

Hybrid cars and the cold - Because of the warm up sequence, hybrid cars don't do so well in the cold. In the winter, the engine of my Lexus CT is having to stay on far more in order to keep itself and the cabin warm. The last fill up was 43mpg, down from my current average of 47.6. I'm hoping for more in the summer but I don't help it with the short trips I typically do.

Music :

The library is growing ... I'm almost up to 5000 "enabled" tracks in the library. "Enabled" means it can turn up in the shuffle or on the iPod. For a track to be "disabled", it'll either be a duplicate or commentary. So for the iTunes Original album I have for The Cardigans (likely to get the Norah Jones one too), I disable the commentary from getting in the shuffle but I'll listen to the whole thing when it comes around as an album.

Oh - latest additions are the 2001 sound track, Strange Little Girls by Tori Amos (which includes an "I don't like Mondays" cover), Sheryl Crow's collection and Endlessly by Duffy. So far the Duffy album isn't as bad as I thought it might be and the Sheryl Crow is better than I expected.

Manic/Hyper/Hypo and the diet

The diet is still progressing slowly, I've lost almost a stone. I don't want to lose much more than that to be honest but need to start some kind of training in order to move weight from ballast to useful. I think the change of munching habit has initiated me going more manic, which is good and bad.

Good Manic - I have more energy and can zoom around when I need to
Bad Manic - not a good idea to be manic at bedtime (=insomnia), plus there's a downside when I come down from the hyper. I also have to make a conscious effort to get things correct and focused.

But - having more tendency to hyperactivity is much better than the alternative which gets me locking into depressive cycles. That's a nasty downward cycle when it happens because it makes me focus on : loneliness, abused muscles and bones and general feelings of worthlessness. That's really bad for the confidence. The hyperactivity means I don't dwell on the bad stuff.

Friends (to finish on an Up point !)

I have great friends. I know a few of them read here. I'm really thankful for all the friends I have. They're all very special in their own ways. We're all different, with those differences making us interesting. But it's amazing when there's a few people who can keep up with me when I go hyper (like the one who guesses all the codenames I use with ease!). Although sometimes I think they're keeping up with me to satisfy that old saying "his people would follow him everywhere, if only out of curiosity".

Still, intelligence is a very rare thing and not always obvious. Common sense is far better an indicator of intelligence than the ability to do calculus. I definitely get on better with smart people.

PS Pizza cravings are back ... And there need to be more movies shown in 2d in the cinema so I can use the 2 vouchers I have that expire on 31 March ...