Nico's Journal

I would watch this. Actually I'm almost tempted to write it.

Oh and re my previous post? The Soft Kitty came back into stock and I ordered it and the plush Enterprise. Yesss! [rubs hands]

I enjoyed Sherlock despite having a couple of issues.
( Spoilers )

It's 2012 here but the only fireworks are in my icon because the rain clouds are too low.



We do have champagne though, so cheers!

Awww, two of the Itty-Bitty-Kitty Committee kittens have been adopted by Vorkosigan fans: they named them Miles and Cordelia. :-D

Which reminds me of two people I met at Greg's work end-of-year dinner. They have a dog called Ziva and were delighted that I recognised the name and told me that they were exercising her in the park when someone with a dog called Abby heard them calling her and came up to introduce themselves.

And then there were Bodie and Doyle, the terriers I met at the vet's a while back.

First up, have a look at what a 5Mb flash drive looked like in 1956. :-) Greg calculated it could store the equivalent of 63,000 punched cards.

And now, for anyone casting about for a challenge during their time off, a quiz about fictional computers which I nicked from a local SF magazine. I will publish the answers in a day or two. No cheating and looking answers up! I will confess that I only knew five.

Quiz: Computers in SF

1. In one of the earliest fictional descriptions of a device analogous to a personal computer, in a 1946 short story by Murray Leinster, it was called a 'Logic'. What was its name?
   
2. Who programmed the Hal-9000?
   
3. Who designed a computer-like device called the Prime Radiant to store the psychohistorical equations determining the future development of humanity?
   
4. What was the name of the Liberator’s computer in Blake’s 7?
   
5. Which original series Star Trek episode featured an experimental computer designated M5?
   
6. What is the name of the magically powered and self-building computer housed at the Unseen University?
   
7. In which TV series was a biotech computer named TIM a major character?
   
8. What was the name of the ship computer of the Axiom in WALL-E?
   
9. ANGEL 1 and ANGEL 2, the Ancillary Guardians of Environment and Life, are the control computers of the starship Challenger in which radio series?
   
10. What is the name of the extraterrestrial computer installed in the attic of Sarah Jane Smith's home in The Sarah Jane Adventures?

Our department had a champagne breakfast this morning followed an hour later by mince pies, lolly cake, chocolate brownies, and liqueur chocolates with more champagne! When I got back to my desk after that our department all had huge tinned plum puddings from our manager. I think I'll keep mine till winter. We finished at noon and not much work actually got done.

Then I came home feeling mellow and ready to relax and do as little as poss with seven library books stacked up ready to read.

So far so good.

My sister (you remember, the nutty one who has all sorts of bizarre obsessions like magic water) is going to India for two weeks to volunteer in an orphanage with five other people. No, I can't see just what they'd do to help in just two weeks, but what do I know? She wants to come up tomorrow to buy some cotton Indian clothes to wear till she can buy something there. She wants me to go shopping with her but I have several days of reading and knitting and chilling out planned and besides, it's embarrassing just being with her. I know what she'll do: tell all the shopkeepers she comes across her life story and just why she's going to India. Oy. You need a fish slice to fit a word in edgeways.

Anyway I've managed to talk her out of schlepping me along and reduced the contact to lunch out so I might escape the sister-induced migraine.

So far fairly good.

However there have been two more big earthquakes in Christchurch (probably with loads of people out shopping too) and Greg's on the phone to family about it. His mother got "thrown around a bit" but she's OK and, as ever, unwilling to leave her house in the red (demolition) zone. The latest is that there are no fatalities but some injuries. Those poor people down there; a lot of them just can't take the stress any more and are moving out. I heard a woman who won a CD on the radio this morning saying how lovely the weather was down there. And now this. :-(

It appears that NZ Post no longer delivers parcels. This is the second time in a month they've left a card at my door to say that I have to pick up a parcel at the depot--and their hours are the very friendly 6am to noon. They also say that any parcel uncollected after a week gets returned to the sender.

WTH? The whole idea of a postal service is, I'd have thought, to you know, actually deliver the stuff. They're going to get a rollicking from me tomorrow morning, I tell ya. It's enough to put me right off ordering clothes etc online, my preferred method of shopping. I'd have had the thing delivered to work but they're closing down for two weeks on Friday and I didn't want to risk it.

One of the cool things about work is having a desk right by a window, something I haven't had in most offices. This is what I can see.

( Two photos and two volcanoes )

If you don't like insects, just pass on by, nothing to see here.

Wetas are what Weta Workshop is named after, and I rather like them. I had a pet one as a kid and fed it on apples and buried it in the garden in an old chocolate box when it died.

A couple of years ago I posted about a dead weta one of the cats brought in (scroll to the last picture). That was a normal-sized one like the one I had but this is a wetapunga, a giant weta from Little Barrier Island. Apparently it's the biggest insect on the planet (the species, not that particular one); they weigh in up to 72g, as much as a sparrow. It's apparently an example of something called island gigantism, and the genus name, Deinacrida, is Greek for terrible grasshopper which amuses me. The Tyrannosaurus Rex of the insect world.

The icon BTW is of Brian the Spider from Blake's 7, a much bigger kettle of fish eggs which probably should have been called Brianette.

I've been reading and commenting but not posting because I've been getting into a new job (which is still interesting and fun!) and when I get home I only have time to catch up with my flists before Greg gets home and it's dinner and TV/DVD time.

Then yesterday I worked 13 hours in the general election as an issuing officer which is a fun if long day and a nice little addition to the bank account. We had to issue for two electorates as I was working in a polling place on the border of my electorate (Tamaki, a died-in-the-wool National one) and our team finished the vote counting for Tamaki quickly and accurately one hour after closing. However the other team, Maungakiekie, were 10 votes out on their reconciliation and had to recount while we waited around being bored and tired so we could help clean up when they'd finished. And after all that the election returned National. Sigh. Labour had such a good platform; I can't understand why people didn't go for it in greater numbers. The Greens did well though which is pleasing; pity they and Labour together don't outweigh National. Why do people continue to vote for the oligarchy? OK, enough politics already.

So today I'm knackered and not feeling much like trying to catch up on picowrimo but I may force myself to. I should also post photos and various other things I've never got round to but I just want to have a prolonged nap. I was counting on today to hit my 5k target too. [procrastinates badly by cruising Thinkgeek and loading up wishlist]

[Edit] I knew this was my only chance to reach my target before the end of the month so I steeled myself and made an effort and wrote over 800 words. I have done it! I met my target! [Rests on wilted laurels. Or wiltedly rests, whatever.]

I went to the doctor yesterday and now have antibiotics; I already feel a bit better. I hope I'm a lot better tomorrow at work. I don't think huge bouts of coughing give a good impression.

I need to take some books back to the library tomorrow. One of them is a Meg Langslow mystery by Donna Andrews. I enjoy these; they're light and funny and often geeky. Meg is a blacksmith who solves crime and has a very eccentric family, and various books have been set at renaissance faires, a fan convention (of a fictional fandom), and a computer games company. :-)

I mention this one because somehow no one proofread the back cover.

( Front and back )

It's Friday evening at last! It's been a steep learning curve (I was meant to be trained in two days when a lot more than that is needed) but I think I have it all pretty much sussed now. I still have a bad chest infection so I've been feeling pretty knackered at the end of the day, and it's embarrassing hacking away in the office. Not that I'm the only one but I think I'm the worst. I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow.

Anyway. This Rugby World Cup things that's on has resulted in different Auckland suburbs being assigned teams to support (e.g. Remuera is Scotland) and at least one car in ten flying national flags, or in our case because we have a crap flag, a black one with a silver fern on it. Several offices I've been in have different branches or departments doing the same thing in a company competition, and where I'm working that's the case too.

They went all out today at work. Examples:

• 'Russians' were dressed as ballet dancers in white tutus (the hairy-legged men too). They were a bizarre sight lined up on the roadside buying coffees from a van mind-morning.
  
• 'Australians' were in akubras (Aussie hats), some of them festoooned with corks. They also had an electric barbie in the lunch room at lunch time, frying up sausages and onions.
  
• 'Canadians' were dressed as lunberjacks. If they sang the Lumberjack Song, I didn't hear it.
  
• 'Japanese' were in martial art gear.

Today has actually felt more like early summer than spring. Flowers are starting to come out in the garden, though more than a month later than usual.

And it's daylight saving tonight! I love daylight saving (unlike most Americans I know) for the extra hour of light in the evening.

( Four photos )