Corsair

Crime and Punishment is a a superb book. The description of a strange dream where they beat the horse to death really bothered me first time I read it. I pretty much stopped reading for about 10 years, but this year I have made a real effort to get back into it. I have been reading the 'classics', the last book I finished was Wuthering Heights. I have gone completely off this track though with the latest - Just as a bit of a space/NASA nerd it is fascinating.

Spent far too much of my teenage years on Cube-Europe and the associated IRC channel (2001-2004 give or take). Amazed to see names that were familiar way back then still posting here. It was a whole lot busier but back then forums were one of the best places to get information/news and have a chat with people with similar interests.

By buying a house you are basically relying on a bunch of pratts and idiots to do things in a timely manner which almost never happens. I agreed and worked towards a moving date suggested by the vendor and they still left me hanging until the last minute to confirm they had done everything. The hold up? They decided to return their contracts to their solicitors by 2nd class post rather than 1st. Yea don't worry, your desire to save 9p on a stamp is well worth inconveniencing me on a six figure purchase. It all works out in the end even though it feels like it will never end.

The 1987 election is basically the primer on why FPTP is a farce. The results show up the ridiculousness of the system. The material that was provided by the No campaign in the AV referendum was laughable and downright dishonest in places but with no heavyweight politicians making the case for it it was always dead in the water. Anyway my prediction is a Labour minority government with the SNP providing confidence and supply, and we will be back holding another election before the year is out. A sort of modern retelling of 1974.

Lol, not really...

I completed the game earlier today, pretty underwhelming final boss fight, but whatever, its done! Just under 50 hours. I think this one is harder than Dark Souls 1 overall, and that the quality and challenge is maintained for a longer time (a lot of people dislike the entire second half of DaS 1, for me there is only one terrible area).

Where to start with today! Been looking for a new job and on Friday I was told I had been invited to a telephone interview scheduled for this morning at 11am. Great, I think to myself. So this morning I am just writing up a few notes, checking the background of the company, the usual stuff. I knock my phone off the sofa. I pick it up, put it on the table because I am always knocking it off the arm rests. At 10:10 I think I will check my emails to see if I have anything relating to the interview, pick up phone and the screen is knackered. Not smashed, but unusable. Half the screen doesn't respond to me touching it. Crap, I think to myself. Run to Asda to get a phone. I just need any o2 phone, switch the sim and I am golden. Oh, they don't have any of the £12 phone in stock. Nevermind, what about this £20 one? No they don't have that either. End up spending £41 on a damn phone as I have no choice. Get in at 10.30 with new phone in hand. Get my old sim and put it in the phone. Except it is a micro sim and doesn't register in the phone I have bought. I hadn't considered this possibility. It is 10.40. I can't ring the person who I am having the interview with because it is pay & go and obviously has no credit. Email the woman with the number of the replacement phone at 10.45, praying that it gets picked up in time. While doing this I am registering my top up card which I haven't done for about 12 years. Top up a tenner. Start thinking, shall I ring her or not, deliberating what to do. 10.53 she emails back and says no problem and that she will contact me on the second number I have provided. The interview actually takes place which is an achievement in itself. My head isn't with it though, I do the best I can but there are a few uncomfortable silences along the way. I am told I will know by tomorrow if I am invited to a face to face one. Lets see what happens. Of course the kicker is that I could have just bought any phone on any network as my sim doesn't fit anyway. I have a real knack for disasters like this. Anything vaguely important, something happens which means I end up losing focus right before it happens. My last exam at university was in a building I had never been in for the previous 3 years. I got there an hour early to make sure I could find the room. I couldn't. I spent an hour and a half running around panicking until I eventually found the room, and thankfully they let me in and sit it. When I sat down I didn't have a pen so had to ask for one from the invigilator. I mean, what a joke I must have looked. Thing was I had brought about 3, and when I finished and went to pick up my bag at the back of the room, they were all lying there. They had just fallen out of my coat pocket. I passed the exam too. Still, things like this always seem to happen. I was actually quite pleased with myself this morning though as I am quite a stresshead usually but I kept pretty calm and got sorted in the end.

I have noticed this too, a couple of bosses had me thinking that being a caster or having decent ranged weapons would make it a whole lot easier Real life has stopped my progress somewhat but I played it for a couple of hours last night and managed to -

I am stuck at the boss of the Iron Keep. I don't even survive long enough to begin to learn what his attacks are. Also I upgraded the bastard sword to +5 then realised I don't really like it lol. I just want to use something other than my broadsword!

Yea it strange how they dont compare the equipment you could buy to what you already have. Also I feel like there was a lot more weapon drops in DS1 than this time around, everything I am getting is worse than I already have. Currently exploiting the Ring of Life Protection - it keeps you human but breaks when you die. So you warp to the blacksmith, repair it for 3k souls, and you are good to go! Unlimited humanity. Oh, and you don't lose any souls either when you die.

So I have spent the first couple of hours in the wrong area, and have joined a terrible covenant that should be avoided.

Only just got in but cant wait to get started on it. I spent the first couple of hours of the first one trying to go into New Londo and wondering why I couldn't attack the ghosts. This bodes well!

Hmm, so it turns out I have already paid my car insurance this month without noticing. With a £50 payment for recycling an old mobile, looks like a weekend of Dark Souls

I really can't afford to spend money on this as my car needs fixing which is a nice chunk of change, but I have just realised the wife is away all weekend leaving me home alone... From reading around it seems this is a lot harder than DS1, but its hard to tell if its just because it is new and players dont know the world/enemies as well. For as hard as DS1 was the first time around,it was quite easy to complete numerous times and make you feel like a king for rolling through such a tough game.

The post match interview he just gave was excruciating. 4th is certainly gone now, 9 points off and games against Arsenal, Liverpool and City in the next 6.

Where to start... What a ridiculous game of football! Why we can't defend the basic stuff anymore is absolutely baffling. But to watch a team put in 80+ crosses over 90 minutes...we are so not playing to our strengths it is incredible. £37m on a world class central player and still the tactic is get the ball out wide as soon as possible to put crosses in. The team's style has to change and if Moyes can't change it, well... Also I have backed De Gea a lot since he came to Utd that save in the lead to Fulham's equaliser was a bit flappy.

Its all about finishing top 4 now. We should get past Olympiakos (but who the hell knows this season) but after that I think we would get knocked out by any team we drew, if the other matches produce the winners that look most probable on paper. Anyway FA Cup time, where we have cleverly given ourselves the weekend off

There are laws about it in almost all countries, if anything Europe is stricter than the US. The latest update for DR3 brings the total size of downloads to 25GB just to play the game. The game itself is 19.9GB. Titanfall looks visually atrocious even if it is an 'alpha', though it is supposed to launch in two months. I love my 360 but there is no chance in hell I will be getting an Xbone.

Just embarrassing. I don't know what's worse, me going mental at Hernandez's goal to keep us in a League Cup semi at home to Sunderland or United scoring 1 (one) penalty out of five. Feel for DDG thought he was gonna cry as it was going to pens but it is his first clanger of the season I suppose. As for Mata he is genuinely world class but it would be the third number 10 in our squad although he would definitely improve us. Guillem Balague says its a done deal and I hope he is right.

Yea but his waist was 68" too.

Yep more benefits porn for people to get riled about. I work with a lot of people on benefits but I guess filming a parent go to work and then go home again isn't great TV. As regards that ludicrous Daily Mail gypsy story, the key bit is the last sentence - I wonder how many people get that far before gnashing their own teeth off because her living room has a TV in it or because her kitchen has a kettle in it.