I like having a car. Both Heather and I drive, and technically, we do need them to get to work. Transport links being what they are in Leicester (read: crap), you need one to get around.
Unfortunately, my car, being Fiat, has decided, now it's ten years old, that it wanted to develop problems. Of the expensive kind. I think I understand why they're nicknamed fix-it-again-tomorrow.
Anyway, I've now got to decide whether to scrap it, fix it, or part-exchange it for a new one. Fix it is out of the question; I'm looking at almost a £1000 bill for repairs over the next year, which I can't afford. I'm loath to just scrap it, mainly because I've never been without a car since I turned 18, but also because I need it to get to work. So that leaves part-exchange. Ooh, the fun! On the plus side, I could get a nice nippy little Nissan Micra, so not all bad.
Writing-wise, the plan for Serial Psyence is progressing well. It's deviating a little from the outline, but I expected that. Besides, it'll probably alter again when I start writing it. I imagine it sounds like an odd way to do things, but the plan holds the story together, giving me a backbone on which to structure it, and the characters do have a tendency to go their own when once I'm writing.
In other news, since getting the review from A Tale of Many Reviews (who I shall be forever grateful to for giving me my very first review), I've got several more people interested in reviewing Liberator's Ruin. With luck, they'll all love it.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
It's the little things that count
I have a pet hate.
Okay, okay, I actually have many pet hates, but this post refers to one in particular.
I'm a bit of a grammar and spelling nut. Yeah, I make mistakes (who doesn't?) but it really gets on my nerves when people are lazy with their writing. In particular, misuse of words.
There are so many examples of people using 'then' in place of 'than' it beggars belief.
I understand if English isn't your first language - to be fair, it's a damned complex language that evolved organically over several centuries, and has incorporated words from other languages, notably French and German, among others. Even worse, English has words that sound the same but have different meanings (eg. there, their and they're), which makes it even more confusing.
What really gets my goat, is misuse of words in sentences. Going from my earlier example, one is chronologically based (then - eg I will go for a walk, then have a shower), and the other is comparative, when you choose one thing over another (eg. I think I'll watch tv rather than going for a walk today).
Another I saw recently in an article on a tech site (I won't name and shame), was the use of weary instead of wary.
Maybe I'm being too harsh, but to be frankly honest, I take a lot of pride in my writing. To be sure, I don't like it when someone points out a mistake I've made, but it's not their fault. If it helps improve my writing, then it's a good thing.
Maybe it's linked with the rise in text-speech abbreviations, or maybe it's just sheer laziness. I don't know.
But I don't like it.
Okay, okay, I actually have many pet hates, but this post refers to one in particular.
I'm a bit of a grammar and spelling nut. Yeah, I make mistakes (who doesn't?) but it really gets on my nerves when people are lazy with their writing. In particular, misuse of words.
There are so many examples of people using 'then' in place of 'than' it beggars belief.
I understand if English isn't your first language - to be fair, it's a damned complex language that evolved organically over several centuries, and has incorporated words from other languages, notably French and German, among others. Even worse, English has words that sound the same but have different meanings (eg. there, their and they're), which makes it even more confusing.
What really gets my goat, is misuse of words in sentences. Going from my earlier example, one is chronologically based (then - eg I will go for a walk, then have a shower), and the other is comparative, when you choose one thing over another (eg. I think I'll watch tv rather than going for a walk today).
Another I saw recently in an article on a tech site (I won't name and shame), was the use of weary instead of wary.
Maybe I'm being too harsh, but to be frankly honest, I take a lot of pride in my writing. To be sure, I don't like it when someone points out a mistake I've made, but it's not their fault. If it helps improve my writing, then it's a good thing.
Maybe it's linked with the rise in text-speech abbreviations, or maybe it's just sheer laziness. I don't know.
But I don't like it.
Friday, July 8, 2011
What an end to the world
Well, The News of the World is shutting up shop on Sunday.
After over a century and a half of news reporting, it's a bit like an end of an era. An ignominious end, to be sure. It seems to be a bit of a sacrificial lamb, so that the rest of News International isn't dragged into the mud with it, but I don't think I'll miss it. Hey, one less tabloid in the world is surely a good thing, right?
The only people I feel sorry for are the poor sods who work at the paper who are actually don't deserve to lose their jobs. I mean, sure, they work at a veritable turd of a paper (my opinion, mind), but really, it's the actions of a few who ruined it for the rest with their bad work ethics.
After over a century and a half of news reporting, it's a bit like an end of an era. An ignominious end, to be sure. It seems to be a bit of a sacrificial lamb, so that the rest of News International isn't dragged into the mud with it, but I don't think I'll miss it. Hey, one less tabloid in the world is surely a good thing, right?
The only people I feel sorry for are the poor sods who work at the paper who are actually don't deserve to lose their jobs. I mean, sure, they work at a veritable turd of a paper (my opinion, mind), but really, it's the actions of a few who ruined it for the rest with their bad work ethics.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
First impressions count
So yesterday’s trip to view a house was a complete waste of time. Again.
Originally, we were supposed to go for the viewing last week, but at the last minute, the agent changed the time to an earlier slot that neither me nor Heather could make. A message which we only got 20 minutes before the viewing.
Not impressed.
And to compound the issue, we arranged for the viewing to be rescheduled for yesterday at 4.45pm. And they didn’t show up. Upon phoning the estate agents, they didn’t have a record of the new viewing
Brilliant.
You would think that estate agents would want to let a property. So why are they cocking up our bookings?
Maybe it’s a conspiracy.
Never mind, we’ve got another viewing round the corner from our place tonight, and another on Thursday. Fingers crossed they go through okay!
Anyway, Spider-man Shattered Dimensions did arrive last night. It kinda reminds me of the old spidey game on the ps1, with individual levels rather than a sandbox environment. It’s good fun, and the voice actors for the various spider-men are brilliant. My favourite’s a toss-up between Neil Patrick Harris’ Amazing, and Josh Keaton’s Ultimate Spider-man. Josh Keaton is fantastic as Spidey, having voiced him in the criminally short-lived Spectacular Spider-man cartoon series. Well worth a look, plus the second season’s currently £3.99 on iTunes.
I think I shall spend some more time in the red and blues when I get home – metaphorically, of course. I really don’t think I could/should fit into those tights.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Home on the Range
Only a quick post today - I'll do a longer one later this week.
Off house/flat hunting this evening after work, and most nights this week. It's a bit of a pain, if I'm honest. You see a nice looking property on Rightmove, and half the time it's gone by the time you get to view it, or it doesn't live up to the photos.
We're doubly limited by funds, so we can't afford a high rent at the moment. It might even mean we have to down size to a one bed place. We'll be pretty stuck for space, but it'll only be for a year - that's life in a recession for you. That and our circumstances hopefully will start changing next September.
Anyhoo, fingers crossed we find a nice enough place by the end of august so we can move out of the student-infested hole we currently reside in.
On another note, my copy of Spider-man Shattered Dimensions on the 360 should arrive today, so that's something to look forward to!
Off house/flat hunting this evening after work, and most nights this week. It's a bit of a pain, if I'm honest. You see a nice looking property on Rightmove, and half the time it's gone by the time you get to view it, or it doesn't live up to the photos.
We're doubly limited by funds, so we can't afford a high rent at the moment. It might even mean we have to down size to a one bed place. We'll be pretty stuck for space, but it'll only be for a year - that's life in a recession for you. That and our circumstances hopefully will start changing next September.
Anyhoo, fingers crossed we find a nice enough place by the end of august so we can move out of the student-infested hole we currently reside in.
On another note, my copy of Spider-man Shattered Dimensions on the 360 should arrive today, so that's something to look forward to!
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