Nick Jordan

I went to see my doctor this morning and I have some good news to report. She’s agreed that shortly I should start reducing the dosage of my medication with a view to getting off it completely, which obviously pleases me very much. I certainly feel a lot better than I did, and have real hope that the worst of my depression is firmly behind me. It’s going to be good to get back to normality and to be able to enjoy the odd drink again.

I’ve just got back from seeing District 9 and I’m very glad that I took the trouble to go out and see it. Even if science-fiction isn’t usually your cup of tea I’d still recommend it. Yes, it’s a none-too-subtle commentary on the way we treat immigrants and those we perceive as being different from ourselves and yes, it’s not saying anything new. But it’s clever, engaging and, to use the word so many others have applied to too many films, gritty. The pseudo documentary format of much of the film works well, the acting is good and the special effects are, as we’ve all come to expect these days, superb.

The only criticisms I could really level at it are that it’s quite predictable and that the ending is all-too-obviously leaving the way open for a sequel, presumably to be called ‘District 10′. That having been said, it’s well worth the money and the couple of hours of your time. You won’t be disappointed.

I’m really not a computer games fan. I’ve tried them and, for the most part, I really don’t get on with them. The only games I can consistently tolerate are first-person shooters, driving games and Scrabble (and Wordscraper) on Facebook. The games I really can’t stand are the ‘management’ type things. I’ve tried the Sims and I’ve recently been playing Farm Town on Facebook. The problem with these games, I think, is that they quickly become more like work than a means of relaxation. If I don’t tend my crops they’ll die. If I don’t constantly pander to my Sim he/she will be unhappy and I couldn’t have the misery of a computer-generated person on my conscience.

I know that many people love these things. They lovingly tend their Sim, farm, city, amusement park or whatever and seem to derive real pleasure from them. That’s great and I wouldn’t for one moment wish to deny them that. But for me there’s no enjoyment whatsoever in slaving away at an essentially meaningless  and never-ending task. So I’ll stick to blowing stuff up and being beaten at word games. Now if someone could combine Unreal Tournament with Scrabble…

I always thought that for most people a dual monitor set-up was complete overkill, totally unnecessary. However, the other day I hooked up my monitor to my laptop so I could watch a DVD on it while lying in bed and discovered that, actually, it’s really handy to have that extra space. It’s great when I’m watching a film and want to surf the web or chat via instant messenger, or if I just want a larger browser area than is available on my laptop’s screen. I’m completely hooked and I freely admit that I was wrong. It’s only been a few days and already I’d find it unpleasant to go back to my old setup.

‘Lying down’ NHS staff suspended. Is it me or does this seem to be an overreaction to a bit of harmless enjoyment. Somebody in management has clearly had a sense of humour failure. Besides, things like this are generally good for morale and, if there’s no danger to patients as a result, why shouldn’t staff let off a bit of steam and have a little fun?