Flogging Games

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

Today I went into a Computer Exchange shop in order to sell some games I haven’t played in a very long time and probably won’t want to play again. Foolishly, I assumed that I’d simply be able to hand them over and take the cash, but apparently it’s more complicated than that. Before I can sell them anything, I have to open an account and before I can open an account I have to provide two forms of identification, one of which must include a photo. So, I have to try again tomorrow, taking my passport and a recent utility bill with me. All for (probably) less than ten quid’s worth of games.

I was (and am) strongly opposed to the idea of ID cards, but I have to confess that even I thought, albeit momentarily, that it would have been handy in this particular situation to have had one. Then I came to my senses and remembered just how deeply flawed the whole idea is and gave myself a mental slap for being so stupid. It does go to show, though, how easy it is to persuade the general public of the usefulness of such a system.

Living Crafts

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

On Saturday Juliet and I, accompanied by her mother, went to the Living Crafts fair at Hatfield House. We were pretty hungry when we arrived so we headed straight for the food area, where Juliet’s mum bought us each a pork baguette, which was delicious. Afterwards, we had a good wander around the stalls, picking up some really lovely sausages and cheese, among other items. We also really enjoyed looking at the goats and the barn owl that were present, and chatting to the guy on a stall that sold products made from dog hair (yes, really!). All-in-all, a good day out.

Flat Hunting

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

Having discussed the matter at the weekend, Juliet and I have decided to live together. This will necessitate both of us moving as my studio flat, while great in many respects, just isn’t big enough for two and she’s currently living with her parents. I’m not particularly tied to Walthamstow and as long as I can get to work reasonably easily I really don’t mind too much where I live. Essentially, the whole of the Greater London area is fine.

I’ve had a look at properties online and it looks very much as though we’ll be able to get a decent one or two bedroom flat within our budget, which would be great. Living in a studio is all very well but it’s not ideal when you have guests. Our other requirements are quite modest: somewhere to park, a reasonably safe area, ideally not ground floor and ideally with access to green space.

There’s no desperate rush to find somewhere either, as we can both stay where we are pretty much indefinitely. This gives us the opportunity to look for somewhere that we really like, without having any pressure on us.

Am I happy about all this? I’m ecstatic.

Unseen Academicals

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

This morning I finished Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett, having started it only a couple of days previously. It says something about how enjoyable this book was that I read it so quickly; it was just too good to put down.

This book is the usual blend of characters from Ankh-Morpork: the wizards of Unseen University, Lord Vetinari etc. – even a quick cameo from Death, my favourite. It also introduces some new ones, in particular Mister Nutt, a person of surprising ability given his lowly position as a candle dribbler at the University. This story revolves around football (that’s soccer to you Americans) and, while I have no interest at all in the game, that didn’t matter as what the book’s really about is people and a chance for Mr. Pratchett to philosophise once again.

If you like the other Discworld books, you’ll probably enjoy this one. If you haven’t tried any yet I think this would be a poor place to start as the assumption is that the reader is reasonably familiar with the location and major characters already.

Screen Burn

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

I’ve just finished reading Screen Burn by Charlie Brooker, which was a Christmas present from my lovely girlfriend. It’s a collection of Mr. Brooker’s TV columns in the Guardian from 2000 to 2004. If you’ve not encountered him before, he’s a deeply misanthropic but very funny writer with a penchant for trashy TV and a fine taste in comedians (he likes Jerry Sadowitz, in other words).

In many ways the book is a trip down memory lane, packed as it is with rants about series and one-off programmes that I, at least, had completely forgotten about. If you enjoy reviews where the critic concerned positively foams at the mouth but in a very witty way then, apart from also checking out Mark Kermode’s film reviews, you should definitely read this.

Off Sick

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

I’m currently off work with a pretty nasty cold. Not the end of the world, I know, but it still feels very unpleasant. It started coming on on Sunday night and by Monday morning I felt ghastly. So, all this week so far I’ve been kicking around my flat reading, watching films and feeling like crap.

I’ve also been feeling pretty guilty about not being at work. I know that it’s stupid to go in when you don’t feel up to it and I really, really hate people who drag themselves in when they’re contagious and spread their nasty diseases to everybody else, and yet I can’t help but feel bad for not being there. I like my job and I like the people I work with, and I feel bad for letting them down.

When I worked in jobs I hated many moons ago, I felt much less bad about it when I was ill. I put my feet up and read my books with a clear conscience. These days I’m fortunate enough to have a job that makes me feel crappy for not being there. I should feel good about that and I guess I do.

Early Trains

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment
IMGP7867 by mattbuck4950, on Flickr
IMGP7867 by mattbuck4950, on Flickr

On a couple of occasions recently I’ve arrived at a London Overground station on time, only to find that my train arrived early and, much worse, left early and I’ve missed it. This is, as far as I’m concerned, even more frustrating than the trains running late.

Surely, if a train arrives at a station early for some reason the driver should be made to wait at the station until the scheduled departure time, so that those of us who arrive just in the nick of time aren’t made to wait on a cold, windy platform for the next one.

Inside Man

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

Last night I watched Inside Man, starring Denzel Washington as a police detective who’s pitted against a bank robber played by Clive Owen. At first, the robbery seems straightforward, if clever, but as the story unfolds it becomes apparent that much more is going on than meets the eye. With good support from the likes of Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer and Willem Dafoe, the tale develops at a good pace and in interesting directions. Spike Lee’s directing keeps things taut and exciting and shows New York City off nicely.

This is one I’d definitely spend good money on, having rented it, since I think it will only improve with further viewings. Recommended.

Episodes

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

Last night I watched the first, um, episode, of Episodes, a new sit-com on Channel 4, starring Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig as a pair of comedy writers and Matt LeBlanc as, apparently, the star of the US version of a hit UK TV comedy supposedly written by them. I say ‘apparently’ because he only put in an appearance at the very start of the show, being involved in a car accident with Greig’s character, the rest of the programme being a flashback.

I have to say that I expected more from this cast. The gags, especially a piece of shtick with the security guard at a gated community in Beverly Hills, fell pretty flat and I didn’t smile once, let alone laugh. However, it’s really hard to do much with some stories until you’ve set the scene and established the characters, so I shall reserve full judgement until I’ve seen a bit more. I hated Only Fools and Horses at first, and look how good that got in its heyday. Maybe I’ll write a bit more once we’re well into the series.

Next

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

Last night I watched Next, a film starring Nicolas Cage as a man who can see into his own future. The catch is that he can usually only see two minutes ahead, which is enough to allow him to run his own magic act and make a little money in the casino, as well as avoiding a certain amount of trouble, but not enough to allow for really big stuff.

The plot revolves around the search for a stolen nuclear device, and a government agent’s attempts to involve our hero in tracking it down and preventing a disaster. All Cage’s character really wants, however, is to pursue the girl of his dreams. The film is based on a story by Philip K. Dick, a science-fiction author of some note, and largely stands up well. I particularly liked the surprise ending, even though it left the story hanging a bit. I felt that the bad guys weren’t really sinister enough, and were completely one-dimensional, but they’re really almost incidental to the plot.

On the whole, then, a thoroughly entertaining movie, and well worth renting. I’d buy it if it was suitably cheap (as it is at Amazon right now) but not at full price.

Bill Bailey – Dandelion Mind

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment


For Xmas my lovely girlfriend Juliet bought me Screen Burn by Charlie Brooker (review to follow, once I’ve actually read it) and Dandelion Mind by Bill Bailey, who I’m very fond of.

The DVD is of the quality we’ve come to expect from Bill Bailey, with the usual verbal nonsense interspersed with musical items utilising a large variety of instruments, both ancient and  modern, notably the oud, a middle-eastern instrument similar in appearance to the lute. I won’t spoil your fun by listing all the musical treats on the DVD, but I will say that we’re treated to the usual blending of genres. If you really must know, I’m sure you’ll find clips on YouTube. Personally, I’d just buy the DVD and enjoy the experience on a proper-sized screen.

If I had to level any criticism of the show at all, it would have to be that it’s way too short. This is not to say that you don’t get your money’s worth – you most certainly do – but only that however long the thing is, it’s not enough.

Sherlock Holmes

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

I’m currently reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes, which I got as an ebook from Amazon, and I have to say that although I’m only halfway through I can already highly recommend it. I expected it to be fairly tough going for some reason, probably because of the era in which it was written, but it’s actually a really easy read and thoroughly compelling.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle manages to bring the characters of Holmes and his sidekick Watson out beautifully, even though he tends to avoid long descriptive passages. Perhaps that’s because we’re fed little titbits of information in each story, or perhaps it’s simply that the characters are so well-known that we already have a good idea of who they are before we even pick up the book.

I confess that a part of me was dreading reading The Hound of the Baskervilles, simply because I’d seen the screen adaptations and somehow doubted that the book would live up to them. Odd, because I almost always prefer the book to the film when it comes to stories. However, I’m delighted to be able to say that the book is, as it should be, much better than any movie or TV version. Read it for yourself and you’ll see.

All in all, I’m thoroughly enjoying the book and would very happily recommend it to anybody.

New Year Resolutions

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

Most years I try to avoid making resolutions, since I know I’d just end up breaking them. This year, however, I’m going to make an exception. So, here they are:

  • Be more sociable
  • Leave my comfort zone regularly
  • Find a regular activity that gets me out at least once a week

I think you’ll agree that these are modest aims, but at least that means I stand some sort of chance of achieving them. We shall see.

Ask Nick – Bloggers

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

Yet another one from Ian:

I have a sort of “where are they now question”. What happened to all the UK “Proto-bloggers” those that were around in the year 2000-ish? Sadly the media and unreliable ex’s mean we know what happened to Brooke (Methylsalicylate) but I’m sure there must be some other interesting stories out there… Perhaps there’s a coffee table book in it (I’m calling dibs on royalties at least for the idea!).

I know what happened to a few of them as they’re still about on Twitter, Facebook and the like. Every so often I wonder about the possibility of organising a bit of a reunion, but I’m not sure how many would be willing or able to come, especially as so many of them seem to have left London and, in some cases, the country.

I’m not sure that a coffee table book would be appropriate, but maybe a few blog posts or something. If there’s anyone still reading this who used to come to the old Blogmeets in London, it’d be great to hear from you and find out what you’ve been up to.

Ask Nick – Amazon

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

Another question from Ian:

Firstly, thanks for answering my other questions. I have another one, although it might not be entirely your specialist subject. Where is my Amazon order? Tracking info suggests its in Scotland at the moment, will it arrive in time for Xmas? And most importantly what do I do if it doesn’t?

You’re very welcome, Ian. Always happy to help.

I can’t, of course, tell you where your Amazon order is right now, but it looks fairly likely that you won’t receive it in time for Xmas. I’d suggest, therefore, that you apologise to the intended recipient and explain that you’ll give them their gift as soon as you can and, if you’re able, pick up a small token item so that you still have something to give them on Xmas day.

Ask Nick – Post Natal Meals

~ Nick Jordan ~ 4 Comments

Another one from Angela Howard:

I’m expecting a baby in a few week and I want to make some nice meals that I can freeze and reheat whn I’m exhausted and up to my eyes in nappies, any ideas what would be good? I hate ready meals and I’d like to make some things that Pat, the children and I can eat that are easy, but still taste nice and are reasonably healthy.

An interesting one, this, because I’m often in need of something quick, simple and tasty myself. When I was younger my mother used to make large batches of shepherd’s pies and cottage pies and bung them in the freezer. Grab one, reheat it and add some mixed vegetables and you’ve got yourself a decent meal with very little effort. So that’s my recommendation.

Ask Nick – Insomnia

~ Nick Jordan ~ Leave a comment

A bit of a medical question from Angela Howard:

What causes insomnia?

There are a number of things that can cause, or contribute to, insomnia. These include:

  • Stress, depression, anxiety or grief.
  • Physical illness such as asthma or pain.
  • Noise or discomfort.
  • Some medicines.
  • Stimulants such as caffeine.
  • An irregular sleep routine.
  • Alcohol

There are other causes, too, but I think I’ve got the main ones. As to what to do about it, that really depends upon the precise cause. If it persists, though, I’d definitely recommend talking to your doctor.

Ask Nick – Christmas

~ Nick Jordan ~ 1 Comment

Another seasonal question, this time from Ian:

At this time of year I often find myself having to type the name of the “holiday”, you know the one on the 25th. But as an Atheist I’m troubled, should I use a capital C as it’s the name of an event, or does that confer too much recognition of the history of it’s name and indeed acknowledge the C bloke too much. Or should I use a lower case C to display my dismissal of the aforementioned geezer, thereby not acknowledging its status as a proper-noun which surely it is? Your considered answer would not only reduce the head scratching which my ill-covered bonce can scarcely afford, but would also save me untold time as I won’t have to have the same argument with myself every time I send an email for the next few weeks.

As an atheist myself, I’ve wrestled with this dilemma in the past and come up with the following. Since Christmas is a proper name and the correct name of the festival, I see nothing wrong with using a capital ‘C’. If this makes you uncomfortable for any reason, you could do as I do and use the common abbreviation, ‘Xmas’. As well as solving your problem rather neatly it’s also quicker to type, which is handy for us lazy types.

At the end of the day I’m not sure it really matters all that much. As I get older I find that I’m less inclined to spend hours agonising over trivia than I once was. Remember the basic rules:

  1. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
  2. It’s all small stuff.

Follow the above and I think you’ll be much happier.