Beware the deluge from sqbr!

To anyone still subscribed to the feed for this blog: I'm going to have to move over the google or whatever, which may mean ALL my posts will suddenly appear on the feed. Given that I don't post to this blog any more, I'd say the best thing to do is unsubscribe from the feed.

Go friend my livejournal if you haven't already :)

My heart is wrenched in two

Well...I've decided to do it. The realtionship was stable and happy, and I thought I could compromise on our differeneces but in the end...I had to leave.

That's right, I'm saying goodbye to Blogger and moving over to livejournal. This makes me very sad, since I won't have as much control over the layout (no more tiny chickens! No more spirally dividers!!) and I won't be sqbr any more :( But despite all that lj has suckered me over with it's commenting system (specifically notifications on replies for people other than me) and the fact I won't have to deal with the feed/blog dichotomy(*).

I'm don't know what I'll do with this blog now (I'm sure I'll think of something) but for the moment it will lay idle, so you should ignore http://sqbr.blogspot.com/ and http://syndicated.livejournal.com/sqbr/ and instead direct your attention to http://alias-sqbr.livejournal.com/.

Before you complain that the sidebar is unreadable, I'm going to fiddle with the colours some more later(**). You may notice that some of my old locked entries have been unlocked. Those of you not on my friends list may be happy to see you weren't missing much, I just wanted to keep things neat. Also I'll port over the more interesting blog entries when and if it feels necessary.

So, goodbye old friend. The Roost of the Purple Chicken is dead. Long live the Roost of the Purple Chicken!

(*)That's right, people who comment on the feed, you broke my spirit. Are you happy now?
(**)In case any of you are wondering, I chose this layout becuase it allows a very small amount of css, meaning I could make my own header and set the background.

Two requests (no blargle)

Please:

• can anyone suggest a good place to get ones ears pierced? I have no idea what a good price is and keep putting off looking around.
• Don't Post On The Feed. I realised all the comments were getting lost so have started copying them over here manually. But I don't guarantee I'll always be bothered. You Have Been Warned.

Part of me is tempted to swap over to lj, I am kind of sick of Bloggers skeletal comments system.

A link and some blargle

I have made a website compiling information on wedding stuff, for anyone who's interested. I haven't put everything on there yet, but I can feel the enthusiasm for the project is temporarily drained so I may as well post it now.

With any job, I have two priorites. First, do it well. Second, don't look like an unproffesional idiot. With the Siemens science school, I managed the first ok, but failed miserably on the second. Oh well, at least the kids went home happy and educated.

And now, it's time for some... I need a word for "longwinded babbling about only marginally interesting bits of my life". Like many people I do it a fair bit and it would be nice to go "God! Enough with the blargle!" or "blargle under the cut" and people would know what you meant. Assuming I could work out Blogger cuts. Anyway.

Recently I decided to rejoin the Brights forum. I left about a year ago, partly becuase I was using it to procrastinate on my Phd, and partly becuase I felt rather conflicted. I joined to be able to explore my opinions on religion, philosophy, ethics etc with lots of different people with whom I could assume the starting position that there's no God(*). Which is exactly what I got, but only in between lots of the sort of stupid crap that goes along with a religious discussion forum on the interent. And by gum atheists can be smug. Also the forum theoretically exists to help organise pro-Bright causes and I eventually realised that I feel about Bright-rights the same way I do about womens rights(**): Yes, they're a worthwhile cause, but there are others that feel more important/neccesary to me personally, like the environment. But then I was invited to be a facilitator (like a moderator, but more so. Or something) which I felt would be an educational experience which it was. Also really frustrating, with the trolls and the idiots and the fact I'm not naturally suited to being a Figure of Authority. Still, in amongst it all were some cool people (mostly the other facilitators :)) and interesting conversations. But it wasn't enough, and I left, saying I'd come back when I was done Phding. Which I did (but resigned as facilitator) and... I don't know. Still, I've friended some of the cooler facilitators, and apparently they all left around the same time as me and are also pondering if it's worth the pain.

Also, if you think the Brights are kind of wierd and up themselves, well, maybe a little bit. But they are nothing to the Universists.

(*)No offense to all the religious people with whom I've had discussions, they're great too, but I wanted to get into the real nitty gritty of my views on the nature of the universe etc, and interfaith conversations tend to be rather vague and universal.
(**)Only more so. Much more so.

In sickness and in health

Well! This week(*) has been a rollercoaster of of emotions. I got a job at the Siemens Science Experience starting Monday and so was rather upset to wake up on Sunday with absolutely no ability to talk for no reason (at least with a cold you know it'll go away) I was sufficiently better on Monday to go to training but then couldn't find anyone which made me Very Sad until I was cheered up by this lovely first year I tutored last year who happened by. Which is kind of embarrassing but never mind. Anyway, I eventually found everyone (including my replacement: Anil!) and then saw a doctor (Reflux?? It was reflux?? I got medicine and a no-caffiene rule) and after a slow start with me in a daze all Tuesday things have gone pretty well. I was a little worried about keeping 23 14-yr-olds under control but they're mostly well behaved and enthusiastic. Zero interest in maths or CS as far as I can see, but today we had a talk on physics and afterwards I talked about the twins paradox and wormholes etc which was fun, some of them were adorably enthused :)

The doctor says the reflux is probably a long term thing, which makes sense given the list of foods which cause reflux bears an uncanny resemblance to the list of foods I avoid becuase they make me feel like crap.

Oh, and we had a rent inspection tommorrow I was kind of worried about and have been preparing for over the week, and got home today to find a note saying "From your calendar you obviously didn't realise it was today. 'Scool."(**)

Finally, if anyone cares and has gotten this far, I and Cam's current "settled" plan for the wedding (haha) is to rent a hall and get in caterers, probably Temptations.

(*)For a certain definition of week
(**)Not what it actually said :)

Inklings

Briefly:

• I've done a new comic.
• Pavla rocks because she gave me free vegetables from her supernaturally wonderful garden (it's like something out a book or gardening program)
• Oliver rocks because he gives me lifts and thus has been awarded the Giving Lifts Medal of Honour.
• I'm bored.

EDIT: Is it just me or does Henry from this Decemberists clip look like a muppet, specifically the host of Buzz!? Maybe it's just cos I watched Smile Time (SPOILER!*) recently.

(*)For Angel Season 5. In case anyone cares...

HAP-py new year

DISCLAIMER: This was writen at 1am on too much caffiene.

Well! And so it is 2006. I really wanted to go to Dave and Karens and/or Shay & Fe's parties but Fate (and me not grasping at oppurtunities quick enough) intervened, and I ushered in the new year with a group of Live Action Vampire Roleplayers and engineering Phds I didn't know from Adam. Which was ok, I geuss.

Some things I intend to do this year (prefereably this month) which you, my minions, can help with:

• Hang out with people I really like(*). If you're not sure this means you, offer me lifts and it will :)
• Get some red fishnets. This means giving someone else the not-quite-red pinkish fishnets mum got me for xmas. Any takers? Largest size.Though I may decided to keep them when I'm more lucid.
• Get my ears pierced. Any recomendations for places to get it done? I'm just going for bog-standard lobes.
• Give stuff away. Some sort of people-swapping-stuff-they-don't-want remains-to-charity day(**) sounds cool but complicated. Not sure I can be bothered.
• Set a date for the darn wedding.
• Throw (low-key) party for my set of units. (Inspired by my friend Alex Nayef who did this for her large set of units, as well as inviting all her friends and family. It was cool)
• Part of me like's Alex N's mum's idea of a non-fiction book club (stuff like "Guns Germs and Steel" which coincidentally is on telly on Monday) but I have been BURNED on the whole book club thing. So maybe not. Burned I tells you!
• Rasberries soaked in peach schnapps. Given how nice rasberries in vodka is (had at party) and I hate vodka and love peach schnapps.

Watched final season of Angel. Was ok, rather predictable (with one or two exceptions ;)) and did indeed have a somewhat crappy ending. Better than the last episode ever of Farscape, though. Cam showed me the last 5 minutes and..gee. Also the loose ends from season 4 (angel again) which had bugged me were tied up.

Finally, I'm sure Sheldon doesn't read this, but hopefully at least one of Margaret or Lily does: I checked, and the only ingredient of garlic powder is...powdered garlic. Hah! (This stems from me saying I sprinkle it on stuff when I crave that fast food taste and them saying it's probably just as unhealthy and not really made from garlic) Nerr!

(*)Since I kind of like pretty much everyone :)
(**)a la Mrs Schlock Mercenary(***), though I was thinking it before.
(***)The description isn't archived or I'd link it. Wife of guy who does Schlock Mercenbary does something like that every month.

The Circle is complete

Well! Thanks to Phlebas expressing enthusiasm over my last update I felt inspired to draw the last two panels of the page I was working on, and now.... Chapter One of A Circle Of Stars is complete! Woohoo!

Yes, 21 pages over five months isn't exactly lightening speed, but it's more than I've done before so I'm happy. I still need to fix up some inconsistencies (Velasco's coat gains a fluffy trim somewhere between pages 16 and 18, for example) but eh. I'm not sure I'll ever do Chapter Two, since while I have several pages of scripts written out, they refuse to coalesce into a plot per se. Maybe I'll draw them up anyway.

I'm actually feeling pretty cruddy today. I got complacent about the times I've eaten cheese at parties and not felt bad the next day so ate a bunch at lilysea's afternoon tea and now my throat's gone all swollen. Noone to blame but myself...

Also, Cam's parents gave us an electric organ, yay! I'm having heaps of fun playing chords to songs I like very badly.

Bah Humbug

I've had an ok christmas, though as anyone who has witnessed will attest it is not wise to make me eat a meal late. I get cranky and am less prone to pretend I like candles. (Candles! Again with the candles! Why?) Also my mum (bless her soul) managed to get all three things she bought off the gift registry just a little bit wrong, which I stopped being annoyed about the moment I remembered she got me a big day out ticket for my birthday :) Also Classic FM played an Oscar Wilde story which made me cry becuase I'm a big sook. Anyway! Enough festive angst, time for a festive comic!!

Finally, for anyone not on my friends list here is my first attempt at an animated icon gif. I've decided it's perhaps a bit impolitic for it's intended use.

It's not supposed to be about terrorism or anything topical, by the way, it's just a pun. Also, anyone else who expresses surprise at me having a mean sense of humour gets me imagining me hitting them on the head repeatedly. (Yeah, that'll show 'em. heh heh heh)

EDIT: FINALLY! Have put up next three pages of ACOS. Also updated cast page and created "deleted scenes" section. Sleep now.