Kouros Kourosington's World of Fun

A Very Long Time.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:48:00 +0000

Some time in the past, I seem to remember a fellow blogger referring to blogging as a form of therapy. In fact, I know this is something I've counted on at various times over the last few years.

In short, I think it speaks volumes that I haven't been blogging since I left my last job, and yet I am so sorry I've been away. This blogring has a fantastic community, and I feel a bit of shame not being a contributing part of it.

I'm still here. I'm still around. Sorry I've not been as vocal as I could be (I'll try to correct that) but I've not got as much to vent at the moment as I used to. I guess what I'm coming to realise is that as good as it is to be able to say what is weighing down on you, it is made that much better by knowing that someone is listening.

Thank you, all, for that.

I see dead people.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:27:00 +0000

I'm not entirely sure, but I think I see more folk lying unmoving at the side of the road than the national average. Or maybe it's just that I just stop more than most (at least judging by the number of people that rubberneck and drive past as I'm checking them out).

I see an average of one every two years... that's not right, is it? Or is it? Really... are there a relatively large number of people who just collapse or have a kip in verges, even in the rain?

So far they've all turned out to be alive, at least after a little prodding, but I guess its only a matter of time. I do need to get my First Aider qualifications up to date as well, just in case.

I've been abused by a drunk woman who had previously been face down in the gutter for checking if she was alive. Thanked by an old lady who had fallen over and sprained her ankle (someone else arrived at the same time as me and took her to hospital) and had two pretty incoherent replies from guys with what I can only presume were mental health difficulties, the only real resolution was to call the Police and leave it to the professionals.

The latest was yesterday, in the pouring rain. We were on our way to see Mamma Mia! because there wasn't much else to do as it was so wet. It's quite good fun, by the way. I rather surprised myself by enjoying it.

Anyway, as we drove along the road, I spotted this guy lying on the pavement, head resting on his arm. Remember, this is Monsoon Britain. We pulled over at a nearby pub (and yes, the thought did cross my mind about the cause of his sleepiness) and I jumped out to check on him. He was alive (thank God) but started rambling about ambulances checking on him, but refusing to let him on board and other stuff.

I asked him if he might be more comfortable in the bus shelter (where at least it was dry, and somewhere I could point the authorities to if need be). Alas, the bus shelter was behind him... he doesn't go backwards, only forwards apparently.

He got up, and started shambling on. We popped to the Police and made a suggested someone might like to check he hasn't got lost from his carer and went to see the film. We drive back along the same route, and there he was, a little further down the road (forwards, of course) asleep on the wet, muddy grass next to a bus shelter. He wasn't there or anywhere on the road when we came home, so fingers crossed the Plod or someone else did come to give him a helping hand.

So that was exciting. I do wonder when I'm going to encounter my first violent zombie though.

Last Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:55:00 +0000

WooHoo!

I still haven't received a written confirmation of the job offer. Allegedly I start Monday...

Why Is It...

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:14:00 +0000

...that most sporting events never seem to end, tying up television schedules for weeks or months on end only to be repeated the following year, and the Olympics is over before it seems to have really started?

Litterbugs.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:01:00 +0000

It's a curious thing, that human trait to turn the other cheek. It's even curiouser when, for no godly apparent reason, you decide not to.

I had such an encounter earlier today, when a young lad left the local shop with an ice lolly, and dropped the wrapper on the floor. I asked him to pick it up, and he did. He left around a corner, and then came back a few minutes later with a couple of older brothers who wanted to know what my problem was.

Apparently, dropping litter doesn't matter and its just rubbish, as they informed me. The little sod grinned and dropped it again. I asked them if they'd mind people dropping little outside their house. Their reply was an eloquent "I'd tell them to fuck off"

I like to think that everyone left the encounter a little more knowledgeable, but I think not. In fact, I'm fairly certain that the young tyke became too excited by his roast dinner waiting for him at home and forgot all about littering, at least judging by his exclamation of "Faggot!" as we all went our separate ways.

Volunteers Please!

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:54:00 +0000

I've been having a play creating a website using Joomla - not something I have a huge amount of experience with. I promised Ween I would make a small site for our wedding with a gift list on it, photos and such like. I figured if I was doing something for us, I may as well do something other folk can use too.

This is as far as I've got. Ignore the latin, it's just filler text until I think of something witty to put on the front page, and the design I intend to start from scratch rather than using a template - however if anyone out there would be so kind as to sign in and offer any criticisms or feedback, it would be greatly appreciated. I will reward you by blogging a bit more often.

Username: demo
Password: demo123

The ultimate goal is that users will have a direct link to their profile (e.g. http://www.unione.co.uk/sarahandpete) but I haven't quite got that working yet. Also you'll note I haven't actually added the gift list yet either... shh! Don't tell Ween!

Twaddle.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:23:00 +0000

According to Stu's Laziest Blogger ticker, I am that. Or at least I was, until this post.

There is a couple of reasons why this isn't the case. Firstly, I have started posting elsewhere. Yes, this is both bad and wrong, but it is also true. I've enjoyed myself doing it, and as rubbish as it may be I hope that anyone else of a similar bent may be interested in following it.

Secondly, I need to refer back to my previous blog, in which I said...

I suddenly find myself in a position where I am hating, really hating, my job again.

I am going to be very careful here and say that I was not overstating the situation. Certainly, my job did not involve putting kittens into a bag and taking them down to a river, but it also wasn't something I was overly enjoying.

In perfect James May stylee, however, Good News! I have been offered a JOB.

Moving swiftly back to important blog-worthy matters, what you may notice from the Other Place I have posting (apart from the thing that will not be mentioned) is that I have been cycling a bloody long way. Yes, I cycled from Romsey to Swanage and back, about 140 miles in total.

Although I came back in great pain, I strongly recommend others to have a go too. It was great fun. Yes, we over did it. We should have given ourselves an extra day, but by jove it was good. Bikes are the way forward.

Being outside, understanding the terrain you are crossing, the distance, the elevation, the weather... it all adds to a holiday. By simply jumping into a car and driving somewhere listening to Radio 2 seems somehow crap in comparison. I'm sorry, but it's true.

I've arranged to take a few more of these holidays with my cycling buddy (also my best man) and I'm thoroughly looking forward to them. Maybe if you're in the New Forest area one weekend, you might want to join us?

Haven't we been here before?

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Sat, 31 May 2008 16:55:00 +0000

I suddenly find myself in a position where I am hating, really hating, my job again. It largely stems from part of my role, which starting as a minor part, and has now almost engulfed the entire job. Basically its not a particularly enjoyable thing to do, and it doesn't make me popular with the students. Considering that the vast majority of my working life involves interaction with students, this is a Big Thing.

I've started drinking more again. A lot more, the bottle of red to myself every night kind of more.
I know it isn't helping matters, but I've got myself trapped in that place.

Naturally I have been applying for alternative employment, and I have my fingers crossed over a couple of possibilities, but many of them involve a quite serious pay cut. Paying for the habit is one thing, I can always kick that if necessary, but finding it tough to pay the mortgage is something else.

That said, I am tempted to simply hand in my notice on Monday, and deal with the consequences later. Maybe get a few temping jobs to pay the bills and see what happens after that, but I just don't know.

Wax and wane

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:29:00 +0000

You know how the moment you finish washing your car a bird is going to take a nice big poo over your windscreen?

Yesterday I had my car valeted, washed, waxed, top up the fluids that needed topping up and generally felt good about driving the monstrosity for the first time in years.

Today a numpty on a motorbike decided he no longer liked the idea of using brakes and used my rear end to stop instead.*

Bastard.

* Yes, he's OK (trust me, I checked him long before I started worrying about the car - He's still a bastard).

Hiyo God Damn Silver!

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 09:30:00 +0000

Again I appear to be the laziest blogger, so let me rectify that by sharing with a few things I've enjoyed while I've been away.

Firstly, a fan boys wet dream. A fan-made trailer for a movie about Dick Grayson. I love this for so many reasons, and I hope that if you've ever read a DC comic you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Next on my path to true geekdom, I seem to have got myself involved in Dungeons and Dragons. Completely coincidental with the death of Gygax, I assure you, I am now playing weekly, and rather enjoying it. Anyone else of the blogroll a secret player? Any tips?

And finally, a little story from work. The other day I happened to pass by IT services and noticed they had a new plasma screen installed. The screen displayed a rotation of various statistics, such as the number of computers switched on, temperature and light levels in the server rooms, that kind of thing.

One such report seemed to show lights being turned on and off every half an hour in one room, over a 14-hour period. Obviously something was seriously amiss. Could it be that someone was truly going into and out of the locked room so often across the working day?

Eventually we figured it out. The report had been set for 14 days, not 14 hours. Light/dark was simply day/night. This was not solved before we had physically checked the location, stood guard over the room and spent a great deal of time scratching our heads.

We're professionals, us.

Half Term.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 12:21:00 +0000

For the past two days, there have been a group of kids on the corner of my road holding signs saying "Honk! Honk!" and waving them at passing motorists.

I don't know what amuses me more. Whether it is that the kids are bored and inventive enough to use this as a pastime (and keep it up for a significant period of time) or that nearly every damned car which drives past is doing it.

And I'll paint if I want to.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:49:00 +0000

Largely inspired by Henner's blog, I have been toying with the idea of taking up painting. Unlike Hen, the medium of watercolour, rather than oils quite appeals to me. I like to see myself as the organised sort of fellow (I'm not) who will meticulously plan a picture before rendering it.

Being as it is my birfday today I decided to splash out and buy a set of water colours and paintbrushes from Mr. W H Smith.

I spent a good half an hour just playing with the colours (and cling film), making a few blocks of paint and interesting shapes, before setting about a little work. This first result was, I am quite ashamed to say, somewhat childish in its composure. I think I probably learned a lot about lighting, dimensions and planning just from this one piece. I won't share it here - needless to say I'm not proud of it, but I'm glad I did it.

Thanks Hen for unwittingly encouraging me to take up this pastime. I have a sneaking suspicion it will be addictive. And thanks for Stu for the name and shame to make me blog.

Road Kill.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 08:28:00 +0000

Back when I was working for XYZ Publishers I occasionally promised that I would cycle in at least once, but never did. Yesterday, I took a day off my current job and fulfilled that promise. The right day to do it, as it turned out.

Leaving the house at 09.00 I wasted no time in gaining that feeling of "oh shit it's cold, it's a long way, and now I feel a bit sick" but I pressed on regardless. By the time I had hit the brow of the first hill, everything was OK in the world. The mist was still over the fields, but the sky was blue.

The plan was to hit the Test Way, ride through Stockbridge, and on to Andover. Arriving at that point, however, it became apparent that the toll for the amount of rain over the past few months was mud, and lots of it. Cycling through it would be tough, and slow. Cycling on the road, which can be a bit of a race track would be faster, but dangerous.

I don't know why, but I chose the road. Interestingly enough nobody did anything spectacularly stupid, and I saw a few cyclists come the opposite way so maybe my theory about there being more cyclists, and therefore more aware drivers is starting to hold water.

The mist cleared from the fields as I arrived in Stockbridge, and I took a five minute pitstop before heading off again. Horses ran along with me in their fields, and a few deer looked inquisitively at me as I rode past - quite hidden from driver's view amongst tree branches, but still right next to the road. Some where along this point I spotted a lone red glove, and then a few miles on it's partner, never to be reunited with their soulmate.

Views across the fields were spectacular. I really wish I had taken a camera. It's strange to think I drove this way every day for two years and never appreciated it. I wonder how many do likewise.

It finally feels like spring could be just around the corner. A round trip of 36 miles. My legs are aching now, but I feel invigorated. Remind me - why do I drive again?

2007 Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 04:56:00 +0000

So, what happened?

I lost a crap job, gained a mediocre job.

I joined a gym.

I kept a few new year resolutions (cycled more, wrote a little more, didn't start a religion)

And got engaged!

Resolution for 2008:-

Cut back on the booze.

Pay off student loan (£5k apparently... ouch!).

So tired.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 04:47:00 +0000

I can't sleep.

I've been awake since 01.28, and would love nothing more than to drift back off.

But as I said, I can't sleep.

Truth and Lies.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 20:55:00 +0000

Omally tagged me, forcing me to tell five facts about myself. If this doesn't get me the highest comment count so far, I'm going to be sorely disappointed.

Here goes.

1. I don't like the last-year me. I've re-read my blogs from 2006, and the Kouros that wrote them is a bit of a twat. In all fairness it was a very stressful time. I was losing a job I hated, but had no direction as to where I wanted to go. Still, I was self centred, disrespectful and a bit of a wanker. Life is all about changes. Some are for the better, some are for the worse. I hope I've changed for the better.

2. I'm a hypocritical bastard. That's all changing (the statements in the blog, that is, not the hypocrisy). Ween knows, though I won't actually propose until the new year, eight years after we met. I went to see the ring today. It looks fantastic - a jeweler friend made it, so it should, though the price has taken me aback somewhat. Worth every penny.

3. Like Omally, I am a son, a brother, a cousin and an uncle. One part of me would love to be a dad... unlike Omally, however, one part of me is petrified at the prospect. Like marriage, I guess it is something I will grow into much sooner than I realise, but jeeeeez....

4. I've never finished Lord of the Rings. The films, yes, but the book, nah. Really, it's as boring as bringing a cup of tea to the boil by breathing on it.

5. I really did name myself after a pair of shoes. Aftershave had nothing whatsoever to do with it. Because I dislike the last year me so much, I've considered starting afresh, and killing off this name. It would do in two birds with one stone. No more Kouros. That scares me more than having kids.

Maybe it's just me

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:56:00 +0000

But when did ignorance of the law become an excuse?

A teacher working in a foreign country may have a fair point and a relatively short imprisonment seems to reflect that, however the argument is stretched to breaking point when politicians try to weasel their way out of their own rules.

Aaargh.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 17:31:00 +0000

Maybe it's just because I see more of them more often, and maybe it's just me, but are there more kids with quite heinous attitude problems these days?

Case in point, while walking through the library Kid A calls out to Kid B on the other side of the floor his salutations and starts a conversation. I ask him to keep the noise down. He tells me it's OK as he was leaving anyway.

He does leave, the conversation getting gradually louder as the two conversants move further and further apart.

*shakes head in despair at the state of the future*

*realises is getting prematurely old*

Sorted.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:42:00 +0000

It turns out the Gas people were trying to charge me for everything on the meter from zero through to the current reading, or as the lad on the other end of the phone said, "about enough to heat Wales."

Anyway, they've sorted it all out now, without me having to phone them. I did email them during the weekend and intended to call them this afternoon, but didn't have to as the beat me to it. If they hadn't sorted it out, I probably would have spent this blog naming and shaming, however since they cleared it up in a speedy fashion, were friendly and apologetic, I'll take this space to say Thank you Scottish Power. You may have cocked it up to being with, but at least you have the good grace to sort it out efficiently.

Am slightly disappointed I don't have another Tesco to boycott, however.

That can't be right.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 18:10:00 +0000

Gas bill, 01/08/2007 - 01/11/2007

£643+VAT

Ubuntu

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:48:00 +0000

I haven't blogged for a while, not because there's been nothing to blog about, but because I just haven't needed to share. Selfish? Quite possibly.

There's a suggestion that blogging is a form of therapy - I think everyone who reads the blogroll will agree that this is true to a certain extent. Looking back to last year, to just how stressed I was, and how much this was flowing through into my blogs, I think it is reflective of my new-found (even if fleeting) serenity that I'm not blogging so much anymore. By the way, the kids and I mutually hate each other.

That's not to say I'm not reading... I'm just not participating as I once did.

Anyhoo, since going the full hog with Ubuntu a month back, I've been quite pleasantly surprised at the ease of the transition. Almost everything I've wanted to do has just worked and been just there when I wanted it. I do still have a couple of minor niggles. The first is my wireless connection, which seems to drop from time to time, and won't reconnect without rebooting. It has dropped while I am writing this blog, and I am caught between saving what I have thus far written into TomBoy notes and carrying on later, or forgetting the whole thing and going to have a bath.

The other is the ugliness of the buttons in Firefox. If anyone else is using Ubuntu, try this.

Other than that, I really, really like it. Oh, and three days after I wrote the original version of this article, the connection seems fine again now. Maybe an update fixed it...

A Question.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 17:53:00 +0000

Where do you get your music from?

I used to be a fan of Napster (the paid service, not the other one). However since going the way of the penguin, I've hit a stumbling block. Napster doesn't run on Linux, and I can forget about trying to play anything with DRM.

I'm considering going back to getting everything on CD and ripping it myself, but I can't help but think I've missed another option.

How do you get yours?

I can see clearly now.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 08:08:00 +0000

Last week I mentioned that I was ill. So ill in fact I didn't get around to saying what was wrong with me until the comments. Gah, it was horrible.

In my slight out of body state, I decided it would be a good idea to try the beta release of Ubuntu. Since installing PCLinuxOS I haven't booted into Vista once, nor have I been tempted to for any reason - everything I needed was right there. My theory was to give Ubuntu another go - if it worked I would give my laptop a clean installation and forget about Windows. If it didn't, I would give my laptop a clean installation of PCLOS and forget about Windows once and for all.

Either way, I wasn't going back to Vista unless something went horribly, horribly wrong, but just to be safe it would be there until the final moment. You know where this is going? Well done. I didn't.

I booted up the Ubuntu LiveCD. I imagine that most people reading this far into this entry know what a LiveCD is, but just in case... a LiveCD is a CD which boots onto your computer without changing anything on your hard disk. You can try out different operating systems without the worry of damaging any of your data. A drawback is that it can be kinda slow until you install it properly - Some come with an option to install the operating system if you like what you see.

I liked what I saw. It is only a beta release, but a late beta (the final version is due out in just a few days), and everything was ticking over nicely. WiFi worked without any configuration whatsoever (apart from my security code, naturally) and it was all pretty fast - faster than Vista which is saying something as until now Ubuntu was still running off the CD.

So I went ahead, and hit install, ready to partition the drive so that I could dual boot and compare and contrast PCLOS with Ubuntu, but keeping Vista there to backup all my emails and whatnot ready for the transfer.

I was working on automatic. Yes! I want to install. Yes! Guide me through it. Yes! Use the entire disk....

...bugger. I really should have paid attention to those options before hitting the "install" button. And the "are you sure?" button.

Ah well, it was going to happen sooner or later. Might as well have been now. Considering that what I am currently writing this blog on is still technically beta, it's very polished - sure, it's constantly updating itself and so it's very nearly the "final" version, but I haven't had a single issue with it so far with a good few days of usage. I really like it.

As I've said before, I've been put off going full hog with any Linux distribution. Part of this is because of an uncertainty over whether I could actually live with it. Now I have no real choice, and I can't say I'm particularly upset.

Now to convince Ween to let me install it on the main PC...

Ill.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:59:00 +0000

So much for a nice relaxing break in the Cotswolds. After booking into the apparently quaint pub near Winchcombe into the "superior" room, only to find it is directly above the speakers for the late night disco the following night, we did our best to get a good night's sleep.

A heavy cold put the end to that idea. Roll forward to the following day - a nice day out at an Arboretum and Falconry Centre (I'm glad that they didn't get those two mixed up - watching someone try to bait and catch a flying tree wouldn't be fun) topped off with a pleasant meal at a nearby BAlti. Got back just in time for the Disco, which started at 8.

At half ten, we started the drive home. We got home an hour before the disco was due to end.

Two questions - who puts the most expensive room in the house closest to the noise? Also.... who organises a late night disco on a Sunday? Do people not work in the Cotswolds?

That was three questions. So shoot me - I'm ill.

Pain.

noreply@blogger.com (Kourosism) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:07:00 +0000

A few weeks back, I decided it would be a good idea to join a gym.

Actually, that's a lie. David, whom I managed to convince to work with me for a few weeks, convinced me to join a gym. He is my "partner" and we get a little discount.

I have only completed my Cardio induction so far, but weights will follow next week. My current workout is as follows:-

15km bike
2000m rower
10minutes cross trainer set to intervals.

While the cross trainer and rower were fine (about 10 minutes to complete the rower, and obviously another 10 minutes for the cross trainer) the bike surprised me - it was a killer. The way I have been riding must have been very laid back, or incorporated a lot of down hills. I assumed I could fit 15k into 45 minutes easily - my trainer wanted it closer to 30.

I barely pushed it into 45 (41 minutes today... but it was 47 on Wednesday).

Gyms are evil.