A Challenge to you all!

I, Hermione Stargazer, challenge all who come here.

A duel?

Certainly.

Download this game Mutant Storm and will some Son of a Bitch Video Game Buster zap the pants of Level 40 for me will ya! It's a bastard yet sometimes I can do it, but you don't get another save option until Level 50.

This tiny game is wicked fun.

It's like an old style Asteroids, but suped up for the 21st Century.

http://rapidlibrary.com/index.php?q=mutant+storm

Here's a snap of the Level I'm talking about. Not only are you being attacked by aliens, there is also an electric bar circling the screen that you must avoid. Someone please help me.

Headlights on the Freeway of your Mind

Here in the middle of the week, after a very busy, but fun day, I write my script. If your cruising through the clouds of life on some equally droopy midweek freeway slimstream then pull right over in to slow-slow take it easy lemon breezy south of Japanesey Street and share a few quibes with JJ and the Mind of your Eye...

...Not long after Gee left with the last student. Actually, I had secretly made a vodka and orange and sat drinking it in front of the computer whilst the student sat reading a book on the floor. Start the party early. No one need know. When they had left, I escaped to the balcony for a little happiness, then back down to make Oi a salami salad sandwich on toasted bread and some chocolate ice cream. Yes! The joys of Post-modern living! All that destruction is so worth it. Damn it! I bet there is some freshwater dolphin up there saying,"I sure hope he likes the ice cream." I know how sincere those guys are.

Anyone who hasn't listened to M. Ward needs to get on it. It was a Kyle recommendation. He's pretty good on music and M. Ward does not disappoint. Wonderful stuff.

Like my brother, who is probably the only one who will read this, I, too, am seriously into Amadous and Mariam. Best music I have heard in ages.

I have done really well on the swimming front. Three times this week. I must remember to give myself a medal and have an extra big bowl to celebrate. Keeping fit is the best way to feel good. The comedown is just so great - feeling physically stimulated and a tiny bit fit. I have heard it said that if you keep yourself fit you will feel good for the rest of your life. So keep swimming, folks, for sure-sure good times.

I have DL some interesting movies of late, namely; The Razor's Edge (1984) with Bill Murray.
Dean Spanley - Peter O' Toole, Sam Neil - Incredible. Patrick has gone ape-crazy on all fours over it.
Valmont - yet to watch. Touching the Void - docudrama about 2 guys coming down a mountain in Peru. Awesome watch.

Just came on, "Voices in my Head" by The Police. Yes the Ipod and the sound dock is still receiving a front row seat in my house and is just awesomely brilliant. Harman and Kardon.

Bye for now.

Thai Scammers Update

Here is a link that addresses the increasing violence that is occuring here against foreign tourists.

News is all over the place in the Public Domain but so far there has been nothing said by the government or anyone Thai. But bad shit is happening every day right now. I think the global meltdown is hitting the Thais as they get a taste for money and don't want to let go. If only they could figure out that their victims won't ever return and tell the world what happened to them on the internet.

Read on...

http://www.stickmanweekly.com/StickmanBangkokWeeklyColumn2009/ThailandMessingUpTourism.htm

Radio Days

With the birth immenent, I have retreated to the comfort of radio podcasts to calm my nerves and to adopt a restful position.

I listen to some amazing radio and think it would be a great injustice not to share it with you.

My favourite show are:

The Forum - amazing discussion show with some real clever bastards. This weeks show was from Oxford Uni and included a chap who is head of a research facility dedicated to the future of human civilisation. I am glad to see topics such as this and climate change get a lot of radio coverage.

One Planet.

Dr. Karl and the Naked Scientist

From Our Own Correspondant - incredible show with reports about all sorts of things from all over the world.

If you enjoy chilling with the Ipod, then these shows can really help you on your way.

The Many Facets of Boredom

As one knows, one is an avid follower of the Radio. Radio 4 anyways. This morning I was listening to a program about West Indian writers and how the BBC gave them a break just after the war. It was a great show. One old guy recalled how he knew this chap who spent all his time in his room playing the card game Patience. He described him as the most bored person he had ever met.

I wonder about boredom. What an awful thing it is for one to endure, particularly when time is finite, up to a point at least. I know in this land, plenty of teachers spends a lot of their time being bored. I know I have. I try to combat the symptoms when they appear. One tends to get quite good at it, though one still has to fight against the effort that is required to counter the boredom, and sometimes it is too boring to do that. So instead, one lies about feeling every more bored until the boredom factor becomes so great that it actually becomes unbearable, and that even the thought of going to the pool for the umpteenth time becomes less boring than thinking about it. Personally, I haven't been too bad of late and what with baby coming I am expecting, for the first time in my life, to be busy. I do hope not.

Many of the white bums that float and drift about the hot streets of Hat Yai are bored or boring. They can normally be heard before they are seen but a continuing mumbling grumbling about how awful this is, or that is, or their life is. Sometimes its hard to find someone with anything good to say.

We all drift in and out of routines and habits as the days pass day. I must admit with these morning teaching hours I am currently serving, it does leave the afternoon to get deliciously intoxicated. I can pretty well pull-off the "I'm fine" expression if I met someone. Oi is very kind and only occasionally reprimands me. I think she is just grateful that I am a "stay at home" guy, though by her standards I'm a dirty stop-out. Alas, owing to the cave, albeit a very nice cave, we presently inhabit, I suffer from a constant urge to go outside. Fortunately, and after years of research I am discovering that the upper rear balcony is almost perfect as an open air garden hideaway. One can lie here, with Thai headrest cushion - the one that looks like a Toblerone, happiness, a glass of stout, ipod and acquire a near comatose state of utter relaxation, all whilst listening with hazy comprehension of an on-going discussion about climate change or dark matter. And I get sunlight to the brain and am able to reflect on the beauty of my humble array of plants, which are dwarfed by the giant "tree-hugger" that Egg gave me years ago. I'm sure his Thai spirit observes its mighty girth with approval, and dispair at my near death like com posture underneath it.

I am constantly checking myself right now, as I am profoundly aware that these are my very last days of not being a papa and that for the rest of my life there is going to be someone in the world who is more important to protect than my own self. Daunting. But I would much rather have this than be forever wondering what to do with myself all the time. One nice thing about marrying fairly late (the last train, I call it), is that I can enjoy Part II knowing full well that, wasted or not, continuation of Part I would be deathly boring and should most certainly in my case lead to some kind of monster savaging my psyche and destroying my life for the umpteenth time.

Here's to women, who can save us from ourselves.

Don: Man is always trying to change his reality.

The title comes from a picture I saw Joel scribble during our long stretch together in Strathfield, Australia. I think Joel had been recruited as some kind of day-sitter for the local kids in the apartment block we were living in.

Intensive Research Facility on the Rear Balcony

Fondess weekday afternoons are spent relaxing on the rear balcony...

...contemplating nature...

...and the human condition...
...and the ghosts of all the people I have known who have died with me...

...all that has passed...


...and that shall come to pass...

...and loved phrase...

...and dark nectar...



From the balconies of your mind...

Best Shooters 2003

Here's a little treat for those even with poo computers. These treasures could provide lots of fun revisiting former adversaries.

Scanning through the first I see Ghost Recon Island Thunder where you are a solider on the trail of some dudester growing weed in South America. I remember a great experience.

I also spy the incredibly awesome System Shock 2. I think I have played it 3 times (and never finish, I should add, though I think I was close)

Oh my heavens, Thief is there. It's not Metal Age which was utter creepy fun - hiding in cathedral belltowers, arrow trained on dumb guard below. Hairy game.

Wolfenstein, Serious Sam - I don't remember those big top clowns.

Hitman! Who could forget the Chinese brothel and gunning down the interfering Madam!

Worth a gaze even if you don't play.

http://www.ipmart-forum.com/showthread.php?t=158961

Ode to A Cat: Pussy

Thomas Gray (1716-1771)

Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat

I.
'TWAS on a lofty vase's side,
Where China's gayest art had dy'd
The azure flowers that blow;
Demurest of the tabby kind,
The pensive Selima reclin'd,
Gaz'd on the lake below.
II.
Her conscious tail her joy declar'd;
The fair round face, the snowy beard,
The velvet of her paws,
Her coat, that with the tortoise vies,
Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes,
She saw, and purr'd applause.
III.
Still had she gaz'd; but midst the tide
Two beauteous forms were seen to glide,
The Genii of the stream;
Their scaly armour's Tyrian hue,
Through richest purple, to the view,
Betray'd a golden gleam.
IV.
The hapless Nymph with wonder saw:
A whisker first, and then a claw,
With many an ardent wish,
She stretch'd, in vain, to reach the prize.
What female heart can gold despise?
What cat's averse to fish?
V.
Presumptuous Maid! with looks intent
Again she stretch'd, again she bent,
Nor knew the gulph between;
(Malignant Fate sat by, and smil'd.)
The slippery verge her feet beguil'd;
She tumbled headlong in.
VI.
Eight times emerging from the flood,
She mew'd to every watery God,
Some speedy aid to send.
No Dolphin came, no Nereid stir'd:
Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard.
A favourite has no friend.
VII.
From hence, ye beauties, undeceiv'd,
Know, one false step is ne'er retriev'd,
And be with caution bold.
Not all that tempts your wandering eyes
And heedless hearts, is lawful

Ode to the Cat

Lest we forget the grapeness of the cat.



The animals were imperfect,
long-tailed,
unfortunate in their heads.
Little by little they
put themselves together,
making themselves a landscape,
acquiring spots, grace, flight.
The cat,
only the cat
appeared complete and proud:
he was born completely finished,
walking alone and knowing what he wanted.

Man wants to be fish or fowl,
the snake would like to have wings
the dog is a disoriented lion,
the engineer would like to be a poet,
the fly studies to be a swift,
the poet tries to imitate the fly,
but the cat
only wants to be a cat
and any cat is a cat
from his whiskers to his tail,
from his hopeful vision of a rat
to the real thing,
from the night to his golden eyes.

There is no unity
like him,
the moon and the flower
do not have such context:
he is just one thing
like the sun or the topaz,
and the elastic line of his contours
is firm and subtle like
the line of a ship's prow.
His yellow eyes
have just one
groove
to coin the gold of night time.

Oh little
emperor without a sphere of influence
conqueror without a country,
smallest living-room tiger, nuptial
sultan of the sky,
of the erotic roof-tiles,
the wind of love
in the storm
you claim
when you pass
and place
four delicate feet
on the ground,
smelling,
distrusting
all that is terrestrial,
because everything
is too unclean
for the immaculate foot of the cat.

Oh independent wild beast
of the house
arrogant
vestige of the night,
lazy, gymnastic
and alien,
very deep cat,
secret policeman
of bedrooms,
insignia
of a
disappeared velvet,
surely there is no
enigma
in your manner,
perhaps you are not a mystery,
everyone knows of you
and you belong
to the least mysterious inhabitant,
perhaps everyone believes it,
everyone believes himself the owner,
proprietor,
uncle
of a cat,
companion,
colleague,
disciple
or friend
of his cat.

Not me.
I do not subscribe.
I do not know the cat.
I know it all, life and its archipelago,
the sea and the incalculable city,
botany,
the gyneceum and its frenzies,
the plus and the minus of mathematics,
the volcanic frauds of the world,
the unreal shell of the crocodile,
the unknown kindness of the fireman,
the blue atavism of the priest,
but I cannot decipher a cat.
My reason slips on his indifference,
his eyes have golden numbers.

-- Translated From
the Spanish of
Pablo Neruda

Thanks to Cats That Look Like Hitler (Kitler)

King Power - follow up

I see now King Power and the Thai Authorities are complaining saying that the BBC and other media are giving Thailand a bad name by reporting these stories.

How F***ing typical this action is.

I think Thailand is doing a damn fine job of ruining its tourist industry all on its own. But then this does ring true of Thai behavoir too. Typically a beach will get very, very dirty and it won't bother the Thai people. Only when someone says that the tourists don't like it, will they start picking up the rubbish.

Vietnam and Cambodia are open now and flocks are heading to other shores where they are not fleeced even before leaving the airport.

....OMG and a deal to buy Portsmouth football club by an arab has just gone belly up as he is known to be a colleque of Hugo-A-Gogo himself, Thaksin. It's believed he may have some involvement in the purchase so UK dropped it. He makes a great bad guy. There will be a movie about him one day.

King Power Scam

I don't know if you guys are aware of this horrible scam, Thai cops and associates are carryiong out at the new airport (Swampy, as it is known), but it must be an awful experience. Some people having to pay 8,000 quid ransom to be allowed to go free. The victims get "caught" shoplifting at King Power shop, what ever that is) and held in a safe house until they agree to pay. One British couple escaped and got to the embassy. This happens a lot and there are a lot of posts on the net about it.

I just think it is awful, but I am very glad it is becoming international news. It seems the whole scamming market has gone from a harmless thing you accept on your holiday to a terrifying experience. Thai authorities should be punished and held accountable for allowing this sort of activity to continue. It is a disgrace and I would be happy to see people vote with their feet and give Thailand a wide birth while this carries on.

Read more...

http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2009/06/28/809/

Sunday

Sunday morning again and determined to tap the day for ample relaxation and good times. I have to write a small test for the kiddies but that shouldn't take too long.

I hooked up with old ship mates Tom and Don yesterday for some steak and then sat out on the rear balcony listening to tunes and talking with Tom. Don came over at night and we watched the original of The Taking of Pelham 123 with Walter Matthaeu and Robert Shaw. Though I could barely remain focused, the others enjoyed it. I have stopped watching movies lately at I find I just can't sit through them. I think our attention spans are being ever diminished by fast paced media.Don liked my theory which I think I picked up on the radio about USA having so many junk food outlets because someone did the maths and worked out it was cheaper to have a fat unhealthy die young of a heart attack society than live for a long time get old and cost the system money society. It's true. It's all been worked out.

I have high hopes of going to the pool today (preferably stoned) and chilling out. Then there is breakfast at the Swan with Tom. I find myself returning here upon occasion as all of the unsavoury types that used to frequent this place have either died or moved on. Apparently it still draws a crowd when the football is on.

I am still on my first game of Empire Total War and have decided to pick on Morocco as invading Central Europe was a bit daunting. Kyle and I have been exchanging notes on this game and hope to hook up on line sometime. Actually, Rob and Pete, this would be a great game to play together especially since the Campaign map part is turn-based. Attention to detail is superb and the game has a richness about it with its sweeping landscapes and Sargent-Major's shout of "Sir!" when you send the pretty lines of red soldiers to their doom.

Oi is as peaceful as ever and due in about 2 weeks apparently. It's a strange feeling. I guess JimmyV really knows what it feels like.

Amazing Music Site

Check out this amazing site for some great rare downloads;

http://madparade.blogspot.com/2008/01/church-seance.html

Rant

Still heavily into Oz band The Church and have just secretly found the elusive album, Seance which is supposed to be great.

Must push folks to listen to The Forum on BBC Radio podcasts. The philisophical debates are amazing.

However, the problem that I see is making the money grabbing bankers and corporations release control and their view to lay claim to resources on the land of native inhabitants. Did you know that the jungles in Borneo are being cut down faster than the Amazon forests? Aljazeera did a report on the indiginous people there being forced out by the Malaysian government to make way for resource extraction. This monster that is devouring the Earth, so self justified and self protecting. I heard recent report on the use of Cost Analysis placed on everything to avoid any moral or ethical decision making. So all decisions really, and I mean really, come down to "will it make a profit?". Whether it be Philip Morris cigarettes to the Chech Republic or removal of a sub culture hidden in the jungle. Obsurb decisions are made at the highest level regarding all sorts of issues and based purely on economics. Check out The Reith Lectures if you want to know more (Thanks, Matty).

Now I hear that Tony Blair is going for President of Europe. Holy Fucking Christ. Is this club just open for a few at the top? I think so.

As I wander around Hat Yai I witness how selfish most people are. Snotty people in expensive cars. There is a great docu out there called China Blue about a peasant girl in China who heads to a factory job in the city. The clothing factory where she works for 0.4 Yuen an hour is owned by an ex-policeman and the main customers are Levis etc. The owner is a hoot. Completely self-congratulating that he made it and relates to his staff as sub-human and not appreciative of culture, as he does a bit of Caligraphy to show the cameras he has culture. The show makes him out to be a complete wanker obviously - and he is.

And of course in the vast majority of cases the higher up the tree you are, the more you believe in it and buy into it and argue viciously to anyone who questions it, and of course spouts off a load of fluffy crap to justify unethical practise.

Did you know that 20% of the worlds coral reefs are now dead, and 50% close to extinction.

And of course (Peter knows about this) other problems are occuring in the ocean. Real bad problems, relating to the acidity of the ocean and the carbon dioxide absorbed by it.

Another interesting show was on the growing level of intolerance people are expressing upon one another and the constant noise that we surround ourselves with.

Anyway, back to Empire Total War. The irony!

The Forum

This is a radio show on BBC Radio 4 which discusses ideas, science and philosophy. This weeks show was staggeringly brilliant. On it was an American female philosopher, the Indian female author of The God of Small Things and a Particle Physicist. I will have to listen to it again to fully grasp some of the ideas but it was a great discussion which I would recommend. Other great shows are Dr. Karl, Discovery, Science in Action, Documentaries, In Our Time, Pods and Blogs and a smattering of others. Here is the very user-friendly site for DL podcasts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/

JJ

Empire Total War

This is such a great game it must be recommended.



Literally, it is a government simulator of the 18th Century. Right now I am governing Great Britain, of course, and am exploring colonizing the Americas. You have tech trees, navy, army, trade, allies, pirates, coffee, cotten, sugar cane, ministers, agents etc etc.

Folks like Jimmy V would love this as it is very detailed and yet, not to hard to play as the graphics are fun and it is turn based. The real time battles are awesome and massive - hundreds of troops in lines attacking forts and enemy lines.

Go play.

Joe and Vince

This week Joe (Kyle's buddy in BKK) and brother Vince popped down to Hat Yai to begin Vince's holiday and first time in Thailand. They came over and we chatted and got trashed Tuesday night. On Wednesday they hired motorbikes from the Cathay Guesthouse and with Don took them on the back road to Songkhla. We had a great meal on the beach (crab curry, steamed fish, salad) and had a great day out. Joe also very kindly brought me an orinal copy of Empire Total War we I have just been getting accustomed to.




Back to school on Thursday and quite tired when we hit Friday night. Oi is so big now as the hour draws near. Tom came over last night and we chatted and tried to sit through Dean Spanley with Peter O'Toole and Sam Neil. Great movie but we were both so tired it was a bit of a wash out.

Yesterday I went shopping with Phit to try to get ready for the birth. I got a fridge, a rice cooker and some other stuff to get ready. It is a bit unsettling waiting for the birth but Oi seems fine though obviously its hard work being pregnant. I have to try to stay sane so I can be a supporting husband/father.

I shall go swimming today to set myself up feeling as good as I can for right now.

Lately, I've seen quite a lot of Danny, Don and Tom. Other folks seem distant. I guess they're doing their own thing.

I'm really into African music right now and I got some great names from LastFM radio. Podcasts still going strong though I usually fall asleep shortly after listening begins.

Gangsters

Yesterday I spent an anst Sunday lying on the balcony upstairs among the plants and mosquitos listening to BBC documentaries on the Ipod. I have to recommend "From Our Own Correspondant" this week with fine reports from Italy and Honduras. Mr. B in Italy really is a case. Even the church won't touch him despite the public pleas to condem him over his showgirl parties and mafia lifestyle. Whatever he can get away with on his own pad however, doesn't wash on the international scene and he is rapidly losing any respect from his Western contemporaries. That said, when do they actually "do" anything about anything. Catch the show while you can.

I have been watching the old BBC TV series Civilization. Heavy stuff and requires multiple viewing to digest all the information, yet is is brilliant. Highly recommended.

Yesterday I got hold of Kelly's Heroes and, more importantly, Murphy's War with Peter O'Toole. remember the one where he attempts to destroy a German Uboat stuck on the river bed? I feel another movie night coming on.

Oi is heavily pregnant and it won't be long now I am sure. I think emotionally I am in freefall right now. Not really sure what to feel. All will be revealed upon delivery.

Fortunately the mosquito problem has all but vanished with the new screens we got installed. The tenant had to pay, of course.

I have a few days off due to some public holiday. A nice little breather mid-term. Normally I would go to an island now, like Tom and Danny, but not this time.

With the discovery of Amadou and Mariam, a quick search for similar artists on LastFM led me to a bunch more names which I am currently playtesting. I love the African sound. Much of it is sung in French. Again highly recommended.

Something else worth mentioning is my encounter with a British family who have moved here to find work. Not for sun, sand, sea or a Thai experience, but for money. I was quite surprised. Thailand is not the first place I would suggest to come to look for gold. It does, however, indictate an exodus of peps from the West across the globe trying to put food on the table. I won't mention that both are hopeless as teachers and the husband has already lost one job, and they declined the offer to sit in on another class to study technique and delivery. They bring a young child with them too.

Without ruffling oh so sensitive tail feathers, the ship is still sinking and has not hit the bottom yet. The impact is yet to be fully envisioned.

Mat Beck put me onto the Reith lectures which I must recommend too. The last one in Washington was great and was prompting major change if the current society is to survive, from a money society to a civil society. I hold little hope. It will take a big hammer to knock the selfish gene from this rock. The equation of power, greed and inability to kick the luxury life will see a fight to the bloody end. Talking of which I also watched "Land of the Dead" with Dennis Hopper. A great fairly recent zombie flick with privileged rich folks living in a glass tower on a 24 hour shopping spree. The zombies cross the river and feast on designer consumers in a bloody munching feast. Great flick.

With the Western job market drying up, also sees folks who have previously emmigrated to sunnier climes having to return to their homeland, namely New Zealand and Australia.

Phit said to me, "Cana't they just go back to the farm at home?"
"It doesn't work like that over in England." I replied. "Besides, all the farm workers come from Poland."

We read about the tens of thousands of people losing their jobs, but what happens to them then?

I guess this is it, scanning the globe for an opportunity, as the whole place tightens up, and the rich folk have their guns primed and ready when, like zombies, the starving millions arrive at the gilded gates of their palaces.

Could be a great movie, if it wasn't so true.

The Storyteller

Phit told me yesterday that there is is no school until next Thursday so I am enjoying a few days of rest.

To kick off this little breathing space I asked the boys over for a special movie night. Movie night has fallen by the wayside of late. Probably because I just couldn't find anything worth showing on a regular basis, so I resolved just to put something on when there was something good enough to warrant the event. S, what was it? Well, I finally clocked my mind together and DL'd Sam Peckinpah's Cross of Iron. And after watching the opening credits stopped it and saved it for the boys as it rang all the right bells.

Tom, Danny and Karl came over. I bought some Vodka and I had some smelly blue cheese too. Karl is about 30 and from Chester and a runaway from the merciless machine system. I think he worked in a bank chasing people to repay their debts. He escaped and is now married to a Thai girl and has a little boy who is is crazy about. He teaches at a local college busting with 17 year old superbabes.

Tom and Danny are off to the islands and alas I cannot join them this time with fatherhood beckoning. Next time. I am planning a trip to Sumatra in October to a volcanic lake I have heard about in a bid to start doing exciting stuff again after years of nothing. I informed Oi that our daughter will be doing plenty of exploring and traveling when she is old enough. She didn't object.

Continuing the pursuit of creative thought I am trying to spend a lot of time thinking constructively and exploring and researching multiple projects. This including teaching plans, meditation, new music, general awareness, karma and some other stuff.



What really gets me is that most folk don't have time to explore these avenues because they spend all their time working. The brain remains largely unexplored and its wonders remained untapped. So sad. What a dumb way for this beast Man to restrict himself. And that most folks buy into it without question. Is that path really the reason we are here? I try to follow the creative voice in my head. Keeping active but trying to respond to the thought that enter my mind and building on those thoughts. Teaching of course is wonderfully creative and allows for much diversity. With my older kids this week I did a lesson on Murder. There is some great vocab on this subject which most foreigners are unfamilar with and allows for some grusome fun. A project I am just now formulating is a story I want them to write and present. Something about the story I saw George Lucas talking about; a hero walking down a road who meets a frog who gives him some advice and a possibly a warning of something further down the road. Then I will leave the students to continue the story. I don't want them to confer so we have multiple stories going on. I will be interested to see what they come up with.

Amadou & Mariam

I came across this great African duo and I love it.

Check them out on BT Junkie.

Rollin' On.

The term is slipping by and Oi has been very good at taking care of herself and preparing for motherhood. I must get another photo as she is fairly ginormous right now.

I am attempting to keep as busy as possible to fight the boredom that comes with everyday life. So I have been trying to keep active on creative lesson plans and projects, and it does pay off. The kids get a good English lesson and enjoy it pretty much.

It's funny now as life is sort of complete. I look at Oi and know that I could not have a sweeter, kinder person for a wife. She is just so very lovely and content that the thought of being cast adrift in the single, drunken life to which I am so vunerable is a frightening thought. As we patiently wait for our baby to arrive I find this strange stability and cosy family thing quite hard to accept and take hold off. Random destructive thoughts to which we are all prone have to be put aside as I become depended upon as a provider. Weird, but it is rightful that I should have a purpose, and thank the karma and guiding spirits that somehow brought me to this shore.

We share such a cosy little set-up as we sit a couple of meters apart on our respective coms. Oi is hooked on the Plants Vs. Zombies game and I am battling through Sid Meier's Pirates and Call of Duty World at War which is incredible. Even my teenage students were stunned at the mind-blowing graphics and gameplay. Pirates is a total hoot and I am desperately trying to win the hand of the beautiful French Governor's daughter in the sea port of Tortura. She has insisted on my finding the fabled aztec treasure before accepting my hand in marriage. Bitch! I have been roving over hill and dale using triganometry off reference points of dead trees and geysers. The game was a great find on some distant website and is a game Kyle told me about eons ago which evaded my searching for ages.

All the guys are fine. I hooked up with Danny last night and we had a good old chat a a few beers. He likes the PC games too and we had a crack on Call of Duty, torching Japanese soldiers with the trusty flame thrower and shouting out insults as they burned. We are hoping to get a couple of bods to do some online gaming within Hat Yai if we can figure out which game to play and what to do.

We went looking for new houses again yesterday but didn't have much luck. Estate Agents don't exist here so it is all done by foot work and asking friends. The other problem we have encountered is the total shittiness of the landlords to do anything to make the house nice. One we went to had condoms all over the overgrown back garden and a birds nest in the toilet. The bitch said it had already been cleaned and was ready to be occupied. I just walked off. Of course, she was Chinese and extremely rich (sorry Mary, you are the sweetest).

We have had new mosquito nets put into the current house which I hope will be effective, though I have may doubts as there is a sewer outside the back door. Still, we can hope.

Ipod fun is still going strong and I DL's all the Men at Work albums so have been reminicing. Also, I DL'd a bunch of 3rd Rock from the Sun shows which is an absolute scream. I just love John Lithgow. Fortunately, it is quite visual so Oi can enjoy is somewhat even though they barble at a thousand words per second. Also acquired is the classic WW2 movie, Cross of Iron - Sam Peckampah with James Coburn, Mason and Donald Sutherland if memory serves.

Pretty hot here right now and waiting for the rain to come.