The Patent Dragon's Zone of Soul Retraction

At long last, I found something for everyday wear...

Funtasma Retro 302 Black Matte Retro / GoGo Style Lace-Up Chunky Heel Knee Boots

I was a regular customer with this supplier, until their sizing regime changed, and I kinda "lost track" of my ideal size. Several times in the last few years, I ordered boots just to send them back, frustrated, but buying boots elsewhere, I was able to get a bead on the Funtasma sizings, and took the plunge with these.

I am most pleased.

A big day for incoming post - that's a big bit of Christmas shopping done... and I am now in possession of a pretty sweeeet new pair of boots, in prefect timing for Patent Saturday. Excellent!

Yeah, it's been another thin week on the blogging front, but The Stargazer Project - Season 2: The Edge Of Chaos has been getting, and holding, the majority of my attention. It doesn't help that the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special is TOMORROW, and that next week - and the week following - will be dominated by "PatSat"...

Excellent viewing last night: An Adventure In Space And Time, dramatising the origins of the phenomenon that has been - and, I am certain, continue to be - Doctor Who.

What's that? A Gravity review? Oh crap, I have rather dropped that ball...

...ok, a quick one: A good reality-based space disaster movie, that makes the silence of space a character in its own right. Somehow, I was expecting MORE, such as 3D that would genuinely dazzle, but that was not to be. Movie Of The Year? Naaah - a solid 8/10, but all-out space opera (Star Trek Into Darkness!) wins out in that respect.

Look for the tie-in short movie that's going around, which provides an insight into the other end of a conversation in the main movie. It's very effective.

There. Not my best, but it's that or nothing!

Okay, I've been promising to cover the more personal angle concerning Monday's adventures in Glasgow. Let's tell the tale in pictures...

So, there was a concert...



...and this time, I dressed for the occasion, wearing my sexiest boots, facing the world and all it had to throw at me...



...not knowing that, come kicking-out time, I would find myself halfway up THIS slope...



Forty-five degree angle + five-inch heels = a bit of a predicament, yes? About as bad as it could be, truth be told. The shortest climb was up, so that's the way I went - but the street at the top, whilst level, was basically a building-site, with no through traffic, and at the other end, nowhere to go but down. Forty-five degrees down...

Sometimes, uncomfortable decisions have to be made - and so, the boots had to come off. Challenges are what Spiritwalks are all about, even if accepting them seems to go against the whole concept.

In the end, everything worked out. I found my way back to the main street, found somewhere to grab a bit of dinner and get properly dressed again. Maybe it would've helped to know the venue better, but sometimes, your situation will, it seems, try to get the better of you.

The secret is to know when to bend, and not to break.



And so, another special date goes on the calendar... August 12th.

Talking of boots... a fortuitous eBay purchase has given someone something to wear at last...

...looks like she's demanding some attention. (All courtesy of Triad Toys)

Meanwhile: back on the "grindstone"... Vice Admiral Walks-With-Storms has now built up three days' worth of raw Dilithium - in the last twenty-four hours. The 8000 unit refinement limit doesn't mean that "Atrox Day" is coming any sooner, however - and this is what all the fuss is about.

Development News... Yes, I am still writing, and the Shadow City episode of the run-in to WORLDS COLLIDE continues to take shape. Yes, I had hoped to be further along with this story-arc by now, possibly posting WC itself over Christmas, but there's not much chance of that at present. However, we shall see...

Oh-kaaay... Let's try it THIS way. Dunno if "going mobile" is HTML-friendly, but we'll soon see...

I may not have moved ahead with The Gap Year much, but the brain-cells ARE at work on this and other plans. I have addressed a long-standing boot issue, making a particularly problematic pair of zips far easier to operate, and that's a small victory to savour. Time, I suspect, to think bigger...!

Posted via m.livejournal.com.

Working on the "epilogue" for TDD-704 Every Silver Lining... - an early night should see the whole thing wrapped up nicely, and the way clear to the prep for Operation Funplex! I'm already assembling my wardrobe - which'll include (at least) the two pairs of boots I ordered for last year, but which didn't appear until January...

So far, the weather isn't turning as nasty as it did a year ago. It's not great - the rain is pounding on the window right now, and making me feel even colder than I already am - but the S N O W is holding off, and that's fine. I just hope this damned strike tomorrow doesn't screw things up.

And now, we have wind, and quite a bit of it. My very least favourite kind of weather... I just hope it clears up before my walk to work. I absolutely do NOT want to come down with something with just one day to go.

Just back from watching Knowing, one of those movies that slipped under the blockbuster radar a couple of years ago. One of the better 21st Century disaster movies, albeit with an ending that *Possible Spoiler* rather blunted the "down-to-earth" style of the rest of the movie. *End Possible Spoiler*. Entertaining, and good in HD.

Meanwhile... Haven't done much today, but I have managed to hang a picture in the office today at long last. Also, I've been thinking that this month has been a bit thin on Mission 101 success, which is a bit of a shame when you consider how last month went. The big craft projects are going to have to wait, given that I have a Patent Saturday on my mind right now (and that does have some Mission significance, Dear Reader.)

Got some thinking AND shopping still to do. I may have sufficient options for "PatSat" in my wardrobe already, but if opportunities present themselves, I better be quick to pounce.

My, what a lovely "relaxing" Sunday. Okay, the right curtains are up in their proper places, and a bunch more windows now work properly, but all that counted for naught following a "chocolate cake vs. carpet" incident. I'll say no more, expect for "crisis semi-averted" - although I'm sure I'll have a sore neck tomorrow from all that curtain hanging...

Okay, now for some more calm, reasoned bitlets...

ITEM! Got a bit more writing done this morning. Would do more if I could get these sodding blinds to work - I mean, I'm cooking here.

ITEM! I'm thinking the Transformers 3 first-week box office bonanza will be severely eclipsed by HP7.2. Maybe £15-16 million? Saturday 2pm at the NPH was PACKED - and giving applause as the titles rolled.

ITEM! I appear to have been excused my self-imposed "debt" associated with the "new" boiler at Number 99 (see my Mission 101, Task 92). This would mean I'm a good deal better off than I expected to be right now - maybe I can afford a much better PC now. Perhaps a new pair of boots, too.

ITEM! Note to self - COMIC ORDER.

ITEM! Rather amusing to see someone spend credits on a "shoutout" in IMVU, only for it to feature a mispelling of the user-name. Repeatedly.

After The Fall continues, and the mysterious, sudden departure of Mane-of-Night is explained, as Mystalorn gathers, with friends and allies, to remember what they have lost. Meanwhile, Lord Fh'ane's kingdom begins its recovery...

Release Notes... A post a day, as promised. Enjoy!

Today's highlights... Yay - shiny new gadgets! Yay - the ability to actually use them! Can I use my brand spanking new TV as a monitor? Something else to explore - such as just how to hook my DVR up to this new beast...

At least I have a better net connection now, thanks to having my PC on my desk instead of beside it. As far as my boot storage facilities go, my adjustable hanging scheme - explored yesterday - rather tripped over the lack of suitable rail-chain interfaces (hooks or screw-shut shackles, basically). Time to break out the trusty paracord, I suspect...

All of a sudden, I rediscovered the fun in Ultima Online - training up a samurai, with a view to creating the monster-slaying juggernaut that is a "sampire" (top-of-the-line samurai with added Necromancy). That's not an excuse for reduced writing output - that's really the result of not really knowing where the new Season is going so far. I so desperately want to avoid the "take a deep breath, then back to intergalactic war" kind of thing, and so the way forward doesn't exactly pave itself. A "plotting weekend" may be required - this weekend might work, as there's a Grand Prix coming up, and most likely some limited Saturday Move-stuff.

Next weekend, of course, is right out, 'cause I'll be out of town, on a "Mission mission" - yup, it'll be time for "Operation Rush Hour". I am still working on TDD-701 "A Star Is Rising", as that's "prologue" of a sort - "cool-down" from REIGNFALL, one might say.

There are other stories to tell, which don't depend on anything being written in the form of "bridging" material, but still I need to thrash out a few ideas. Stay tuned for some interesting developments!

Meanwhile... Just ordered myself something I guess could be called a "complete REIGNFALL on schedule" present, and my loooooong search for "street boots" might just be over...