The Patent Dragon's Zone of Soul Retraction

Reporting from the netbook, 'cause the laptop needed a reboot, and got stuck again. The latter probably realises that its position as current #1 hardware solution is about to be usurped, and is getting in one last "dig". Yep, the new laptop has been ordered!

Today, however, was not be the day of rest I'd anticipated. A brief shopping trip was expanded to include other necessities, and then stretched further to include a visit to the town's annual medieval fayre, which I have NEVER managed to attend before! I returned with some nice buckles, a VERY promising knotting tool and a chain/mail keyring - and some photos (in an attempt to pick up on another Mission 101 Task - 55 - Take more photographs. I'm not about to complain, but tomorrow is going to be seriously "anti-busy" to make up for it.

So, I guess I better start gathering the software I'll need to bring the new laptop up to speed - ooooh, look; Cloverfield on telly...!

Bang goes that plan. ;-)

Last week, at this time, I was recovering at home from The Wedding. This week... well, there's a whole heap of nothing happening, apart from some Ultima Online business here and there.

I could really do with maybe two days in a row with absolute zero hassle - no appointments, no sudden requirements to be someplace else (got two of those this week, dammit). My sleep-patterns still aren't exactly back in order...

Right now, I'm delighted to have another pair of thigh-high boots on order. Indulgence pleases me greatly...

In Today's Episodes: Darkhawk heads for home with salvation on board, but another obstacle lies ahead as the latest story in The Darkhawk Diaries continues, and...

...Miami Dade CSI are confronted with an unexpected enigma in the latest chapter of The Secret Adventures Of Mane-of-Night.

There you go - project updates as promised!

About The Rest Of The Weekend... I'll be talking about the wedding in an entry later today. Right now, I'm pretty drained, and the photos are still in the camera. I am so desperately hoping a certain complication does not arise tomorrow (my presence in required elsewhere by the Social Security "people"), 'cause I'm in a very positive mood right now...

In Today's Episode: Darkhawk consults "The Magic Master" in the latest chapter of The Darkhawk Diaries...

Good News! My appointment next week has been moved back from an unachievable early start, courtesy of public transport, to the afternoon - giving me a marginally extended "wind-down" from Saturday, which is very much welcome.

I better make the most of today, because things are going to get complicated starting tomorrow morning. I won't have time to do much other than get my sh- you know what together tomorrow, so I'll probably post tomorrow's entry late tonight.

In Today's Episode: Our Mystalornan heroine "assists the police with their enquiries" in the latest chapter of The Secret Adventures of Mane-of-Night.

I updated my interests to include CSI Miami, so let's see if there's any feedback... ;-)

Events News... Oh holy crap... The landslide towards Saturday has definitely begun...

Other Stuff... I'm sick of ranting, so here's something nice for a change...



These kitties are Rosie (left) and Tara (right), neighbourhood cats of my acquaintance. Tara is a regular visitor, and one of the most friendly cats I've ever known, whilst Rosie is a less frequent encounter since she lost part of her tail. They are two thirds of a cat "family" completed by Amber, a relatively shy male with deformed front paws, with only two toes on each - oh, and they have a human, too.

On this occasion - yesterday - Tara was on her home doorstep when I came past, and she came to say "Hi" as she normally does, then Rosie suddenly appeared, and both got petted. Tara seemed to go into a bit of a huff because Rosie seemed to get more attention, but then I haven't seen Rosie around for quite some time. Cats can be so possessive...

Aaaah yes, that's better. Hooray for the relaxing power of kitties!

Ye frickin' gods - it seems like only the other day, there were five weeks to go. I seem to have had a blind-spot for March...

It's a pity I have an appointment tomorrow, and I would've appreciated some uninterrupted time to get my head around what's coming on Saturday. The speech still needs work, but it will be ready!

Project News... "A Haven In The Storm" is progressing nicely - I've almost finished Chapter 11, and I anticipate maybe 18 chapters maximum - and now and again, ideas are cropping up, inspired by recent events, that cover matters I hadn't previously considered. Trouble is most definitely brewing...

In Today's Episode: Darkhawk shares her troubles with someone who's more than a friend - or so she hopes - in the latest chapter of The Darkhawk Diaries.

I'll be deciding how to handle the wedding-period project postings over the next couple of days. These will, of course, depend on how the projects in question are running at the time. There may be a brief pause in proceedings over that weekend, and maybe bonus postings on the first available day after the event.

"A Haven In The Storm" is moving along nicely, with the story reaching an important point in this afternoon's session. Thankfully, this won't be another thirty-six chapter effort (but I'm sure future stories may require as long, if not longer, to unfold)!

Meanwhile... Agh! It's snowing - and there's less that two weeks to go to the wedding. Hopefully this is all the snow we'll be getting for a while, and that it will all clear away before long. Snow may look pretty, but it will definitely get in the way of a wedding at a country hotel...

I changed the titles of the posted chapters of The Secret Diaries of Mane-of-Night to try and get the story back into its original order, having seen that the splitting of Chapter 1 was totally unnecessary. I was very eager to get the story online - perhaps too eager, as it transpired - and hopefully there won't be any need to mess around any more.

In Other News...



Ye gods...

In Today's Episode: There's a price to be paid for stopping the theft of Skylance Defender in the latest chapter of The Darkhawk Diaries...

Things are progressing nicely on a number of fronts:

- the next Darkhawk story is taking shape...

- The Secret Adventures of Mane-of-Night will be seeing a double length inaugural story "Season Of The Wolf", as the existing chapters are reduced in length, turning eleven chapters into twenty-two and giving me a two-a-week posting schedule, with the first coming ...

- ...and I had a spark of inspiration for a later Mane-of-Night story, in the form of a surprise guest-star! It should be fun when Circus Glitterthorn hits town...

However... For the first time, the wedding kind of hit home this morning, and boy did it scare me! Being my brother' best man isn't going to be as overwhelming a thing as it first appears, but that doesn't stop it from being a daunting prospect.

On the other hand, I've faced far bigger and more hostile crowds than I'm ever likely to face in April - unless, of course, I dress as I did back at the MSG in '98... (which I wouldn't)

Currently Pissed Off With... 1) Rock School (Second Series)- Some of these sad, whiny vermin don't know how fucking lucky they are! Lessons from Gene Simmons and Tony Iommi???? Stop pampering the selfish little shits, and give the real talent a chance to shine, like the little guy, Chris, who actually has real talent!

2) The Anti-Cartoon Protests - Just shut the fuck up. Two weeks, and they're still burning embassies, and (here comes the truly saddest thing of all) in Iran, Danish pastries have now been renamed "The Roses of The Prophet Muhammad" - give us a fucking break...

We get it. You're upset. But how many people have actually seen the bloody cartoons? A small fraction of the number who've seen the TV reports with Moslems stomping about the streets with banners saying "Europe - annihilation is on the way" and "Behead those who insult Islam". Maybe the media aren't helping things, but they didn't stick those banners in the hands of the protesters.

The protests are doing far more damage to your religion than those cartoons, but you're too blinded by a thirst for anger to realise this. Get a grip. There are so-called "political parties" who, right now, are loving every minute of this because it proves them, and their racist policies, are right...

...okay, I'm raged out now. Rock School got top billing 'cause it's on right now. Good luck, Gene, you're going to need it.

Now, let's see if I can get back on track with The Darkhawk Diaries - currently, I'm only a couple of chapters ahead, and the creative wellspring from January is down to trickles and pebbles. Just when I expect a bit of down-time to work on things, up pops an appointment or something else, just to bugger things up.

I'm pretty much booked up from now 'til the start of April, as this year's Main Event approaches...