The Patent Dragon's Zone of Soul Retraction

Take a note of this date, boys and girls, 'cause this is the start and end of our summer in these parts. Already, the sheets of cloud are rolling in, and our temperatures are set to halve, compared to the rest of the country...

Guess I may as well take my shot at Task 102, then. A nice way to start a truly crazy Saturday - more Move business first, then X-Men First Class, and finally the mid-season finale for Doctor Who, in which all kindsa wacky sh8 is gonna kick off, for certain!

Meanwhile... A quick reviewlet of the new Seasick Steve album "You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks": Well, it's another collection of typically quirky servings of The Dog Hisself, with some of the good-time stompers you've come to know and love - the title track, "Back In The Doghouse" and the cheeky little "Whiskey Ballad", but there are a few more introspective tracks like "Days Gone", "Party" and cautionary tale "What A Way To Go" that bring the mood down a little too much in this listener's mind. It's not as immediate as previous albums "I Started Out With Nothing..." or "Man From Another Time", but you will find tracks to love.

Oh, and it has another story at the end, as a separate "bonus track", which works better than tacking it to the end of the last song. Score - 7.5/10

Meanwhile meanwhile... This just in: I just managed to nonchanlantly "clear the runway" for tonight. Thank you, toasty weather!

In tonight's headline story... It looks as though outstanding financial matters are finally being addressed, and that takes us closer to The Move.

But what about CLAN? Sorry, but I'm not living solely to complain about that bunch. I have bills to pay, work to go to, it's that simple. They've clearly chosen to play the responsible visitors the first couple of days, then they've cranked it up since - and so we've been reporting infractions to the relevant authorities. Just now, one of our "boys in blue" paid our unwelcome guests a visit - right before my very eyes.

I wonder how many calls about the noise there have been so far.

Right now, I am tired. I want some peace, I want time to think. CLAN provides neither.

And what's this about a Task 102? An entirely unofficial, not-for-the-list item... a real one-off swansong. More nearer the time - and it will be soon.

Development News... It wasn't easy to make much progress this lunctime, but TDD-607 The Endless Dance of Light and Shadow IV, Chapter 4 advances as Chapter 3 gets a momentous extension - an event worthy of the inter-chapter "cliff-hanger"-style treatment. "Writing Hour" is a non-starter this week, given our... guests.

Going to check some email, then a good dose of Ultima Online. I have some scrapes and dents to work out from last night...