Dunworking’s Domain

yeah…well…I’m bored ! :o)

and also…couple of things in the news annoyed me…today’s headline that… there’s to be a tax for fast internet has really pissed me off…we already pay tax on phone & internet usage…it’s called VAT…just because this completely discredited government squanders our tax pounds on propping up banks and other causes ill-deserving of support, why the **** should we be the ones footing the bill for the roll-out of fibre optic cabling and such like. If I was already a cable customer, I’d be mightily annoyed…

Another story which got to me…the farm that was forced to stop allowing “pick your own” because an elderly lady had a fall I’m sorry she was injured, but…like the woman who sued for injury when she fell over some lever arch files…there’s not a chance these people could actually look where they’re going ? Britain is becoming too much like the USA…and this “So sue me !” mentality is wrong…

Still…I’m on holiday (yes, again !) in a couple of weeks…hurrah ! Any friends reading this…get the beers in !

well, it almost seems like it….not for the want of trying…something always seems to crop up when I’m about to update my blog…so…

So crap it’s brilliant…

Dominating my PC time has been the spiritual follow up to Painkiller , the poorly received Necrovision . I’ve found it ok to while away moments between bouts of web design…it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a good old fashioned FPS…which it does quite well. The AI is pretty shoddy, and there’s a lot of wondering about…but…sacrilege as it may be to say it, I enjoyed this more than the over-praised Far Cry 2

The news that there’s going to be a new Serious Sam game should also get FPS fans becoming all excited at the prospect..

With the final canning of Duke Nukem Forever , probably the longest saga in PC gaming comes to a sad close…with 3D Realms’ problems meaning the end of this game, it finally means lots of us can move on to look forward to other things…

eat my goal!

England’s football team just keeps getting better and better…the 6-0 thrashing of Andorra brings us back to how England were before Mclaren…beating the “minnows” out of sight…Andorra were awful, but we still won convincingly…

…and in more good news for football in the UK….Ronaldo is going - and so leaves one of the most annoying footballers I can remember. Yes, he’s a class player, but he’s 24, not 12 !!! I got insensed by his stupid petulant antics…good riddance…Perhaps Man Yoo will now keep Teves who doesn’t have the same level of histrionics…

…as for my own team, the takeover of Portsmouth FC has, as I feared, hit a doubt…this time over the possible involvement of Thaksin Shinwatra…oh well…back to selling our best players and struggling to avoid the drop next year then…perhaps…watch this space…

The local football season starts again in a few weeks…unbelievable, really…comes around too quickly…it’s no secret that I got fed up with football last season…hopefully the new season will re-ignite my interest in the sport I love.

Dust to Dust…fire up the Quattro !

WIth the nights drawing out still, the end of another classic TV series as Ashes to Ashes finished on a superb cliff-hanging twist….rumours of one last series are welcomed in this house-hold at least…make up for the disappointment over the Dr Who cast…

Fratton Park….More money than sense ?

The main topic of conversation between me and mates the last week or so has been the impending take-over of Portsmouth FC by the Middle-Eastern business tycoon Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim. Now, as far as I’m concerned this is fantastic news for Pompey. A prospective new owner with real funds, a billionaire in his own right…could mean that our star players stay with us in the summer. Watch this space…not least because the FA have decided to look at his associates in the deal under their “fit and proper persons” rules…

Living life in a second
Since the start of 2009, I’ve been living a double life. I am also known as Viggo in the “real life simulator” Second Life. I’ve lived, loved, fought, argued and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I have a “virtual” partner, who in RL lives in the US, and we live together in this game. I’ve also made other “friends” through the game, and have met people from other cultures who, through talking to them in “real life”, I’ve learnt so much about how others see us, and how different they are to the way we see them.

My own “partner” in SL (hello “Bliss” !) has given me a completely different view of the American people through talking to her about how life really is in her part of the States. So, far from being the “sad act” pastime that some might think it is, I reckon Second Life could be a valuable educational tool.There are definite “adult” overtones to most of the play area in the game, with people pairing off left, right and centre. However, it is only escapism, although it has real people at the business end of the avatars that appear on screen. I’ve found that Bliss & I “click” in RL as well as SL, and the fact we’re seen as a “couple” in Second Life adds a certain frisson to the way the game is played.

I’m as level headed as the next guy, but when something like this comes along, it’s all too easy to immerse yourself in this alternate lifestyle, with the everyday goings-on becoming more and more part of your Real Life day. With the controversy over computer-game addiction, Second Life can take over if you’re not careful. I’m lucky in that Bliss & I can ensure we know when to stop, and can get on with our own real lives. It does remind me strongly of the phenomenaly (and inexplicably in my opionion) popular Sims games. As such it can be an acquired taste, but one I’m more than happy to sample.

Flaming June !
Tomorrow marks the start of June, and I’m a little taken aback that we’re almost half-way through the year already…I’ve even got a list of the pre-season friendlies here for Pagham FC. This year has flown by much like the last, and I just want to slow things down a little now, especially as the weather here in the UK is something else right now…very warm and sunny today and yesterday. As I’m off to Devon for a week at the end of the month, I’m hoping this summer spell will not be broken before then. Nothing worse than traipsing round Dartmoor in the rain.

Britain’s Got Talent…for overhyping people
So…much against forecasts, Susan Boyle didn’t win Britain’s Got Talent. I didn’t watch it myself, finding this sort of thing mind-numbingly boring, but I did read abot Ms Boyle’s efforts. I also heard the rumbles of discontent from her in recent weeks as the pressure built up around her, and the media circus we love so much in the UK followed her every move. Good luck to her in the future, and all the contestants who didn’t win…but…is it not time to now stop these things ?

Anyone who remembers the villification of Jade Goody (R.I.P.) when she first went into the Big Brother house cannot fail to think that when the media gets hold of someone and abuses them by poking fun, the cruelty involved isn’t a very edifying spectacle. It sells papers I suppose, but I’m not proud of our press when they do take someone and make them into a figure of fun just to increase profits. The circus that is Big Brother starts again in the UK this Thursday…and yet again the press will have a field day. Pity the unfortunate soul who goes into BB and then comes out again, their reputation in tatters, their life under the microscope as the public are treated to their humilitation in the media.

Who ??!!
Just to finish with, the news that “unknown” actress Karren Gillan is to be Dr Who’s new assistant has got me more than a little cross. I’m sure Miss Gillan is a fine actress, but as with the appointment of Matt Smith as the new Doctor, I reckon the producers have made a wrong move here. I would have liked to have seen Philip Glenister as the Doctor, as his playing of DI Gene Hunt in “Ashes To Ashes” is by far the best part of that show (incidentally, does anyone else find Keely Hawes’ character stupendously irritating in the show ?)

Why are we so surprised ?

The big story in the uk over the last couple of weeks has been about MP’s expenses claims…the story, originating in the Daily Telegraph shows just how rotten our politics has become in the UK. Why on earth should the British taxpayer have to subsidise the MPs with such frivolous things…A duck house…I ask you !!

Having spent this morning delivering leaflets for one of the main UK parties, I am finding that people are more and more dissillusioned with what we have for Government. The choice is in our hands now, time to get things how we want them…a country run by people who care what we think…

….but meanwhile, away from cloud cuckoo land…

Why I am such a decent person (or so I’m told…)

Shamelessly pinching a theme from another blogger I think it’s abotu time you knew a bit more about me…

1) I’m generous to a fault….I don’t like seeing others unhappy, and would go out of my way to help a friend in need. I would put them before me…which means I sometimes lose out but…

2) I still try to look at life in a “glass half full” way…never mind what life throws at me (and it’s thrown a lot these last couple of years), I still try to think positively, and hopefully this rubs off on others

3) I am a very emotional person, perhaps wrongly as a man. I think that to bottle up emotions can do more harm than good. Someone who was VERY special to me up to a couple of years ago noticed this, and she said I should try and keep my emotional side, as it didn’t help me, her or “us” if I kept things inside. Lesson learnt.

4) I am a sports fan of all sorts of sport. Mainly football (”soccer”, if you must!) and Cricket.
Conversely I wouldn’t watch golf, gridiron football or tennis if they were playing in my garden.

5) I am a great “hoarder”. I have books, DVDs, commemorative programmes and other tat that I should have thrown out ages ago, but have kept on to them for reasons best known to me. And, yes, most of my CDs are stored in the right order *laugh*

6) I hate change. I drive the same route to work every day, have a fairly rigid routine at weekends, and if something out of the ordinary happens, it can throw me off kilter. But…I also like to be with people who are the exact opposite as I am a strong believer in opposites attracting.

7) I am a frustrated journalist. This blog is the closest I come to my “dream” job. If I could spend my days just writing for a living, I’d be a very happy man.

8 ) I’m very much a “cat” person. I like their independence, and their habit of ensuring that no matter what you’re doing, they’re in the way. Dogs, on the other hand, normally leave me cold.

9) I can be viewed as doing things I should have grown out of by now…but as far as I’m concerned, if it’s something you enjoy, stuff what other people think. Who are other people to decide how we wish to live our lives ?

10) I do fall in love too easily. Don’t want to elaborate here.

11) I think too deeply about life sometimes. I can over-analyse things, and as a result I could miss the “big picture” by concentrating on the little things. An ex-girlfriend always said I spend too much time thinking, and I now know what she means.

12) I think that the “family unit” is an important one, and close ties between relatives is a good thing to have. I have watched my nephews grow up, for instance, at close quarters, and feel very proud to have seen it.

13) I like to think I have a good sense of humour. I use laughter to cover for any inadequacies others may see in me. If they’re laughing, I’m laughing. Simple as.

14) Mushy peas….ugh ! why, just why ??!!

15) I like the countryside…long walks in winter or summer, just enjoying the local natural habitat. We spend too much time indoors, and I like to see what Mother Nature has to offer

16) Anyone who has got this far without dozing off deserves a round of applause !

17) Nothing better to do with your life than read other people’s lists, huh ? There’s a job for you as a personal shopper….

18) Have you seriously not got anything else you’d rather be doing ??!!

19) …Like watching paint dry for instance?

20 You still here ??!!

Well seasoned…

So….Pagham’s season finished with a run of 5 defeats in a row for the first team…next season beckons already…and with the World Cup at the end of it, I hope that the football is more impressive for me than it has been this time round. Portsmouth have had “one of those days” most days on a Saturday…with Harry leaving when he did, and the Tony Adams debacle, not to mention concerns over the financial state of the club, I’m just wanting the season to finish as quickly as possible now.

Making a pig’s ear of things

Or rather making a pig’s nose of things…the scaremongering over the Swine Flu outbreak, I wonder if media hype is often to blame ? Personally I was annoyed to see the name of Max Clifford mentioned when the two original sufferers in the UK engaged his services. To my mind this IS NOT something to make into a publicity stunt…people are dying, and there was a risk of a pandemic…but hey, it sells papers, right ? Sometimes I’m ashamed of the british press, and those that choose to use their misfortune to make a quick buck.

Remember all the hype over bird ‘flu ? Where I live there was the very real possibility of quarantine for the local harbour and nature reserve…nothing came of it once the furore died down…and I hope I’m really proved right that the same will happen with Swine Flu. This country has enough to worry about with an incompetent government, and MPs claiming expenses for all sorts of spurious reasons without having the further worry over every little sneeze.

To Boldly go…

One film I’ve been looking forward to since it was announced is the new Star Trek film. With a whole new cast, including the brilliant choice of Zachary Quinto as Spock, I am more than a little feverish with excitement when wanting to see the film. With an otherwise “unknown” cast, it’ll be interesting to see how this pans out…review once I’ve seen it.

Sporting failure ?

With Sky dominating the sporting coverage here in the UK, one of the plusses of “freeview” for me was Setanta Sports 1 with the England games, some good footy from Europe, and the odd decent premiership match. Not to mention the FA Cup. So…I was concerned to hear they’re having Financial problems . Yet again the cack-handed way we deal with live sport in this country, not to mention the money-men in sport has meant that the armchair viewer is likely to be the one to suffer. One of the reasons I watch non-league football is that I know everyone is there for the love of the game, not there looking for their next pay-cheque….

Talking of Freeview…

My freeview box the Thomson DTI6300-16 has started to play up…damn thing…it was working fine for ages…then a software upgrade from the TUTV people…and now….grrrr !

The thing is, when it works, it’s brilliant. Recording two freeview channels whilst watching a third on ordinary terrestrial is a boon, as is the ability for it now to “defer” any recordings it’s missed…so it records the next possible showing of that programme…and, as I’m a simple soul…I’m still very impressed by the ability to re-wind & pause live TV…didn’t have that sort of thing when I was a lad !