tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54362272115443590242024-02-02T21:50:55.763+00:00Hannah Likes Sheep *Baa*<b>The many musing of me</b>
From the stranger on the bus, to wearing odd sock; from drinking tea, to counting to ten billion whilst standing on your head... and, undoubtedly, I will mention random things like sheep...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.comBlogger233125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-28200149722736797002013-10-17T00:49:00.001+01:002013-10-17T00:49:19.413+01:00Highstreet FoodwebIf cities are ecosystems and cars, pedestrians, and all the other road vehicles form a food web, cyclists are most definitely at the bottom. Their existence is rarely acknowledged and then on the rare occasions someone notices a bike, it's usually to complain about them. A bit like rats in London; most of the time they're forgotten about but when one is seen everyone panics and calls the exterminator. OK, maybe not the best of examples, but as a cyclist I often feel like I'm treated with the same level of disdain.<br />
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I definitely have a number of cycling horror stories, so if you're my parents, grandparents, or anyone who is remotely concerned about my survival as I journey to and from university and prone to worrying, I advise you to stop reading now.<br />
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If I had a pound for every pedestrian I've almost knocked over in the past year, I could probably afford to get the tube to university for the rest of this year. Pedestrians will wait for a car but as soon as they see that it's a cyclist coming, nope, not waiting. Even though it may be green for me, I still have to break and swerve to avoid knocking over the London commuters like pins in a bowling alley. Admittedly, most of these aren't near misses, just very frustrating for me considering I'm a cyclist who actually stops at red lights (unlike a number of other cyclists, including a PCSO amazingly enough!) However, I have had someone walk between queuing cars, straight in front of me in the cycle lane. The man didn't do a quick check to his left, or even respond to my (understandably) annoyed "Hey! Watch it!" and just continued chatting into his mobile. You would have thought a London businessman would be used enough to the idea of cyclists in London and there being a number of cycle lanes meaning the cyclists don't have to stop in the queues with the cars but nope, another case of cyclists not existing.<br />
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Pedestrians aren't the only culprits, Taxis are some of the worst. Often impatient and stopping in the most awkward of places. I've had at least one, and probably more I've forgotten about, almost knock me over because they've impatiently tried to get into the bus lane and not checked their mirrors. I had a motorbike do something similar with me having to test my brakes to their limit. Last time I checked, motorbikes aren't meant to use the cycle lane however this City Sprint motorbike zoomed into the cycle lane to skip the queue without checking and was mere centimetres from causing some serious damage to either me or my bike. I'm not easily shaken but that was the scariest incident I've had while cycling.<br />
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The most awkward bit about cycling in London is the fact that I'm expected to use the cycle lane but most of the time it's either not there, being over taken by half a car, full of pot holes, or has a car, van, lorry, taxi or bus (although to be fair the buses can't help it) sitting in the way. Going round these obstacles isn't half scary as no one wants to let you out of the cycle lane because you'll slow them down, even if it is for a few seconds, and there is rarely any gap. Nevertheless, I need to get round as I'll either be waiting until the drivers finish unloading in the case of vans and lorries, or I'll keep having to stop every bus stop because in London, where bus stops are so close to each other, I am more often than not faster than the buses.<br />
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Thankfully, it's not all doom and gloom. Most bus drivers will be patient enough to stick behind you unless it's a significant distance to the next bus stop and a driver or two have been known to make my day by politely letting me out as if I were a car. I could moan more about cars in the cycle lanes and lorries not cyclist space despite bearing stickers asking us to give them space however, on the whole, I quite enjoy cycling. It's nice to get some exercise and pass over London Bridge on my way to university, seeing some of the sights rather than being squished up against someone's armpit on the tube. Until I either get enough money for a private helicopter or teleportation is invented, I think I'll stick to the cheap and healthy cycle to university.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-32420385804327523052013-10-09T22:53:00.001+01:002013-10-09T22:53:58.683+01:00Would you like a book?Yesterday evening, the American author Maureen Johnson was given a Waterstones shirt and "free reign" of the Oxford Street store. A university friend and I went along to both meet her and try to resist the urge to buy books. That... well.... failed...<br />
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You see, I couldn't leave without buying one of Maureen Johnson's books (which she kindly signed) and then, well, I read the back of Every Day by David Levithan and just couldn't resist the urge to buy it. Also, "Let It Snow" was in the same offer so why not get a signed (well, 1/3 signed) copy?!</div>
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In the last 24 hours, I've already finished reading Every Day. It's been a while since I've just devoured a new book but each time I do I remember just how much I enjoy reading. Yesterday, as we were talking about books and reading blurbs, it reminded me of the thrill I used to get when I went through the bookshelves of the library, searching for an exciting new read (except with the constraint of money...). I wanted to buy half the books and I feel like I should let myself buy one or two new books a month to read, or at least read a couple of new books each month.</div>
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Books are a new world where you can get absorbed and forget your troubles. Time passes in a completely different way with only hunger and tiredness occasionally interrupting. You go rapidly from page to page, absorbing each word, not wanting the illusion to be broken; letting the fictional world become your own and never wanting to leave.</div>
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I want to be reminded of the awesomeness of fiction more often so readers, hold me to that and remind me every now and then to read a new book or chuck a suggestion my way!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-56719339219943867532013-10-01T21:47:00.001+01:002013-10-17T01:00:33.289+01:00I'll think of a title later...I am a queen procrastinator, and I hate it. Most people procrastinate from time to time; those reports you don't want to do or a visit to the doctor but I've been known to procrastinate things I enjoy doing. Don't even get me started on the things I don't want to do.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>procrastinate</b></span></blockquote>
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">pro·cras·ti·nate</b></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[proh-<b>kras</b>-t<i>uh</i>-n<i>eyt</i>, pruh-]<br />
verb, pro·cras·ti·nat·ed,pro·cras·ti·nat·ing. </blockquote>
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<i>verb (used without object)</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
1.to defer action; delay: to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>verb (used with object)</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
2.to put off till another day or time; defer; delay.</blockquote>
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Origin:<br />
1580–90; < Latin prōcrāstinātus (past participle of prōcrāstināre to put off until tomorrow, equivalent to prō-pro- + -crāstināre, derivative of crāstinus of tomorrow; crās tomorrow + -tinus suffix forming adjectives from temporal adverbs); see -ate</blockquote>
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What is worse is that I've somehow managed to justify this ability to "put off till another day or time" but doing other things that are useful, but not necessarily the most important. I might have some reading to do for university so I'll go clean the bathroom. Report to write? Go do the washing up. Dissertation to sort out? No problem, go back and do that other less important university reading!<br />
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Procrastinating university work sort of makes sense. Insert physiological analysis about being scared of getting a bad mark or doing it wrong so just avoiding the situation. However, where is the logic in putting off writing a blog, playing my flute or doing some painting? I enjoy those activities. I'm not getting marked on them so I can't get them wrong. The flute playing nobody even has to hear if I time it right so what is my problem?<br />
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I guess the only way to do it is to force myself into doing these tasks. I mean, once I start I generally go 'oh, that wasn't so bad' or something along those lines. It's the actually starting that I suck at.<br />
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And on that note, I'm going to go make myself doing some extra reading for one of my lectures. No clicking around on the internet, no distractions, just the thing I'm meant to be doing. Wish me luck.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-35889237837504511942013-09-15T21:00:00.000+01:002013-09-16T11:39:51.936+01:00With this ring....<p>I've been noticing recently that a LOT of people have got engaged or married in the past year. From January in fact. Close friends, sisters of close friends, acquaintances, friends of acquaintances, childhood friends I've not spoken to in ages, other friends where the radio silence hasn't been quite so long. Facebook of course, keeps me up to date with 'developments' and probably exaggerates the number. I mean, how many of these weddings and engagements would I know about if it weren't for Facebook? Probably only about half of them.</p>
<p>I guess at 20 I'm reaching the age where relationships aren't just giggly "so and so likes so and so" affairs but serious commitments of many years. A number of these couples I remember when they initially became 'a thing' while others, I'm so out of touch with that I've never even met their significant other to be.</p>
<p>Watching people who have been going out roughly the same amount of time as me and my boyfriend, and in some cases less, makes me think. Here isn't the place to share the outcome of those thoughts (assuming I've come to any sort of conclusion) however I will ask you this: Is marriage peer pressure a thing?</p>
<p>Growing up, the "get a boyfriend/girlfriend, get engaged, get married, have kids" is the overarching life-plan drilled into us, intentionally or not, by TV, books and films. 'Firsts' is always the big thing too; from the first to go up a stage in reading books, to the first to graduate to using ink pen, to first boyfriend/girlfriend and first kiss.</p>
<p>Having so many peers get engaged and married in some ways makes me wonder if I'm 'being slow' and means I'm definitely not 'first' in any stretch of the meaning. However, I just need to keep reminding myself that being first isn't everything. Engagement and marriage is hardly something you rush into and I'd much rather be the very last than be the first and then regret my decision. Nevertheless, I am curious as to where I'll be in a years time....</p>
<p>EDIT: since I wrote this, I've found out my boyfriend's cousin also got engaged this past week. Seriously, is there something in the air?!</p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-30153890706430440952013-09-14T20:00:00.000+01:002013-09-14T20:00:02.513+01:00Explaining my absenceSo, two posts have passed since my period of absence over the summer and I hear you all still wondering: what exactly were you up to?<br />
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Well, do you want the short answer or the long answer?<br />
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Short answer: Brunei, Scotland, Paris, Leysdown, Crowborough, Roothill<br />
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Long answer:<br />
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After my two field trips as I've mentioned in my previous blogs, I had a few days breather before flying over to Paris for a short holiday sightseeing. Being under 25 and citizens of the EU, me and my boyfriend spent our time using this to be as touristy as possible at pretty much zero cost. We went round as many art galleries and museums as possible, including the Louvre obviously, seeing the Mona Lisa, Van Gough's amazing artwork including a few of those seen in the Doctor Who episode, Monet's waterlilies, and a huge number of other pieces of amazing artwork, a number of which I spent my time frowning at the plaques, trying to remember if they'd been mentioned in my GCSE art classes. We also went to the Notre Dame, Shakespeare and Company, a French games shop, under but not up the Eiffel Tower, and I definitely didn't try to visit as many of the landmarks mentioned in "<a href="http://www.stephanieperkins.com/books.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Anna and the French Kis</a>s" as possible....<br />
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After Paris, I headed back "home home" to my parents to spend a week with them, visiting family and just generally having 'family time' seen as it was to be the only week of the summer I was free to do that!<br />
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I then headed off to Leysdown on the Isle of Sheppey to spend a week with United Beach Missions. I had a challenging but encouraging and enjoyable time sharing the gospel in the wonderful Sunday School style of the 2.30pm program and running about playing various games in the morning. Unfortunately, the week was interrupted by the terrible news that a body had been found on the beach preventing the use of the beach and shocking us by the lack of concern in Leysdown. Not to mention that our presence on the football field the previous evening meant that we were all questioned (no, the police don't have a box that neatly describes my hair colour). A sensitive and sad interruption to the week but we pray that it highlighted the importance of the message we were sharing.<br />
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On a lighter note, after not quite a week at home, I headed off to Crowborough to lead on the same camp as I grew up going to and led on last year. However, this year, I was on catering, having to make sure there was enough food for breakfast, lunch and supper (thankfully someone else was cooking the evening meals!). The catering went much smoother than I expected, even if we were slightly short on cakes and had way too much milk left over! I had an amazing discussion group, some of whom I had last year and it was so encouraging to see how they had grown as christians. I shared my testimony on the Friday which was daunting but some of the comments afterwards were encouraging and then in the evening the traditional midnight feast ensued. My part involved feeding the campers and one of the leaders various nice and not so nice food items in a taste test style including dog food. Well... sort of... *wink nudge* It got a brilliant response!<br />
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After a weekend to recovered from the lack of sleep inflicted by camp followed by only four hours on the last night, I eventually headed off to Roothill Camp, the last long distance trip for Noah the car... (More on that another time...) I initially wasn't going to go to Roothill at all what with it being straight after Crowborough however, how could I miss such an awesome camp?!<br />
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We (Beth and I) got there late afternoon on Wednesday, in time for Beth to talk about her trip to India with GBM's Envision program and to enjoy two full days of this relaxing but challenging camp to finish off my summer. The Thursday was the annual visit to Littlehampton and, like most years, we got fish and chips, played crazy golf, went on the Dodgems and the Waltzer. Unlike normal, I managed to lose my glasses on the Waltzer.... Josh was mortified that he had managed to knock them off my face however, knowing I had a spare pair in my bag and after having scratched them the week before, I found the situation rather funny! However, we still had a good look for the flying glasses and, on not finding anything, left my details with the fairground people. I'll let you know if I hear anything but I'm not holding my breath...<br />
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So that brings us to now, where I'm back up in London, pretended to be productive but actually putting off doing more of my coursework and dissertation research. Summer over and third year looming over me...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-4400582820382114922013-09-13T20:00:00.000+01:002013-09-13T20:00:01.221+01:00Dolphins in the DeepRemember where I was at the end of July? No? Well, read <a href="http://hannahlikessheepbaa.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/cetaceans-in-clyde.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a> first because this is a follow up from that post and, well, you might get a bit confused....<br />
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So, I left you wondering, will I see dolphins in the two days left in Scotland? The second day on Mull consisted of a land based tour and the weather wasn't anything special so we didn't see any dolphins. However, as the title of this blog (totally not nicked off an Animal Ark book..) might suggest, the last day was much more promising...<br />
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The third day we were out with Sealife Surveys on their boat, Sula Beag. We had barely started the transect when, someone thought they spotted a dolphin a way off. Sure enough, there were a couple of dolphins swimming parallel to the shore. Awesome! I thought, I've seen some dolphins! The thing is, someone else pointed out some more dolphins, and then another few dolphins and soon we seemed to have 16+ dolphins swimming around the boat, close enough that we didn't need binoculars.<br />
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Wow, I thought. No doubting I've seen some bottlenose dolphins and the ten year old in me was ecstatic! However, the dolphins must have decided that they hadn't put on enough of a show. Two dolphins swam alongside the boat, no more than 5 meters away at one point. I was barely containing my excitement. I whipped out my little point and shoot knowing even that little thing could get a photo of these elegant creatures.<br />
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I felt 10 again. However, this time, instead of reading about dolphins in an Animal Ark book, living precariously through the eyes of Mandy Hope, I was the one seeing the dolphins mere meters away. It was breathtaking. I'm pretty sure our bird sightings dipped at that point because nobody was looking up, only down!</div>
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This is the boat's picture of one of the dolphins we saw that day, much better than any I was taking! I'm pretty sure increasing the shutter speed isn't something I can do on my little camera...</div>
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I was ready to go home at that point. I'd seen more dolphins than I thought I'd even see, and all without leaving the United Kingdom, however this was just the beginning.</div>
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Less than an hour later, a shout of "MINKE!" came from the other end of the boat and, sure enough, a minke whale was surfacing surprisingly close to the boat. We then saw that same whale surfacing after diving another two times before we eventually parted ways.</div>
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Of course, a number of harbour and grey seals were seen along with a plethora of sea-birds however harbour and grey seals are slightly less exciting once you've spent some time in Scotland and have spotted some cetaceans!</div>
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Essentially, after the dissapointment of the first boat trip out on Mull, the last day more than made up for it. Sure, we may not have seen a killer whale or a basking shark but hey, you can't have everything.<br />
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I'll leave you with a group photo of everyone on that boat, grinning away after such a successful day 'whale-watching'. Can you spot me?!<br />
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<i>"So long, and thanks for all the fish."</i></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-52418197979352945672013-09-12T19:20:00.003+01:002013-09-12T19:20:40.874+01:00Mantis in the ShowerIn the crazy business that is my typical summer, I somehow slipped from giving you the occasional update to leaving you in the dark. No, the zombie blog hasn't been killed by a stray mortal, just sleeping while I continued to travel about.<br />
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As those of you who have been reading know, my summer started with heading 14+ hours around the globe to Brunei in Borneo for a field trip. This already seems like a distant memory, despite being less than 3 months ago. Nevertheless, it's an experience I don't want to forget and hey, didn't I mention I'd share some pictures with you?<br />
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Meeting some friends of friends (and some of their friends!) and getting taken on a tour of Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital...<br />
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Trying some of the Local food (this particular morsel tasted a bit like a doughnut..) and in generally being overfed yummy Brunei-an food....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesIZynQH2Uy-wmH2nu-VJzkP8D2YbQJ6ynvknHHbjaf0NKOaejuiyF8n9n8hJ30VAIsMS3uGG_023Qo7nfM40r_-ahCumd9C76HCNS773UaLLclG66voXjjgG9HzAobH6n10YYwGvxWCn/s1600/SAM_1530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesIZynQH2Uy-wmH2nu-VJzkP8D2YbQJ6ynvknHHbjaf0NKOaejuiyF8n9n8hJ30VAIsMS3uGG_023Qo7nfM40r_-ahCumd9C76HCNS773UaLLclG66voXjjgG9HzAobH6n10YYwGvxWCn/s320/SAM_1530.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesIZynQH2Uy-wmH2nu-VJzkP8D2YbQJ6ynvknHHbjaf0NKOaejuiyF8n9n8hJ30VAIsMS3uGG_023Qo7nfM40r_-ahCumd9C76HCNS773UaLLclG66voXjjgG9HzAobH6n10YYwGvxWCn/s1600/SAM_1530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a> Finding that THIS was our view for our first week; experiencing the rainforest which is sort of like British woodland but at the same time NOT AT ALL THE SAME. (I mean, so many different sounds, smells, different species of animals and plants where ever you look and an amazing sense of God's creation, despite being surrounded by atheist scientists); and having "ooh! can we catch that?!" being exclaimed every other second in the evenings when insects galore were enticed by the bright lights....<br />
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Getting up BEFORE BREAKFAST to kayak on a swap full of crocodiles, and then heading back out again after a noodle-y breakfast to collect more samples. Oh, and then heading back out in the evening to go searching for crocodiles.....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAH0l2g5S3CpiOA3Xcqauo-yu9pIHcPaNTVwYD6rHEFVPZCVOOpg2dcBwaeUD5nZ5mCmdsGbls7fIqQrFxnAA12Aff6vM-HsdKqzeg0c7JQqb3w0n9bi2w6re2glzmrncL-6o2kVVqrhy/s1600/SAM_1695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAH0l2g5S3CpiOA3Xcqauo-yu9pIHcPaNTVwYD6rHEFVPZCVOOpg2dcBwaeUD5nZ5mCmdsGbls7fIqQrFxnAA12Aff6vM-HsdKqzeg0c7JQqb3w0n9bi2w6re2glzmrncL-6o2kVVqrhy/s320/SAM_1695.JPG" width="320" /></a> Handling tiny bats (this one here is a fruit bat, Latin name of <i>Balionycteris maculata </i>if you care...) and catching, marking and recapturing dragonflies, as well as seeing many other stunning critters everywhere we looked....<br />
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Dissecting a fish from the swamp which had a gut length of almost a meter which is about eight times as long as it's body length....<br />
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Entering C3 forest (basically forest that's so protected we could only going in because we're 'scientists', had permission, and had rangers with us) and seeing hords of termites and ants absolutely everywhere and getting bitten but a number of ants (the smaller being the more painful!)...<br />
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Travelling between sites primarily by boat via a mangrove where we saw this cat snake...<br />
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Having tree frogs right next to where we were sleeping and finding a giant spider in the bathroom. Apparently the story goes that one of my friends went to the lecturer saying "there's a spider in the bathroom", the lecturer assumed it wouldn't be that big and went up to see it/remove it by hand only to go 'oh...' and go fetch a rather large jar/measuring cylinder from the lab. Side note: that spider then started to spin a fine web at the bottom of that jar as if preparing to lay eggs so we released it pretty rapidly!</div>
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Getting up before sunrise so early (about 4am!) that with the 7 hour time difference, my friends in England were still awake, but not regretting it at all because we got to see the run rise over the canopy and walk in amongst the highest branches...</div>
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Finding a beautiful mantis in the shower and having bats flight mere centimetres above our heads as they were catching the insects attracted to the lights on the walkways....<br />
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Watching my lecturers get so excited over the creatures they found, as well as getting excited myself by giant stag beetles and another giant spider spinning a web on the side of the walkway....</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Finally, having to leave the beautiful, hot, sweaty, mesmerising tropics, wishing I could have taken more photos and treasuring the memories and few decent photos my little point and shoot managed to capture for me.</span></div>
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"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth"</div>
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Genesis 1v1</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com3Brunei Darussalam4.535277 114.727668999999993.5222865 113.4367755 5.5482675 116.01856249999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-27116879259047450932013-07-14T21:49:00.000+01:002013-07-14T21:49:04.682+01:00Cetaceans in the ClydeOnce again, I'm on a field trip. This time in the not so sunny Scotland. For the past week I was on the Isle of Cumbrae at Millport's marine research centre and as of yesterday, I am on the much less sunny Mull.<br />
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With two full days left, I've been spending the majority of my time on various boats, looking out across the water recording sea birds, seals and their behaviour, and other marine mammal sightings (which have unfortunately been a lot less abundant than the birds!)<br />
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When I was younger, I was obsessed with dolphins. My room in my parents house is still covered in various dolphin paraphernalia and something about the elusive and notoriously playful marine mammals fascinated me. As I've grown up, my obsession has lessened as I've found out about equally (or more) awesome animals however dolphins still trigger that initial childlike obsession.<br />
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Unfortunately, I haven't been very successful at sighting dolphins. I've seen a few porpoises (which are close enough) but the spinner dolphin our group saw earlier was on the wrong side of the boat to me and didn't hang around long enough and I was again in the wrong place when a large group of dolphins were seen from the window of the communal area. With only 2 days left, I am very much hoping I fulfil this childhood dream of seeing dolphins but I guess we shall wait and see!<br />
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Of course, the lack of dolphins does not mean I haven't had a great time. We stopped off at one of the islands with a tremendously large colony of puffins and the sight was immense. Seeing so many birds fly about in almost a swam and being able to see their behaviour up close (not too close I must add, we didn't want to disturb them!) was incredible. Hopefully I have a decent photo on my camera!<br />
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Scotland is lovely. It's nice to be back here however, after almost a month of mainly being away from home, I have to admit I am very much looking forward to going home, being able to go to church on a Sunday (rather than spending it working!!) and spending some quality time with my boyfriend.<br />
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So long blogger, I hope to see you soon.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-3260283127917871582013-06-30T01:07:00.001+01:002013-06-30T02:24:40.412+01:00Leaving the tropics<p>Today is my last day in Borneo. Soon I will be jumping on a canoe then a minibus then another boat to get back to Bandar Seri Begawan before jumping on a long haul flight back home. </p>
<p>The past two weeks have been amazing and it will be weird to go back home but I have to admit I'm rather looking forward to seeing everyone and sleeping in my own bed!</p>
<p>The thing I'll probably miss the most is the abundance of awesome insects and creatures popping up around every corner. Mantids in the shower, massive spiders on the walk to breakfast, giant moths near the laundry room, and tree frogs just beside our accommodation. Everything at home is small and relatively boring in comparison!</p>
<p>However, I have to leave at some point. So, goodbye Brunei and hello England!<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5q10XI2nOY1sPDiJ7a2AEi259y7Zcyn0NVXwEk0nWlqc0LCG7CJ_lnk7TEY4Ka26At7XkyjntNcrJx0K12yxmhQvs-gyKbj6ToRTy82fPYSUeSztw58MKaYo2S3N9WVVReDM9AAdCBtdK/s1600/20130630_080257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5q10XI2nOY1sPDiJ7a2AEi259y7Zcyn0NVXwEk0nWlqc0LCG7CJ_lnk7TEY4Ka26At7XkyjntNcrJx0K12yxmhQvs-gyKbj6ToRTy82fPYSUeSztw58MKaYo2S3N9WVVReDM9AAdCBtdK/s640/20130630_080257.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNsKv-Ojm-bE2vj8Z1IFLKPN9pvi07j-Z8VM3SB5a1jJgFkX37AS7T5mhC8qnHQI8NxbLWTBnU2A0gU01M-Qc3PznWpvwatSft1ZZ_Pt88ZOzbn6jbVpYBZeKGMeGs3lXFeyf3xH5zX2E/s1600/20130629_213011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNsKv-Ojm-bE2vj8Z1IFLKPN9pvi07j-Z8VM3SB5a1jJgFkX37AS7T5mhC8qnHQI8NxbLWTBnU2A0gU01M-Qc3PznWpvwatSft1ZZ_Pt88ZOzbn6jbVpYBZeKGMeGs3lXFeyf3xH5zX2E/s640/20130629_213011.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4V36vEISXrCTuegZZXUGlGep6s2H8MnUmFd69d_KoNJuJLlAnbSUevKV431q3Mr4tcuGspFWMrlb2Ut3LNZv2t2NEsvAA6IiY7Xi3OJbxvwYZG7QUmuQdTIOdk5C5P5SpQEC8iBln7kE/s1600/20130627_212113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4V36vEISXrCTuegZZXUGlGep6s2H8MnUmFd69d_KoNJuJLlAnbSUevKV431q3Mr4tcuGspFWMrlb2Ut3LNZv2t2NEsvAA6IiY7Xi3OJbxvwYZG7QUmuQdTIOdk5C5P5SpQEC8iBln7kE/s640/20130627_212113.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4pet2S0SCJ2u_uFGwyHOHn8C9mQ-CzqUKYvVZH6FnGl-WrCTq9o-yJ3-hgwQtE_9X0OxvFY4fC0ijkZsIBNq0bcU3X6QyYZjizcKpSU1DXL-c8Zq8NNFQiFNVHVwv3o8cb4mpM9nXEqPw/s1600/IMG_20130625_225836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4pet2S0SCJ2u_uFGwyHOHn8C9mQ-CzqUKYvVZH6FnGl-WrCTq9o-yJ3-hgwQtE_9X0OxvFY4fC0ijkZsIBNq0bcU3X6QyYZjizcKpSU1DXL-c8Zq8NNFQiFNVHVwv3o8cb4mpM9nXEqPw/s640/IMG_20130625_225836.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-26145821186089278942013-06-28T09:26:00.001+01:002013-06-28T09:26:25.490+01:00Enjoying the rainforest<p>For the past week and a half, I have been in Brunei, Borneo, on a field trip studying tropical ecology. In fact, I'm still here now, looking out from our accommodation at the rainforest which is currently living up to it's name. Yes, if you hadn't guessed, it's tipping down with rain. Thundering too at the moment but I don't think the name is going to be changed to 'thunderforest' any time soon.</p>
<p>We are currently at the Kuala Belalong field studies centre which means we're in forest pretty much untouched by anyone except animals and biologist. Trust me, it is stunning. As I've been walking around the forest and travelling along the river, it's amazing to see all the beautiful creatures, all the bright colours and vivid greens, how much larger everything seems to be compared to the British counterpart and how much more painful it is when they bite you...</p>
<p>I'm hoping I'll have some amazing photos when I get back to a place with internet that doesn't slow down to snails pace whenever it rains or more than 2 people are using it but for now you will have to take my word. Moths larger than my hand, ants that could rival some of our British spiders in size, spiders that could rival our blue tits and sparrows for size and birds that come in all colours of the rainbow. Oh, and did I mention the bats? So small yet fly so elegantly as they pick insects out of the air. </p>
<p>Sure it's ferociously humid and it took most of us a week to acclimatise fully but I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying myself. Kayaking around a peat swamp searching for crocs, setting camera traps, going into forest barely touched and off limits to the general public, waking up to the sound of cicadas, falling asleep to the sound of barking geckos and almost tripping over a massive moth on my way to bed. Part of me doesn't want to come home.</p>
<p>However, Sunday is fast approaching, home time looming, and I want to enjoy as much more as I can fit in without exhausting myself too much. Canopy walk tomorrow morning at 5am is currently on the agenda!</p>
<p>See you soon England!</p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com2Ulu Temburong National Park, null4.448129 115.21263tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-37033766775954843662013-06-10T21:50:00.001+01:002013-06-10T21:51:23.865+01:00We're all going on a summer holidayMy exams are over, and now my summer is spread out in front of me like a wide river that needs to be crossed and I've barely dipped my toes in. If you hadn't already gathered, I have an awful lot planned for the next few months. I think I'm spending more time away from home than at home and I have no idea when I'm going to have a chance to see many friends and family. Nevertheless, this summer is going to be exciting.<br />
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I've only ever flown once before (a trip with school to Poland) and this summer sees me doing three return flights, one of which is the long journey over to Borneo. I still haven't quite processed the fact that I'm flying to pretty much the other side of the world in less than a week. I have all the things I need to take, flights are booked, last meeting was today, however, it still seems unreal that I'm actually going to be leaving the UK. Maybe by the time I'm all packed properly it will seem more real. I guess we shall see.<br />
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Of course, Borneo (Brunei to be more specific) is only the beginning of my summer. The first of two third year field trips which will both be a mixture of fun and work. I'm currently unsure of the ratio... Nevertheless, these two trips alone take up practically a whole months worth of summer and that's before you include the usual volume of volunteering and a four day trip to Paris. Busy doesn't really cover it.<br />
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Unfortunately, this means I'm going to be away from my home church(es?) for most of the summer. At the most I'll have two Sundays in London and the same applies for Kent. More annoyingly, four of those Sundays will be swallowed up by travelling to, from or during the two field trips. I love my university course but I do wish I didn't have to miss so much church to join in on the field trips. On a more positive note, three of those Sundays will be taken up by plane journeys so I can still listen to sermons. Talking of which, can anyone recommend any particular sermons and give me a download link? I never know where to start!<br />
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Therefore, although I have only just started getting back into this blogging malarkey, I cannot guarantee regular updates over the summer. Sure, I'll have a lot of exciting things going on but who knows when I'll have time to tell you about them?! Maybe this is the year of the scheduled posts....Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-88770959249028928212013-05-29T00:35:00.002+01:002013-05-29T00:36:23.866+01:00Spam-a-lotIn my embarrassingly long absence, I have had a rather large number of comments. Well, by large, I mean more than the odd one or two from friends that I know read my posts. Unfortunately, these haven't been wonderful new people who have discovered my blog hoping for me to post more. Instead these have be spam.<br />
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Most spam is just annoying. I don't want to look at your website, even if that link is genuine; what I want is constructive discussions and feedback. Nevertheless, before I have a tidy up and delete these comments boosting my comment numbers (probably reporting them for spam), I thought I'd share some of the funnier ones.<br />
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Some of the posts, like this one look like they might be genuine... but it just seems too stilted...<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #1c1c1c; color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Good dаy! I could have sworn I've been to this website before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it's new to mе.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #1c1c1c; color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Anyhow, ӏ'm definitely delighted I found it and I'll be bοok-marking </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #1c1c1c; color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">and checking back often!</span></blockquote>
However, most of them it's just so obvious that they haven't read the post and that, in fact, they are probably a bot.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #1c1c1c; color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Write more, thats</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #1c1c1c; color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #1c1c1c; color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">the video to make your point.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #1c1c1c; color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">You definitely know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #1c1c1c; color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">just posting videos to your blog when you could</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #1c1c1c; color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">be giving us something enlightening to read?</span></blockquote>
This one was posted on <a href="http://hannahlikessheepbaa.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/settle-all-places.html?">Settle ALL THE PLACES!</a> Which, is most definitely not a video... But thank you bot for calling me intelligent... I think...<br />
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Ok, it felt like there were most spam post than this but the rest were much of the same, if anything duller. However, after a comment spring clean, I urge you to leave comments. I'd like to think actual intelligent comments will encourage me to blog more... I guess we'll have to wait and see!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-87978570607406006892013-05-15T16:43:00.001+01:002013-05-15T17:11:35.632+01:00Examinate, examinate<p>Exams are pretty much unavoidable if you want recognition for any form of education. Whether it's a food hygiene course or a university degree, there is bound to be at least one exam. Between May and July, students everywhere can't ignore that fact as they sit at individual desks in sports halls and classrooms across the country, trying to focus on the paper in front of them. Of course, I'm no exception.</p>
<p>At my university in London, everyone has around 8 exams, all approximately 2.5 hours long. If you're lucky, you have them all nicely spaced out over the whole of May; if you're like myself and a number of others on my course, you'll end up with a clump of three in,a row. Always helpful for knowing how to order and organise the revision.</p>
<p>The thing about exams is that I'm never very sure if they're the best way to test the knowledge we should have gained over the year. Sure, they're the easiest way to standardise marks and bulk assess but are the people who get good grades the people who will be the best employees or are they just the ones who are best at memorising and conforming to the system?</p>
<p>I'm not saying I have an alternative.far from it. Coursework can only test some areas and there simply not enough teachers for each student to be individually assessed over the year. However, with the age of the internet, you can find any journal article you need without searching the shelves of the library and a lot of text books are now ebooks, almost eradicating the need to step into a library or memorise facts quite so precisely. There's an ongoing debate whether this is making us lazy or just helping us focus more on what we're really interested in but I have to admit, I'm yet to use the university library for books...</p>
<p>Whatever your opinion on the accuracy of examinations, I think most people agree that they are stressful and unenjoyable. So, as I head home from exam 5 of 8 I'll ask you: is there another way to test our assimilation efficiency?</p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-84146195053159017802013-05-14T19:27:00.000+01:002013-05-14T19:27:12.212+01:00Brains....<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the silvery light of the new moon, rats scurried over the abandoned tombstones of blogs past. Every now and then, a new stone would appear, already covered in cobwebs, cracks showing through the mist, but no one was there to see them come. The only movements in the whole graveyard were the scurrying and flapping of unwanted rodents, taking refuge in a place long forgotten. A grey mist covered the whole site, hiding the edges. If anyone had been there, they would have assumed that the graveyard went on forever: the shrivelled grass, withered plants, moss covered tomb stones and the deathly silence. Almost everything was thought dead in the graveyard. This dilapidated deathly place was where blog ended up accidentally abandoned by their owners and stagnating in the air of forgotten musings.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Today, the graveyard seemed to be the same as every other day. The sun still couldn't quite break through the clouds, the rodents present as ever and the silence almost deafening. Until, a scratching noise broke the never-ending silence. The rodents ran in panic away from the personal section of the graveyard, scurrying in every direction as a grave marked only as hannahlikessheepbaa.blogspot.com shifted conspicuously. The ground began to shake and the ground beneath the grave seemed to be rising up.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The noises got louder and louder. The scratching became a deafening roar, joined by screams and moans. First one hand then another burst through the vibrating ground until a fully formed, yet somewhat decaying, blogger burst through the ground.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Braaaaaiiinnnnsss" moaned the blogger, slowly but surely heading towards what she hoped was the land of the living. For today was the day that the zombie blogger attacked....</blockquote>
<br />
So, technically, this blog is dead. It had an official funeral and everything however, I have decided to bring it back. I mean, I didn't really intend to let it die in the first place however I guess life got in the way and then I got out of the habit and then... well, just imagine your own excuses, they're probably on the long list somewhere.<br />
<br />
Technically, I should be revising. I am half way through my second year exams (4 down, 4 to go) with another exam tomorrow afternoon. However, after a very stressful exam this afternoon and a feeling of relative preparation for tomorrow, I decided now was as good as any other time to revive this stagnant blog.<br />
<br />
It has been way too long. I mean WAAY too long... I've finished first year and almost finished second year, move from university to (rather leaky) private accommodation and have been busy with goodness knows how many things.<br />
<br />
However, the main reason I've wanted to revive this blog before the summer is because I am going to be VERY busy in the summer and, as this includes going to Borneo, I am hoping to keep some memories of this summer in more than just photos. It would be nice to be able to look back and see how I felt, what I experience when my camera wasn't in my hand, and what events I thought were most important at the time. This is going to be a big summer, not only because I'm doing so much but this is potentially my last proper summer holiday as I have no idea what I'll be doing after university.<br />
<br />
So, keep on bugging me and don't let me slip up so badly again!<br />
<br />
I hope to see you soon,<br />
<br />
Hannahlikessheepbaa<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-7601710839486395772012-02-24T23:20:00.000+00:002012-02-24T23:20:18.776+00:00Settle ALL THE PLACES!!<div>
As you know, it was my birthday about a month ago and among the meeting up with friends, I got some pretty cool presents. However, my favourite (well, tied favourite with The Fault in Our Stars) and definitely the most well used was the board game Josh got me: Settlers of Catan.<br />
If you haven't heard of Settlers of Catan before then 1) I insist you find a way to play it as soon as humanly possible (although faster would be preferable) and 2) here is a brief summary:<br />
The goal of Settlers is to be the first to reach 10 victory points. You gain these points by building settlements, upgrading your settlements to cities, having the longest road, having the largest army (made up of knights which are a type of development card) or from a development card that specifically says "1 victory point". (As well as being knights and victory points, development cards can also give you other bonuses such as building two free roads, gaining two free resource cards or taking resource cards off other people.)<br />
You build roads, settlements and cities and buy development cards by trading in resource cards in specific combinations of sheep, wheat, rock (well, technically ore but we never call it that), brick, and wood and these resource cards are gained depending where your settlements are on the board and what number is rolled on the die.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXQ-WihcRQsN-rVphoHHlupRFjI4nYMJe0rBsnFY2RhMRFcYA6Sz0x522mBqbNJcbuMlI2Uy39Jll9mT7gFXPvXg3vDerUxFynxxj5xJX0tFv0HWMmEEtVuLKJd4uy1m6ubG1Fk4Mu5d64/" /> <br />
1) Resource card<br />
2) Development card (here giving you 1 VP)<br />
3) Roads<br />
4) Example of a port where you can trade resource cards if you have a settlement next to one<br />
5) The robber. It is moved when a 7 is rolled or when a knight is played and blocks a hex stopping the adjacent settlements from recieving the resource cards<br />
6) The cards showing how much everything costs and the cards to indicate who has the longest road or biggest army<br />
7) These numbers go on the hexagons and when that number is rolled, the resource of the hex can potentially be collected<br />
8) The smaller one is a settlement, the larger, more church like one is a city<br />
9) A hex. Different ones indicate different resources. For example, this one indicates wheat<br />
10-12) Pretty self explanitary... the board... the rule book, the die...<br />
<br />
Anyway, after that not so brief summary, I would definitely recommend playing it. I was introduced by a friend a couple of years ago and since my birthday, everyone I've introduced it to has loved it. It my have a similar sort of concept as Monopoly but Settlers is just hands down better. You still take turns to build and roll the die but you can still collect resource cards when it's not your go, you can still trade cards with whoever is having their turn and your plan can be changed drastically when it's not your go. You can't just pop off to the loo quite so easily without missing anything and it requires a lot more skill and planning than Monopoly. Furthermore, it is much quicker. Monopoly has been known to go on for over 2 hours with people getting so bored once the initial gaining of properties has been passed. However, Settlers requires you to keep focused, pay attention, and a game is usually under the 2 hour length. It's not always clear who will win and things can change drastically with even just the placement of one more settlement in a good place.<br />
<br />
Basically, I am obsessed with a great game. I think I've played on average almost once a week since my birthday where possible and I'm still not fed up. Each game is different and different tactics lead to a win each time. Additionally, the flexibility of the board means you can change it so the "best" places on the board are different each time.<br />
<br />
I think if I say much more it'll be overkill so I just have one word: PLAY.<br />
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Live long and keep blogging =]</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-10873535095757875132012-02-19T02:15:00.000+00:002012-02-19T02:15:44.223+00:00Don't interupt me, I'm reading a book!I tend to go through reading phases. I will go weeks or even months without reading a single book and then I'll read three or more in quick succession. At the momont, I'm going through a patch of high reading density - partly due to "The Fault In Our Stars" and partly because I'm starting to get familure enough with the tube to feel ok reading on it - so I thought I would share some of my thoughts with you.<br />
<br />
<b><i>The Fault in our Stars - John Green</i></b><br />
I've been waiting for this book for what feels like forever. So long in fact that I didn't want to start it in case my expectations exceeded the reality however, ohn Green certainly didn't dissapoint. Without giving away any major plot lines, I will say that this book is one of the most heart-felt and full of feeling books I've ever read. It takes a lot to make me cry at a film with all the atmospheric music and even more so for a book yet The Fault in our Stars had me feeling so atatched to the characters, so much part of the plot and I felt like I was going through all the feelings with Hazel almost as if I was her. So great and thought provoking was the novel that I genuinely just sat and pondered for half an hour before actually getting on with anything else. John writes from Hazel's perspective as a teenage girl almost worryingly well and the novel exceeded my expectations and fully deserves the praiee and attention it has been recieving. It truely doesn't forget to bet awesome.<br />
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<b><i>Let It Snow - Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle</i></b><br />
After the emotionally heavy nature of The Fault in our Stars, I decided that a light, rather stereotypical christmas romance would be good. However, with John Green and Maureen Johnson as two of the authors, I knew it would be great. Although this book is arguably a typical 'boy falls in love with girl' compilation, there is a brilliant unique twist to these stories: the three short stories all interlink. As you would expect with a book containing three short stories, the separate authors' novellas each stand alone in their own right, telling three wonderful love stories in their own distinguishable styles (particularly noticable if you've read any of their other books) however, the three stories subtly overlap. Whichever order you read them in, after the first novella, characters you've previously met pop up subtly in the other two and the three link together seemlessly. If you often find yourself wondering what happened tothat character that only got briefly mentioned then I think this will be a great book for you! In real life, there are often those people we only know as 'that guy at school' or 'that girl who works at the coffee shop' but this intertwined style of writing makes you think about those people, reminding you that their lives are just as complicated as yours and in fact they don't stop existing the moment you close your eyes.<br />
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<b><i>About a Boy - Nick Hornby</i></b><br />
I'm a pretty firm believer in 'read it first' when it comes to films based on books, however, there are a few cases where I haven't found out a film is based on a book until during or after the film and About a Boy is one of those cases. I'm not very far through the book but I can't help but feel that the film has ruined my enjoyment of the book. I can't help but see Hugh Grant as Will and already knowing the ending always spoils a book. I just can't quite read it without many plot based presumptions. Nevertheless, I'm not saying I'm disliking the book. It's a pretty good and easy read and definitely worth the 10p I spent on it at a jumble sale but it is most certainly being added to my list of examples of books/films that back up the argument to 'read it first'!<br />
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Live long and keep blogging =]<br />
<br />
by the way, some of you might say I've failed on the whole blogging weekly thing however here are three good reasons why I haven't:<br />
1) I haven't gone to sleep yet so it's functionally still Saturday<br />
2) A lot of people work by a Monday to Monday week<br />
3) It's still technically Saturday in some other time zonesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-3013217979997163772012-02-08T22:33:00.001+00:002012-02-08T22:33:58.324+00:00Snow?!For a while, the idea of snow has been batted about. Will it snow? Won't it snow? Will it reach London? Did you see it sleet for two minutes? Well, at the weekend, it finally snowed in London.<br />
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It was the first time I'd seen snow in London and to be honest, snow at home is much more exciting. Sure, London looks clean for once directly after the snowfall but before long, the smog makes the ice black and the snow just melts away. Bit anticlimatic if you ask me.<br />
<br />
I was on Skype to my parents earlier and they still have quite a lot of snow left in the garden. Here in London, the snow was practically gone before I had a chance to turn around and say snowball fight! Then again, it being London, I wasn't so inclined to have a snowball fight as the snow just doesn't seem as clean as at home. No offence London.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I took a few pictures from the hill near my university so I thought I'd share them here. I was also in Soho when it snowed however I didn't have my camera with me then so I don't have any pictures of a dark, snowy Soho or Picadilly Circus.<br />
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Live long and keep blogging =]Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-13799697499903627442012-02-03T22:51:00.000+00:002012-02-03T22:51:17.907+00:00Helping the HomelessYesterday evening, I went to church to give a hand with the night shelter that the church takes a turn with each week during the winter months. At East London Tabernacle, the home groups each take a turn to take charge of cooking the meal and this Thursday, the home group that I'm part of took charge.<br />
<br />
As well as giving a hand with the cooking (we'll ignore the incident of the burnt chick peas) we sat in amongst those welcomed into the church for a warm meal and a bed for the night, talking to them or, in the case of the guy I ended up sitting next to, being talked at.<br />
<br />
While the guy we were talking to didn't have much education, hadn't been to uni, been expelled from college and had been out on the streets for around 12 years, listening to him gives you a wider perspective on life. I may know more than he'd care to know about differential equations or ecosystems but he knows how to survive on the streets, he knows more than I do about political situations (but then, seen as I know next to nothing that's not hard) and I really think the goverment should take a leaf out of Sherlock's book and use the homeless network to solve the UK's drugs problems and simultaniously getting more people off the street!! Possibly... I never claimed to be the next prime minister...<br />
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On a totally unrelated note, I'm going to head off to make a den with Josh, Rosanna and Bradley.<br />
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Live long and keep blogging =]Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-89921005049230767812012-01-26T18:04:00.001+00:002012-01-26T18:06:25.131+00:00Happy Birthday [Insert name here]On Saturday, it was the 21st January and yours truly reached the age of 19. The last year of being a teenager is upon me and I feel absolutely no different. Not surprising really but seen as at 19 nothing particularly exciting happens such as driving or anything becoming legal or anything like that, I shall tell you about my Saturday.<br />
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For my birthday, I went pottery painting and for a meal with a few of my friends who were around. I say a few but I was pleasantly surprised how many were able to come what with half my friends now being at university. I had a great day and it most certainly went by WAY too quickly.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhsevtWFPuEBRU6go6BrN_grzoviyrikgp4AJqHksiFqes8t2BLvDAnQeT6ero8TFa4VpgPJQU1h89VNPzNsIHJnZRbWbjov0-I_GHmfDV0D8IYrmfrcQLY5-IbR3vt2hd3j8lci7U5HN/s1600/P1070367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhsevtWFPuEBRU6go6BrN_grzoviyrikgp4AJqHksiFqes8t2BLvDAnQeT6ero8TFa4VpgPJQU1h89VNPzNsIHJnZRbWbjov0-I_GHmfDV0D8IYrmfrcQLY5-IbR3vt2hd3j8lci7U5HN/s200/P1070367.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpE4y3u0aOnThjgu7L_VYbx57OPTnUAWFp9iOwRQ4kCAsXRa-3bCFWCL9JpYitp4iSSS00yMrlS_Vh-5BA0aH0JaHn3sS8vy9M_frBRKnysBs0L6Bqtu9g_p63XviLVBufbSzgAI3NUR4k/s1600/P1070336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpE4y3u0aOnThjgu7L_VYbx57OPTnUAWFp9iOwRQ4kCAsXRa-3bCFWCL9JpYitp4iSSS00yMrlS_Vh-5BA0aH0JaHn3sS8vy9M_frBRKnysBs0L6Bqtu9g_p63XviLVBufbSzgAI3NUR4k/s200/P1070336.JPG" width="200" /></a>Our pottery painting included a lot of fantasy, sci-fi and just general nerdiness as you can tell:</div>
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This is the inside of Jennie's mug that she painted. I'm still not quite sure how she managed it considering it was one of those tall thing mugs rather than a chunky one.<br />
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I kept on with the TARDIS theme, breaking away from the heavy sheep theme of my previous pottery painting trips....<br />
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However, not completely... Still some sheep and still some plagiarism... sort of ;) I'd say it falls under "fair usage". I also got everyone to sign the back of my plate just to make it that little bit more special :)<br />
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And of course I can't end this blog without introducing you to my parents. Here you have my mum and dad. Note how my mum has part of my sister's pudding in her left hand and is attacking my dad's with a spoon in her right hand. Maybe someday my mum will get her own pudding rather than nicking everyone else's!!<br />
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Live long and keep blogging =]</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-56713578925337418122012-01-17T15:30:00.000+00:002012-01-17T17:39:53.325+00:00Whale watchingI'm currently sitting in the gallery above the mammal room in the natural history museum that famously contains the blue whale. There are five massive whale skeletons hanging in front of me and it really makes you realise just how small we are. A single jaw bone is longer than I am tall and its backbone is easily thicker than my leg. It's amazing to think that these creatures are swimming about in the oceans.<br />
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Even after a morning of filling in a worksheet for my evolution module, I can't help but see God's amazing creation in the creatures all around me. I can't help but ask how could any of this come about by chance? The creatures are too beautiful and too precisely designed for birds to have come from dinosaurs or mammals to have come from lizards. As I look at the bones of the whales in front of me, how could this gigantic creature come from a microscopic, boneless organism? The world I see just doesn't fit with the history I'm taught in lectures.<br />
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I know many don't agree; many will say I'm the crazy one for saying evolution didn't happen but I've tried seeing it from their view and it doesn't fit, so maybe they should try see it from mine?<br />
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Live long and keep posting =]Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-74129010731467571032012-01-11T17:11:00.003+00:002012-01-11T17:11:24.908+00:00Fort Paradox Returns!!<br />
Yesterday, <a href="http://www.fortparadox.blogspot.com/">Fort Paradox</a>, a cross continuity web comic run by <a href="http://www.awhitehorizon.blogspot.com/">Matt</a>, <a href="http://opencgda.blogspot.com/">Tim </a>and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6eLtmdOmF8">Sarah</a>, for which I am occasionally allowed to draw, started up again in all its confusingly wonderful glory.<br />
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The first post back is actually one of the "Behind the Scenes" posts that have been going up on Tuesdays and <a href="http://fortparadox.blogspot.com/2012/01/fp-backstage-building-bridges.html">this particular one</a> returns with a plan of part of the Fort.<br />
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This caught my eye as there is one bit of concept art missing from the post. Yup, and the reason is that it was drawn by Matt on the back of the script for an episode I was in the process of drawing back at Roothill 2011. I actually have the simple (and slightly scruffy...) pen drawing stuck up on my wall at uni and I thought I'd share it with you in the light of the most recent post on Fort Paradox. Admittedly, it looks like a hand-drawn version of on of the diagrams, nevertheless, here it is:<br />
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I hope, if you don't already read Fort Paradox, this will wet your appetite and encourage you to head over to <a href="http://www.fortparadox.blogspot.com/">www.fortparadox.blogspot.com</a> and catch up on the back story before the webcomic begins reposting actual episodes.<br />
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Live long and keep posting =]<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-17040600923880729792012-01-06T21:39:00.001+00:002012-01-06T21:39:49.252+00:00Cello Wars!!I don't want to finish First 12 for '12 and then just disappear again so I'm going to try keep up the blogging. Whether It's something fairly brief or a whole long rant, I don't want to disappear for three months again. Yeah, sorry about that...<br />
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So I thought I'd post the video I mentioned in a comment on one of Sam's blogs. It's basically an epic mix between a Cello duet and Star Wars. Oh, and who doesn't want to see Darth Vader playing an accordion??<br />
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Live long and keep posting =]Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-50179720591529158392012-01-06T04:37:00.002+00:002012-01-06T04:37:38.607+00:00Back to the PastSo, for the last however long it's been since I posted, I've be reminiscing on YouTube. I'm not quite sure which video I started with but I've been watching a load of programs I used to watch as a child. I'm sure these old educational programs that got me hooked are half the reason I love science and learning so much.<br />
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Oh, there are so many programs I used to love as a kid and every single one of them was educational in some way. What is sort of odd is the fact that as a preschooler, I vividly remember thinking the Teletubbies was boring however all these schools programs kept me captivated.<br />
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According to my Mum, I used to love watching Sesame Street. However, unlike some of the other programs I watched, I can't really remember much about it despite Sesame Street being one of the most iconic programs of the 90s. However, there was this one episode where I remember one of the characters (I wish I could remember which) was dividing up a shoelace sweet between him and another character however every cut made the half a little too short and this kept going until he had eaten all the cut off bits and there was so little left he finished up the whole thing! For a while I really wanted this to be the way to share up food! I also used to love Big Bird. I mentioned Big Bird in a joke the other day and my sister totally didn't get it. It seems she didn't watch as much Sesame Street as I did. Oh the difference 5 years can make.<br />
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There was another show which I love for three reasons: the cats, the theme song, and the dopey male character who was after the cats half the time. I found an episode on YouTube as well!! I used to love watching Cats Eyes. It followed a fairly similar format to Come Outside (which more people seem to have heard of and I think there are still early morning reruns) if I remember correctly and re-watching half an episode now, I'd forgotten how much I loved the cats' accents! Particularly the ginger one... yup, even when I was still in single figures, I still loved accents.<br />
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However, I think the program that sparked my love of maths was Megamaths. I almost thought I had imagined this program or it was part of a different program however I came across this rather shakey video and I think I even remember this exact episode.I used to love how the "Royal" cards were so bad at maths but the number cards were so good and I always wanted to be one of the kids playing those maths-y games. Oh the days before everything had to be animated. I also used to love the guy at the very beginning and in the games. The joker I believe? I'd love to know who he was played by because I'm sure I recognise him from something else... Then again, I may be wrong... Oh! and the funny hand puppet gargoyle things! Ah, I really enjoyed this show.</div>
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Oh, and Hotch Potch House. The cutest program from my childhood. Woolie had a fantastic hat and Nana had wonderful hair and I wouldn't be surprised if the wonderful collage house at the beginning had a hand in my obsession with keeping and sticking together lots of loo rolls and bits of cardboard. I also distinctly remember learning "The sun has got his hat on, hip hip hooray, the sun has got his hat on and I'm coming out to play" from Hotch Potch House. Ah, and the "I'm a Clown" songs from this episode. I'm sure I remember that! There seems to be a lot more Hotch Potch House videos up on YouTube than a lot of my other favourites so I could easily trawl through them for a lot longer.... Oh! I'd forgotten about the singing vegetables!! The lone onion in sunglasses... and all the different numbers of vegetables for each of the numbers.</div>
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The Magic Roundabout I remember as a child didn't have Doogle. My magic roundabout was one of the stops on the Playbus. I so badly wanted to be on Playdays when I was younger I even remember having a dream about being in the big blue bus and being on the show but alas, that dream never came true. However, the song from the roundabout stop has stuck in my head even until today. Although I had forgotten how much longer the song was beyond this "chorus" bit.</div>
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"Roll up and Ride on Rosie,</div>
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the magical, musical, merry go round"</div>
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Ah, Space Ark. I have to admit, not one of my favourites but I still used to love watching it. Luka is so sweet and always gets send down to earth to investigate! "On my way". Also, at the beginning in the title bit, I'm sure it looks like a toclafane. Russel T. Davies, I'm onto you!</div>
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Another program I'd practically forgotten about is Fourways Farm. In my head, the book Animal Farm is very much like this and I think that's part of the reason I don't want to read the book. I don't want to ruin my little, rather naive picture of the book in my head. Although those rats were really creepy.</div>
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So in conclusion... I miss childhood TV... I guess, in part, that's why I like the new My Little Pony, Friendship Is Magic. Yup, I'm part of 'that group'. A lot of the new things on TV for kids these days, as far as I'm aware, just aren't quite the same. Ruining Postman Pat, making too many things animated, oh how I miss the simplicity of my childhood TV....</div>
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Live long and keep posting =]</div>
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<b>STATS</b></div>
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"First 12 for '12" Status: 12 down.... I may have scraped an early morning victory....</div>
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Latest film/TV watched: Fourways Farm... ahh, the memories...</div>
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Latest music listened to: Fourways Farm theme tune :)</div>
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Latest edible item eaten/drunk: A glass of milk</div>
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Predominant colour of current clothing: Grey mainly with bits of blue. Yup, I have exciting pyjamas...</div>
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Programs and web pages currently open: Chrome - HanNav v1.0, blogger, YouTube - Windows Live Mail, Sticky Notes</div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-79987462140205758232012-01-06T03:15:00.000+00:002012-01-06T03:15:10.490+00:00Competitive StreakI'm competitive. Really competitive. I won't go down without a fight and I have to admit I'm not always the best of losers. I mean, I'm a lot better than I was at 7 but then I have learnt that it's not considered polite to start crying and screaming if someone beats you in a game. Sorry about that Mum and Dad :/<br />
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I remember in year 2 when my competitiveness stretched to the world of work. We used to have these maths work books that we would go through and as you got further through, the ticks on the back indicating which questions you had done would fill up and once all the boxes were filled, we could go on to the next workbook. I think these workbooks started earlier than year 2 but it was year two when the competitiveness really kicked in. Me and at least one other girl were noticeably further through the workbook series than the rest of our class and, at least from my perspective, it became a battle to see who could finish the workbooks first. As the year drew to a close, I came closer and closer to the very last available workbook and by no means was I going to let her overtake. I can't remember who finished first but I do remember that ridiculously strong desire to be first.<br />
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I think sports is the one exception to my competitiveness. Probably because 1. I find it so dull and 2. I suck at sport. With sport I quite often went to the opposite extreme and still do occasionally. I know I'm rubbish so I would barely try at all, do the bare minimum, and scrape through. I wouldn't want to try really hard and only come second so why try at all?<br />
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I'd like to think that I've grown out of this; or at least grown out of it enough. I no longer avoid doing something because I think I'll be rubbish, I generally at least have a go and I'm much more prepared to put in effort without the knowledge that there is a chance of being first. Sure, if there's a chance of being first, I'm going to strive for it but what harm has that ever done anyone? It encourages people to keep going. However, I think, in some cases, knowing where you rank isn't at all helpful. It puts off those who know they have no chance and can lead to those with a chance fighting for first. Sure, it can help some strive to be their best but their best doesn't always correlate with someone else's best.<br />
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I think what I'm trying to say is, I feel a bit bad blogging loads while my competitors are all sleeping. I want to just leave the last post and see what happens but the competitive part of me wants me to keep going, keep blogging and not let anyone else win. Maybe I'll blog once more before I sleep, maybe I won't. I mean, I'll quite happily stay awake for another hour knowing me and I haven't got anything in particular to get up for in the morning. I suppose, if I am going to do a last blog, I'll have to make it count, make it worth it, and make it long. Heck, I'm not going to cheat with some short waffle of a couple of lines that anyone could cobble together. If I win I want to win in style.<br />
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So now to see if inspiration or sleep comes first...<br />
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Live long and keep posting =]<br />
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<b>STATS</b></div>
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"First 12 for '12" Status: 11 down, 1 to go</div>
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Latest book read: Bible/Inheritance</div>
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Latest film/TV watched: How I Met Your Mother</div>
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Latest music listened to: Hey Beautiful by The Solids which is apparently the How I Met Your Mother's full theme song</div>
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Latest edible item eaten/drunk: A glass of milk</div>
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Predominant colour of current clothing: Grey mainly with bits of blue. Yup, I have exciting pyjamas...</div>
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Programs and web pages currently open: Chrome - HanNav v1.0, blogger, YouTube - Windows Live Mail, Sticky Notes</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436227211544359024.post-20130854063984020982012-01-06T02:24:00.003+00:002012-01-06T02:24:28.158+00:00The downside of educationI'm all for education. It's great to learn more, to discover more about the world, to ask questions and keep on searching rather than just sitting there and not being bothered. There's so much out there to learn and the more you know the more you know you don't know and so you keep heading forwards, searching for more information but there are some downsides to education. Namely the spoiling of songs.<br />
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Song 1: The Fireman Sam theme tune<br />
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When I was younger, I used to think the line went "driving down the sleazy street". Being preschool age and unaware of what sleazy meant I was totally happy with this for a while. It was just a 'happy' word in my mind and it wasn't until well after I started school that I learnt the true meaning of sleazy and that the line was actually "driving down the snoozy street". In my opinion, this has spoilt the whole theme. Learning that I was wrong, that what I sung every time I sang the theme tune was in fact horribly inaccurate made the magic of fireman same dissipate a little more than I'd like. Education spoilt it.<br />
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Song 2: The Tots TV theme tune<br />
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I used to love Tots TV. I think a lot of people my age did when they were younger and I was always fascinated by Tilly. I didn't realise she was French and just thought she was talking some sort of wonderful made up language so of course I totally didn't get what she meant by "Je suis un Tot" in the theme tune. However, with secondary school, that changed. I started French lessons and I learnt that "Je suis un" means "I am a". This has shattered the magic of Tots TV. The theme tune now goes "I'm a Tot, I'm a Tot, Tilly, Tom and Tiny" in my head and that's before I even get onto the whole magical bag bit. However, Tots TV wasn't the only thing learning French ruined.<br />
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Song 3: Les Poissons from The Little Mermaid<br />
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The whole song was so much more magical when I didn't know what the French bit meant. The whole song sounds so much nicer (if a little more crazy) when it's totally in a French accent with actual French thrown in but now I can't help but here "The fish, the fish, how I love the fish" in a rather posh English accent followed by an evil laugh even though that isn't even the next line of the song. Ah, French. If only I knew enough to be useful and not just enough to destroy songs...<br />
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Song 4: Vertigo, U2<br />
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Again, a song ruined from the outset by learning a language. I can't even get through the first line without Spanish lessons spoiling the lyrics and giving the impression that U2 can't count. Spanish lessons taught me that "Uno, dos, tres, catorse" is in fact "one, two, three, fourteen" instead of the logical "one, two, three, four". I don't think "because it sounds better" is any logical reason to take advantage of the majority not being able to understand and throw away all mathematical laws of counting. 4 comes after 3: it always has done and always will.<br />
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Song 5: Livin' La vida Loca<br />
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Once again, Spanish lessons changed a song from "cool Latin-y song you can do on dance mat" to another one of those songs that I can now only hear as the translation in a posh English life; and believe it or not, "Living the crazy life" just doesn't quite have the same ring to it. By the same argument you could say "Viva la Vida" has been spoiled however as that translates roughly as "Live the Life" it sounds grand enough in English that it hasn't really spoilt it and it's not like the actual song has them singing Spanish in it anyway. It is only the title after all.<br />
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Song 6: The Big Bang Theory Theme<br />
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So, I already knew that I disagree with the whole principle of the theme song. Life didn't start with "a big bang" unless there happened to be a loud noise like a bang when God proclaimed "Let there be light" and anyway, that isn't the sort of bang they're on about. However, the bit that made it worse was the learning of the meaning of the word "autotroph". An autotroph is an organism that is able to produce it's own food from inorganic substances with photoautotrophs such as plants and algae being the most well known ones. However, "autotrophs began to drool" just sounds even more rediculous knowing that. Surely from an evolution perspective, the idea of drooling plants or algae is just a little bit crazy....<br />
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I'm sure there are a couple of songs that I've forgotten however I'll leave the list for now.<br />
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Live long and keep posting =]<br />
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<div>
<b>STATS</b></div>
<div>
"First 12 for '12" Status: 10 down, 2 to go</div>
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Latest book read: Bible/Inheritance</div>
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Latest film/TV watched: The Big Bang Theory</div>
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Latest music listened to: Mitch Benn - Les Poissons from the Little Mermaid</div>
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Latest edible item eaten/drunk: A glass of milk</div>
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Predominant colour of current clothing: Grey mainly with bits of blue. Yup, I have exciting pyjamas...</div>
<div>
Programs and web pages currently open: Chrome - HanNav v1.0, blogger, 4oD - Windows Live Mail, Sticky Notes</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18194024676414713937noreply@blogger.com3