While driving with my parents to a restaurant/café for lunch I noticed this strange thing by the road. It seemed pertinent to stop and tell my children of the punishment methods of the past. People I give you the Great Canfield Stocks and Whipping Post.
Green Street Stocks and Whipping Post
The sign explains that the stocks were replaced to commemorate the start of the third millennium. I’m quite curious to know what was in this position before these and the history of them. The sign explains the stocks were last used in 1860 for a case of drunkenness and also that this site was where Elizabeth Abbott was burnt as a witch in 1693. The sheer terror I feel with how we used to treat people is only masked by the general terror I feel for how we treat people these days. I’m not sure we’ve moved on that far.
This is comms#2023 and I’m still trying to work out what to replace my “events each year” thing. Give me some time and when I get a chance I will figure this out. Things have been a little busy recently with work and also my car being off the road because some cunts stole the catalytic converter. I’m currently waiting for it to be towed to be repaired along with getting a courtesy car.
So I went to see Uncharted at the third attempt! The first time I was due to go I had a migraine and so cancelled the tickets. The second time I thought I had double booked myself and so also cancelled those tickets and finally I went to see it yesterday. I suspect it seems like I was desperate to see this film but really it was the only thing on at the cinema that I even kind of wanted to see. The tide was quite high and coupled with the lovely sunshine the whole scene was particularly lovely, I was slightly annoyed I hadn’t left with more time to walk along the riverside and take some pictures but I was completing licence tests in Gran Turismo 7 and at the moment some things take priority.
After watching the film I rated it on IMDB and there’s a whole other communication somewhere on this site telling you how the rating system works. I then tweet the result at some point depending on whether I have the Twitter app on my phone or not. I am currently in a period of not-having the app on my phone so the tweeting has to wait for me to get to my PC and remember to do it.
Now what follows is traditionally where I write about the film and why I gave it the score I did. So I guess I should do that. I didn’t hate this film. I don’t know the game at all so I wasn’t that bothered by it following the storyline of that. There was a point where I was bored of the film and honestly just wanted it to end. I think I decided I didn’t hate the film by the end of it. There’s only so much treasure hunting you can do, especially when it isn’t interesting.
It’s amusing that scammers would be able to figure out where a load of buried treasure would be when academics who have studied these things for years have no idea. At least Indiana Jones was a university dude. I honestly have so many questions about how the movie makers think the world works, but I suspect they would just wave me off with “plot” or something. For instance, GPS underground? Two whole ships in a cave with a tiny entrance? Helicopters carrying said ships? No noise in a C17 with the cargo doors open?
On a larger matter I found it funny that the heroes were both white dudes. The bad people was one Spanish old guy, a Scotsman, and two women, the only women who just happened to be not-white. I’m not entirely sure what this says about the world and what we subconsciously think about it. Except, we most definitely know the world is a racist place.
So, this is communication 2022 and the list of things that happened in that year I guess must come to an end. It is March and we aren’t that far through the year but it’s already really fucking shit. There are some good things, I went to LA with my friends, but mostly it’s all shit. I want to replace the “things that happened in that year” but I’m not sure what with at the moment. I will ponder and let you know.
I am still flying around the world in a series of flights on the flight simulator. I’ll have to look back through here to figure out when I started but I’m currently on the Kamchatka peninsula heading towards the Bering Straights. My most recent flight looks like this:
Kamchatka Flight
I’ve generally been doing flights of a few hundred miles but every now and then I put in one of a few thousand. I’m not sure if I’m going to Hawaii or not at the moment. I wonder if I head there, then California and on to South America. I honestly am not sure. I do know that once I get to Iceland I am pretty much done and then what do I do? It’s been fun planning the flights and heading around the world in this simulated world.
The last communication that covered a list of airports ended at Tenzing Hillary Airport in Nepal and so here is the rest of the list to bring us up to date:
Tumling Tar Airport, Nepal Lhasa Gonggar Airport, Tibet Paro Airport, Bhutan Yonphula Airport, Bhutan Kyaukhtu South Airport, Myanmar Yangon International, Myanmar Kyaukhtu South Airport, Myanmar Dawei Airport, Myanmar Myeik Airport, Myanmar Kawthaung Airport, Myanmar Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore Brunei International Airport, Brunei Syamsudin Noor International Airport, Indonesia Selaparang Airport, Indonesia Sumbawa Besar Airport, Indonesia Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport, Indonesia Komodo International Airport, Indonesia El Tari International Airport, Indonesia Darwin International Airport, Australia Broome International Airport, Australia Port Hedland International Airport, Australia Karratha Airport, Australia Kalbarri Airport, Australia RAAF Gingin, Australia Bunbury Airport, Australia Albany Regional Airport, Australia Ravensthorpe Airport, Australia Esperance Airport, Australia Norseman Airport, Australia Port Lincoln Airport, Australia Adelaide Airport, Australia Kingston Airport, Australia Portland Airport, Australia Warrnambool Airport, Australia Apollo Bay Airport, Australia Moorabbin (Harry Hawker) Airport, Australia Burnie Airport, Australia Hobart Airport, Australia in the Avro Vulcan Te Anau Airport, New Zealand Invercargill Airport, New Zealand Ryan’s Creek Aerodrome, New Zealand Queenstown Airport, New Zealand Christchurch Airport, New Zealand Woodbourne Airport, New Zealand Wellington Airport, New Zealand New Plymouth Airport, New Zealand Auckland Airport, New Zealand Nouméa Magenta Airport, New Calendonia Honiara International Airport, Solomon Islands Rabaul Airport, Papua New Guinea Lae Nadzab Airport, Papua New Guinea Goroka Airport, Papua New Guinea Kagamuga International Airport, Papua New Guinea Dortheys Hiyo Eluay International Airport, Indonesia Rendani Airport, Indonesia Domine Eduard Osok Airport, Indonesia Buli/Halmahera Island Airport, Indonesia Sam Ratulangi International Airport, Indonesia Naha Airport, Indonesia General Santos International Airport, Philippines Francisco Bangoy International Airport, Philippines Lumbia Airfield, Philippines Surigao Airport, Philippines Panan-awan Airport, Philippines Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, Philippines Catarman National Airport, Philippines Legazpi Airport, Philippines Bagasbas Airport, Philippines Fort Magsaysay Airport, Philippines Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, China Wenzhou Longwan International Airport, China Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport, China Jeju International Airport, South Korea Pyongyang International Airport, DPRK Orang Airport, DPRK Yanji Chaoyangchuan International Airport, China Vladivostok International Airport, Russia Sapporo Okadama Airport, Japan Monbetsu Airport, Japan Iturup Island Airport, Russia Elizovo Airport, Russia Klyuchi Air Base Airport, Russia
And there we have it. The list so far since the last communication. Not sure how to conquer the Pacific, will keep thinking about it.
Kamchatka Peninsula Flight
This is communication number 2021 and so here are some things that happened in that year of our lord:
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter performs the first powered flight on another planet in history.
Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land by Belarusian authorities to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.
The number of recorded deaths from COVID-19 surpasses 5 million.
Barbados becomes a republic on its 55th anniversary of independence while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
So, in this new Gran Turismo version we get to try and complete all the licences again to be able to race in all the different series. I think I’m on the third licence and it’s not really one of those parts of the game I really enjoy. Mind you, I find it incredibly frustrating so when I do pass the actual licence I am cheered by it. Some of the licences I have got gold first time, others have taken me about half an hour on continuing to try.
Just So Frustrating
The above licence I missed out on gold by four one thousandths of a second. That was really annoying.
I like that GT Auto is back and you can wash your car. I also like the fact we can change the oil and other parts. There are options for a whole new body and also a new engine so wouldn’t that mean it was a brand new or different car? Looking at my profile I can see that my average fuel consumption is 2.47 km/l this is 6.9 miles per gallon for the UK and USA audience. I’m going to have to see if I can get that more uneconomical.
I’ve been writing a few things that happened in the year of the communication number and this is number 2020 so here are some things that happened then:
Covid 19 causes a heap of shit around the world and it is amplified by poor leadership in many countries.
Brent Crude falls to $27 a barrel. It is currently $109. But there’s a war going on and shortness of supplies.
King Salman issues a royal decree, declaring that people will no longer be executed in Saudi Arabia for crimes they were convicted of when they were minors. Well, this means they were doing it before this date. It’s bloody 2020!
The Royal Astronomical Society announces the detection of phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere, which is known to be a strong predictor for the presence of microbial life.
Just a short communication today to point out my first screen share video uploaded to my YouTube channel. I’ve uploaded a few short clips to my Twitter feed but this is the first I’ve really thought about. I saved the replay of this in GT7 and then video captured it. I guess I should have a go at streaming from the PS5 but that can happen later. The video shows me attempting, and passing, one of the challenges. I had to overtake all three jeeps in front of me [well, the couldn’t be behind me]. I passed, but only just. I was really impressed with the dirt graphics and the headlights. Man, the headlights.
This is communication number 2019 and in keeping with a recent tradition and genuinely not having a clue about what to do in three communication’s time here are some things that happened in that year:
A mine dam breaks in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil. At least 248 people are killed, with 22 missing.
Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope project announce the first ever image of a black hole, located in the centre of the M87 galaxy.
The redefinition of the SI system of measurement adopted by the majority of countries in the world takes effect.
First known human case of Coronavirus disease 2019, in Wuhan, Hubei, China.
So, Gran Turismo 7 was released last Friday. I’ve played some every day since and I’m starting to build up my licences and get a semi-decent collection of cars together. Clearly I’ll end up with about six or so cars that I tend to use mostly. These will be a mixture of FR, FF, 4WD, MR and a couple of race cars too. It’s been fun and frustration. When doing a licence test and you end up a few thousands too slow for gold and then you have to keep trying! I guess that’s part of the game.
Current GT7 Profile
At the moment there’s too much to do in GT7 and I’m trying to pace out my activities. I keep trying bits of pieces of the game each day and I’ve even tried the photo mode. I’m kinda skeptical about the photo mode. I’m not enough into cars I think to want to create the perfect photograph. That and there’s always racing to be getting on with. Maybe I’ll spend some time in a few months getting used to the livery editor and photo mode. I know they’ve made that a big part of the game but for me it’s the racing I enjoy.
Honda Integra in Cambridge
The above photograph is quite stunning in terms of the detail you can edit. If you look carefully you can see small amounts of dirt on the front of the bonnet of the car, this is optional. I could decide the dirt on the tyres and how much dust to have in the air to create that glowing effect. It is quite lovely. And I wasn’t even really trying that hard!
Druids at Brands Hatch
The above photograph was me having a go at the replay race mode photography. I had raced the Mustang around Brands Hatch and thought this overtake at Druids would make a good shot so during the replay I entered into photomode. Although I’ve got blurring on and created a panning shot the level of detail is quite stunning. Just look at the light reflecting off the cars! I drove a race recently at Deep Forest and it turned from daytime to night and the headlights of my car searching through the forest to find the track almost had me weeping with delight.
This is communication number 2018 and so here are some things that happened that year:
Russia murders double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK.
The world’s last male northern white rhinoceros dies in Kenya.
Saudi Arabia allows women to drive.
A tsunami hits the Sunda Strait, Indonesia, killing at least 430 people and injuring nearly 1,500.
February was a great month mostly for the excellent trip I had to Los Angeles. I went there to see friends and watch the Super Bowl [in a bar – I can’t afford the ticket price]. It turns out that because I opened Google Maps that company now know where I’ve been. I don’t think that bothers me particularly. It’s nice to have an email from them telling me what I already knew!
Google knows where I’ve been
Given there hasn’t really been any travel for around two years it was so nice to get to be somewhere. Apart from a trip to Lincolnshire last summer and the odd car journey to Essex to see family I hadn’t really been anywhere!
This is communication number 2017 and so here are some things that happened in that year as curated by me:
The US drops the MOAB on ISIL compound.
An ISIL terrorist kills 22 at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.
8 people are murdered on London bridge.
A new species of orangutan is discovered.
Cassini-Huygens plunges into Saturn’s atmosphere after 13 years of service.
Today is an exciting day. I hit my peak week time tiredness yesterday at around 11am and so anything from now on is pure bonus, I’m hoping I’ll cope for the rest of the day. However I feel I can not dismiss that it is Gran Turismo 7 release day and I got up a little early to play this morning before having to do the things that I need to do to earn money.
So, I watched the opening movie and loved it. There are minigames that I enjoyed but I also wanted to get going and play straight away. It took a little while to get through those explanation screens but I didn’t mind. The game looks amazing and it’ll be great fun to progress as far as I can. I’ve already got a few trophies and two gold medal driving licence tests.
I’m not sure why my indicator is going in the clip above. It happened in the next thing I did but I don’t think it was a thing I did. Anyway, doesn’t matter. Expect plenty of shares via twitter and some within the PlayStation system as well I suppose. There are a few bonus cars that haven’t appeared yet but I’m sure that’s something I can sort out over the next day or two.
So, here’s hoping the day goes fast and I can get home after my chores and get playing. I’m super looking forward to exploring a bit more and trying to buy some better tyres for my cars. Yes, my first car is an Integra. It always is. I love that car.
This is communication number 2016 and I’m happy that this one fits nicely with number 2000. Here are some things that happened in that year:
Zika virus outbreak.
Jo Cox MP is murdered.
The UK votes to leave the EU. Thus ensues years of political shit-storming and chaos. Well played Mr Putin.
Russia interferes with the USA election process and Trump is outed as a sexual predator.
Trump wins the 2016 USA general election.
I did not enjoy this year. I have struggled since the start of the Brexit campaign and seeing the lies and misinformation used in the country. Once the vote result was in I was devastated. I didn’t really know what being in the EU meant, I’ve learnt a lot since then, but I knew that the best place to be was in the club. I feel as though the world has constantly disappointed me since early 2016.
