This is the latest – at time of writing – offering by Rammstein. It’s a very good, well crafted album. The problem is I don’t think I’ve listened to it enough to know all the songs. Here’s the thing with Rammstein. You know what you are getting and you know it will be excellent. There will be heavy riffage and amazing vocals with little bits of genius keyboard. They make great music. So, even without actually knowing all the details of this album I’m going to say it’s brilliant. Because it will be.
You Goddamned Son Of A Bitch (Live) – Revolting Cocks
This band are part of the godfathers of industrial. Beers, Steers and Queers was the first RevCo song that I heard and got me into them. I probably bought this album to see what their other stuff sounded like. It’s great. I saw this band live at Infest Festival and they were pretty good there too.
This album has songs such as; We Shall Cleanse The World, 38, Attack Ships On Fire, Union Carbide, and No Devotion. All of these are great and I highly recommend all the Revolting Cocks back catalogue to you.
Third Or Fourth Time
So, I’ve had Covid, again. I felt utter rubbish a week ago and after a couple of days, before going back to work I decided to use one of my few covid tests. It turned out to be positive, which was a bit of a surprise. There followed five days of isolation. I got better slowly and have reached the point when I hope my viral load is low enough not to infect other people. I would say that I felt like poo for around six days. I slept a lot. Had a headache. Ached. I think I feel fine now, but am worried about some longer lasting effects. I want to have a run but I am actually quite bothered that my lungs aren’t up for it.
To pass the time I’ve been playing computer games and working through some television series. I’ve played Gran Turismo, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Minecraft Dungeons. I’ve also been flying around the world in X-Plane flight simulator. It’s an on-going project and I am flying up the eastern seaboard of the USA. I’ve just landed in Nantucket. Next is probably Boston or maybe Nova Scotia.
The television shows I’ve watched have been The Last Of Us. Which I enjoyed about fifty percent of. I’m not sure it’s as great as I had heard. I think the world gets caught up on memes a lot now. For instance I’ve not watched Tiger King or Squid Games. I’d rather wait and watch this stuff in my own time, I don’t like getting carried away with the hype. I have historically found that hyped shows and films turn out to be not good. I’ve also watched the first season of Altered Carbon, which was good looking although I needed pins and yarn to keep up with whatever the fuck was happening. Oddly in that series the best character is not the lead but a hotel.
I’ve been reading too. I spend around an hour on each activity and then circle around the things I’m doing. Adding stuff on this site is also a good distraction from time. I read Beneath the World, a Sea, by Chris Beckett and I can honestly say it was one of the most disturbing books I’ve read for a while. I will liken it to Heart Of Darkness although I am pretty sure someone else will have made that comparison before me. I really enjoyed the book and will be buying more by the same author. I’m just about to start a book about a scientific look at psychology and what pseudoscience there may be used around the world.
While doing boring house stuff I’ve been listening to podcasts and one of the main ones I’ve been enjoying is The Curious Cases Of Rutherford and Fry. It’s a short podcast covering science stuff and answering listener questions each episode. It’s a delight and the relationship between the presenters and producer is excellent. I was aware of both presenters before the podcast having read books by Rutherford and watched some TV by Fry. In a recent episode Hannah Fry asked people to download an app to their phone to help scientists model a pandemic outbreak. This freaked me the fuck out and I looked at the date of transmission and it was either December 2017 or January 2018. What the actual fuck?!
I know science has spent a lot of time looking at pandemics and how they spread. But this seemed prescient. Although, ask a thousand questions and eventually one will seem important. To think of what we’ve been through since the end of 2017 and the struggles the world has faced. How many people died because of Covid and the people who couldn’t see each other. It’s been horrific. There is a television programme associated with the science study and it’s called Contagion, because of course it is, and was broadcast or streamed on BBC4. It’s not available at the moment on iPlayer but I am definitely going to watch it. To see what happens.
First Flight – It’s A Place
As part of my journey around the world in a flight simulator I am heading up the eastern seaboard of the USA. I’ve just left Florida and was looking for another place to land when I saw an airstrip called First Flight. This made sense when I looked on a map as it is at Kitty Hawk Sands in North Carolina. I landed at the airport and then saw something so I taxied my plane to it.
Hopefully the plane has off-road capability. After the flight I looked this stuff up and it’s all monuments to the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight. I’m impressed with the scenery in the simulator. The only thing it doesn’t get right is the grass being a shit colour instead of green.
I’m slightly amused by the monument as there is a road in a circle around it so you don’t have to walk around the thing. Just park up somewhere and see it from a distance.
I landed on runway 21 and then taxied up to the monument which was a bit cheeky really. My next flight is going to be over Norfolk Navy base and then maybe on to Washington DC to see what the scenery there looks like. I don’t think it’s going to be too long before I’m back home and at RAF valley where this thing started.
Ron DeSantis’ Florida
As part of my around-the-world tour I have made it to Florida. Currently, the state is suffering from what we would call – WLS – or wanker leader syndrome. It’s a shame really. I really liked my time there at the Kennedy Space Center, but I don’t think I’d want to visit now. Other places with more liberal laws can have my money.
It’s Gotta Hurt
I was playing some Team Rumble mode Fortnite the other day trying to get headshots with an assault rifle for some stupid quest. Then I got Thundersticked.
I died shortly after that. But not from the stick through the chest!!
Worship Music – Anthrax
This is quite a good album but I couldn’t tell you anything more than that. I bought this after meeting someone at a Testament gig and they mentioned it was a worthwhile purchase. I have played this a few times but, for me, there’s nothing as memorable as the other albums I’ve got by Anthrax.
Rendition Flight
I’m flying around the world in my Flight Sim – X-Plane. There are communications giving my progress, but I’m in the Caribbean at the moment heading to that hellscape that is Florida. I think my last stop before USA [again] is Havana. But, and this is the most important bit, I landed at Guantanamo Bay air station from the Turks and Caicos. I was in a little private jet and somehow it seemed fitting to land there and then depart quite quickly. I left my cargo there to be abused of process and tortured.
The things the “west” have done over the last thirty years distress me immensely. I have a suspicion that if I looked at most of history I would find that it’s all rather terrible and the “west” has pretty much fucked everything up. Anyway, onto Florida where the current governor has banned medical help for women and trans people because – fuck you. I don’t understand people full of hate.
This Shouldn’t Be Here
A while back in the before-reboot-times for this website I spotted something unusual in the wild. I took a picture and here it is:
I was in a local supermarket and spotted this selection of vapes for sale in the “health” aisle of the shop. Now, I’m going to say that vapes are intrinsically unhealthy. I know that they are probably healthier than cigarettes or cigars – the more traditional nicotine ingestion methods, but they still contain nicotine. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances we know. Vaping is probably not safe. It’s just better than the alternative. The healthiest thing would be to not use nicotine at all.
I’ll probably be popping into this supermarket again soon to get some cake. I will have a wander and see if this stuff is still in the healthy aisle. Maybe they are hoping to treat this like the “healthier cheese” I see labelled when I go shopping.
World Painted Blood – Slayer
There are some Slayer albums that I’ve listened to a lot. This is not one of them. I hate to say it but after a time the output of Slayer merges into one sort of sound and I can’t really tell the songs apart. It’s not just Slayer – it’s all bands. I think they produce some excellent early work when they are refining working together and then it’s pretty much down hill after that. I don’t want to listen to the fourteenth Iron Maiden album which sounds just like the 13th. I want power and interest. Having said that AC/DC pretty much never changed their style and I like nearly all their albums. I have no idea why that is.
Conflicted
I recently found out that I will be getting a medal for the coronation that took place two days ago as I write this. I already have a jubilee medal and the requirements were very similar – basically have been involved for more than five years. These medals spark some very uncomfortable feelings in me. I am a republican and so wearing these seems to signal my appreciation of the monarchy and all they stand for. I haven’t really done anything to deserve the medal. No one died, no one fought, I haven’t contributed to the country any more than in my little corner of the globe. I don’t feel I deserve a medal when compared to members of the armed forces who have most definitely earnt them.
There are other very strong feelings and thoughts about the history of this country and the medals we give out. For instance, if you are “recognised” you might receive an OBE. This is something along the lines of Order of the British Empire. The British Empire. Still, in 2023. Britain banging on about the Empire. The Empire – the forced colonialisation of most of the world. The death and slavery caused by the Empire is something to be atoned for. The Empire was a racist march over lands used by others to steal and enrich this country. The current wealth of the country owes itself to the racism and wankership of our ancestors. Britain pillaged the world for it’s own gain and now it likes to stand on its crumbling step calling out others for being a little naughty.
The coronation puts on show all of the things that annoy me. A hereditary system of governance, plenty of religion, racists [mainly the current government but also most institutions], stupid symbolism, overt displays of stolen wealth, pomp and ceremony as if that makes a difference. What a load of shit.
So I am conflicted. The cognitive dissonance I employ is strong. Fortunately I only need to wear the medals two or three times a year. I will. But not as an endorsement, as a symbol of the recognition of my time spent messing around in the CCF.
Wolfmother – Wolfmother
I nearly bought this album when I was in Melbourne, Australia. I think I was in a Blockbuster there and having a movie day because nearly three weeks on holiday was quite hard work. I’m not sure why I didn’t buy the CD but I ordered it when I got home. It’s a great album. A mix of Sabbath and Zeppelin. I really like it. They deserved to do well with this one.
Just Another List
I’ve always enjoyed playing computer/console type games. Ever since the classic Commodore 64 with Chuckie Egg and Manic Miner. So, here’s some of the recent games I am enjoying:
- Fortnite
- Minecraft
- Gran Turismo
- Minecraft Dungeons
- X-Plane
I tend to have quite a bit of imposter syndrome so I think if I was asked I would say that I’m not a gamer. But then I have nearly 800 hours on Minecraft so maybe I am.
My Tweets
There used to be a page here that had all my tweets from that micro-blogging site Twitter. In January 2023 I deleted my entire Twitter account. It was not a happy place to hang out and I decided that for my mental health it was time to leave. One thing that stopped me leaving twitter for a while was the fact that many of the communications on this site had embedded tweets and linked to twitter. Once I deleted my account it turned out that the embed code still kinda works and you can see the text of my old tweets, but you can’t access the actual look of them. I can live with that.
A Striking Day
I’ve been taking part in the teacher strikes recently. Interestingly the disruption would happen whether I went in to school or not. As the managers can’t tell who will be in school they can’t ensure the safety and supervision of the pupils, therefore they have to make decisions well in advance of the day about who is going to be in school attending lessons and who is being taught remotely by staff who aren’t striking. I could turn up to work on those strike days and get paid, but I’m known as one of the more “militant” members of staff and I don’t think politically it would be a good idea to threaten strike and then turn up. I put “militant” in quotes as I’m pretty sure that just means standing up for workers’ rights.
During the most recent strike day I took a trip to Dover Castle and then the Battle Of Britain Memorial, both of these are in a corner of Kent. Dover Castle is impressive and full of so much history from Roman lighthouses to Operation Dynamo planning rooms and beyond. The BoB memorial was poignant.
Trying To Get Fit [Again]
I’ve had a pretty rubbish time, health and fitness wise, since November so I’m trying my best to get back into running and also getting fitter. I need to lose some mass and the running will get easier if I do that. Currently I can’t run up the Downs and so that is my aim. To lose enough weight to make my fitness enough to run up the Downs and back down again. Today I ran the furthest I’ve done for ages. It felt good but it fucked me up – I ache and feel so tired!
I will keep going. This week has seen a bit of a turn around in motivation.
Still An Ongoing Mission
I’m still moving on with my around the world mission in X-Plane. In the last communication I was bombing around over Brazil having visited Antarctica. I’m still working my northwards at the moment to complete the east coast of the Americas. I do have some new kit on the flight sim – two desk extensions that hold the HOTAS system.
So, my last landing was in the Falkland Islands so we shall continue with the next airport visited:
Rio Gallegos International Airport, (RGL/SAWG), Argentina
Comandante Luis Piedrabuena Airport, Argentina
Santa Cruz Airport, Argentina
Puerto Deseado Airport, Argentina
Cañadon Seco Airport, Argentina
General Enrique Mosconi International Airport, Argentina
Almirante Marcos A. Zar Airport, Argentina
Antoine de Saint Exupéry Airport, Argentina
Comandante Espora Airport, Argentina
El Palomar Airport, Argentina
João Simões Lopes Neto International Airport, Brazil
Aeródromo de Belém Novo, Brazil
Diomício Freitas/Forquilhinha Airport, Brazil
Florianópolis-Hercílio Luz International Airport, Brazil
Costa Esmeralda Airport, Brazil
Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport, Brazil
Curitiba-President Afonso Pena International Airport, Brazil
São Paulo/Guarulhos – Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport, Brazil
Jacarepaguá–Roberto Marinho Airport, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro/Galeão – Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport, Brazil
Joaquim de Azevedo Mancebo Airport, Brazil
Campos–Bartolomeu Lysandro Airport, Brazil
Guarapari Airport, Brazil
Eurico de Aguiar Salles Airport, Brazil
Una-Comandatuba Airport, Brazil
Val-de-Cans/Júlio Cezar Ribeiro International Airport, Brazil
Macapá-Alberto Alcolumbre International Airport, Brazil
Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Guyana
Piarco International Airport, Trinidad and Tobago
Maurice Bishop International Airport, Grenada
Canouan Airport, Canouan in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Argyle International Airport, St Vincent
Hewanorra International Airport, St Lucia
Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport, Martinique
Douglas–Charles Airport, Dominica
John A. Osborne Airport, Montserrat
V. C. Bird International Airport, Antigua
Princess Juliana International Airport, St Martin
Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, British Virgin Islands
Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, US Virgin Islands
So, not far to go now. Heading northwards and then I’ll curve over the Arctic to get back home. I’m looking forward to it.
It’s Been A While
I think I’m back. I’ve missed the diary part of this website and it’s time to utilise it again as a repository of my activities and thoughts.
In some ways the technical challenge of doing this has been fun along with frustrating. It turned out I felt useless not being able to check the things I’ve done or films I’ve seen. There’s a lot of effort gone into creating this site and a lot of words have been written. I want to be able to check my flying records wherever I am. I spent quite a while looking at getting my database exported to a word document but none of that was free. I thought about setting up more hosting accounts but that costs more than I am willing to spend in the current climate and so I recently decided it was time to utilise my NAS drive again.
I had used the NAS in the past for hosting but I never really got around the fact that my home IP address kept changing. It was a pain. Since then I have discovered a company that uses dynamic dns routing and can apply this to a domain name. Hence, this site should now work using the old addressing system. I’m currently working on cloud based back ups in case the NAS dies.
Current costs for this website are now around GBP30 a year compared to the over GBP100 I was paying. Mind you, I don’t have a security certificate so maybe that’s the next level of stuff to look at.
This Is The End
I think I am coming to the conclusion of this website experiment. Current feelings are that I will end this site. I will cancel my hosting service. It is reasonably likely I will also delete my twitter account. I think it’s time.
Why Don’t People Think?
So, this morning I had to drive a short distance which in everyday normal experience is only mildly frustrating. I’ve chilled quite a bit as a driver since I got the Prius and I would say I’m calm. However, today was not normal. There was a lot of snow over night and so the roads were covered in ice and snow. The car took about ten minutes to clear of snow and to make sure it was road worthy. I spent time making sure it was safe for me to drive. I tested the roads at the start of my journey, steering response and braking. This seems sensible to me.
As I drove home I could see other cars not really aware of safety or even other users on the road. Plenty of people were driving what I thought was too fast for the conditions. While they not have had a crash the issue is their ability to react to dangers and then being able to control the vehicle and be safe generally. I let this type of driver past me, who wants that kins of twat to hit you from behind?
Then there was the couple of cars covered in snow with only small viewing areas through the windscreen. These are the sort of people who should be banned from driving. Your whole car should be clear of snow and ice. You shouldn’t shed massive lumps of snow as you are going at speed. You should be able to see out of the whole windscreen and side windows. These people are a danger to others and that’s the thing that bothers me. I generally don’t care if you are a danger to yourself, what bothers me is if you could endanger others. /rant.