stinkin' thinkin'

Nice hat, madam.

2008-05-07T17:19:01Z

...and that is why we call him Katamari Ramacy.

2008-05-06T23:45:43Z

sheepies' day off

2008-05-05T16:15:12Z

Being as it was Fluff Holiday today the sheepies had a day off.

Fuwafuwa on a bank looking for nice new leaves and lichen and stuff.

Looks like everybody wants some :).

Yes, hello Ginger :).

Ginger loves a tummy rub and if I'm not there she has learned to administer one to herself with the help of this conveniently placed branch.

It looks like a nice day from Jerry's point of view. You can see his broken horn is growing back now. He's a 1.5icorn.

Shaun explores some trees.

Butterbean looks happy to get some skritchies.

He also makes a good pillow :).

Finally the spring grass is growing well. Om nom nom.

weekend away...

2008-04-21T23:24:29Z

...seeing my brothers. Once a year we meet up and go somewhere for a long weekend.

It was sunny on Saturday.

cheeky plump sheepie!

2008-04-14T20:58:19Z

Bless :).

He's even taken to rolling over like a dog to get his tummy rubbed now. Never seen a sheepie do that before :).

marujada!

2008-03-30T01:34:02Z

delira delira delira galera azulada! }:-D

cheeky sheepie!

2008-03-29T12:47:05Z

well that was odd

2008-03-24T00:38:23Z

I woke up this morning and my left ankle was painful. It felt like I'd bashed it or pulled a muscle or done something to the joint, although I don't recall anything happening to it the day before. I was hobbling about a bit during a lot of the day. Seems to be getting better now though. Maybe I did something to it when I was feeding the sheep or something. Oh well, whatever, seems to be going away now.

Accordingly I haven't really done that much today apart from sit around playing Burnout Paradise on the xbox (no bad way to spend an easter sunday really). I've always enjoyed the Burnout series and I'm liking this a lot - it's a bit more pure than that previous version where you could shove all the traffic around like snooker balls. I sometimes get the arse with having to choose the route, I don't know the city innately enough yet to make choice of route second nature, and taking your eyes off the road at 200MPH to look at the satnav map will not uncommonly result in finding yourself embedded in the backside of a bus. Mind you there have also been awesome races where i have got totally lost and then gratuitously lucked out finding an odd route or shortcut enabling me to hurtle to an undeserved but satisfying victory, so I guess that works both ways :).

Makes you realise how far gaming has come in some aspects. I remember when the likes of Pole Position were the cutting edge.

Simple things like there being perspective on the road! and cars that got bigger as you got close to them! were AMAZING back then. Never mind that really the game played a bit like arse. It was entirely lovable, though, for its bright colours and spinny steering wheel - but yeah, when you look at the new Burnout it reminds you how far we've come...

It's beautifully seamless, too, with a large city and surrounding countryside to explore. I even spent a good time this afternoon racing through the city with a friend who happens to be in Tokyo. We take the online stuff for granted these days but when you stop to think about it it's actually pretty awesome. Yeah, we've come a long way since Pole Position. It's ace living in the future sometimes :).

noodling

2008-03-21T21:45:11Z

http://llamasoft.co.uk/yak/welcome_myself.mp3
http://llamasoft.co.uk/yak/never_myself.mp3
http://llamasoft.co.uk/yak/dial_again.mp3

mm. loop noodling. it's like audio chewing gum.

Arriving home

2008-03-16T23:30:11Z

After a trip to London, just down yesterday and back today. With one thing and another this is the first time I've spent more than a few hours away from the house since the start of October.

It was also the first time we've been away for a night since the lambs were born. I was sure they would be fine but you can't help but worry and it was lovely to see them fine and running up to greet me when I got back }:-).

Had a nice evening in London, met up with some mates and had a nice piss up and curry. Wales won the rugby too, the match was on in big screens in the pub. Giles is still in London, he's off back to Italy for a few days tomorrow.

Originally I'd planned to go to TCR but the train journey down was long enough that I couldn't realistically get there in any kind of a decent time. I think if I want to join in future events I'll have to go down the day before. Sounds like they had great numbers anyway :).

The guys got me some stuff to cheer me up, it was really nice, a load of Apollo books and DVDs and even a model Saturn V which I shall build and fly from the top field when Giles gets back :D.

It's quiet in the house with Giles away and no dog (I pick her up from kennels tomorrow) so I'm sat here listening to Caprichoso songs. I think I'll have some DVD spaceflight and a beer before I go to bed }:-).

went to see this tonight

2008-03-05T00:45:47Z

Giles checks the schedules for the Swansea cinema frequently, and noticed that this was on for just one night tonight. I've got a bit of a thing about Apollo, having been a kid of 7 years old when Neil and Buzz made their landing. Me and my dad used to watch every mission's coverage avidly. It was incredibly cool to be a kid growing up at a time when people were actually building spaceships and sending them to the Moon and back. It was also incredibly sad when once the political point had been made funding and public enthusiasm for the missions evaporated into nothing.

The film was excellent, and I'll definitely be wanting to get a copy in hi-def (I guess that'll be Blu-ray now; at last my ps3 is finding some true usefulness };-)). It doesn't concentrate heavily on the scientific and technical aspects of the missions, although there is much beautiful footage from them (some of which I'd not seen before). We all know where these people went, and how. What is excellent in this film is that they tell us about how it felt to do all that, and how it affected them personally. Awesome, inspiring stuff which only goes to further reinforce my respect for these guys with balls of neutronium who did something amazing in spacecraft held together with hope, prayers and bits of string.

front cover }:-)

2008-03-04T18:25:02Z

Thanks to our friend in Tokyo }:-).

sheepies sheltering from hail shower

2008-03-03T23:29:39Z

The camera flash illuminated the tiny descending spheres of ice.

It is important to check that the ears are still fluffy.

2008-02-20T23:18:01Z

The ears are checked several times a day. It's important.

My Donkey Plushie

2008-02-15T21:59:24Z

http://llamasoft.co.uk/yak/My%20Donkey%20Plushie.wmv

aww, plushie.

Ewenity with surviving lamb

2008-02-14T23:29:50Z

We've had a run of really lovely days here, and all the sheepies have been enjoying them (and us too; it's always nice to sit in the field in the warm sunshine and spend time with the beasties, and this is the first time this year it's really been warm enough).

Ewenity and her lamb are doing well - his ears are just starting to take proper shape now (they take a few days to go from floppy like dog ears to the sticky out shape of normal sheep ears). He's a very energetic lamb and is running and bouncing beside his mum all day and seems to be happy and healthy.

Ginger and her two are also fine, Jerry (the larger lamb) is the picture of a perfect, robust and healthy lamb. Fuwafuwa (the smaller lamb) is quite a lot smaller but he is gaining weight, the problems with his legs have pretty much gone away and it is just nice to see him happy and doing so well after the very rough start he had in life. Having to tube feed him was horrible for him and stressful for us but seeing him now recovered and enjoying the sun makes it all worth it :).

Today was also sunny but it turned a LOT colder, and, predators notwithstanding, I am glad that the mums and lambs are snug indoors tonight snuggled into lots of warm straw :). Ewenity seems to be a bit more used to being closed in for the night, she still baas a bit at first but she isn't as freaked out as she was the first night. And at least we can be sure that her lamb is safe :).

It's funny in the morning when we go out though and both mums hear us coming - there is a LOUD chorus of baas and the tapping of hooves on stable doors as they wait to be let out :).

Nature gives, and Nature takes away

2008-02-10T23:15:38Z

sometimes brutally.

We got up this morning early, to go to the Sunday boot sale in Carmarthen. Upon going to check the sheepies we found Ewenity in the field with only one of her lambs.

We spent the next couple of hours searching all nearby land where it might have got lost, but there was no sign. We can only conclude that it was taken, by a fox or a hawk I suppose, those being the only likely threats to anything round here. For such things to even take lambs in rare, although it is possible when they are newborn and tiny.

Even so, I've never seen a fox on this place in 10 years I've lived here... but whatever happened, that little lamb is gone without trace, and only a few hours after coming into the world, poor little bugger.

Both mums and lambs will be shut in the stables from evening until morning from now on, until the lambs are definitely big enough not to be at risk. Ewenity really doesn't like being shut in, but she'll have to get used to it. We can't risk any more lambs being taken :(.

Sunny day in Wales...

2008-02-09T20:23:38Z

...and someone fluffy was really enjoying basking in the sun!

And today our suspicions that Ewenity too might be full of lambs were confirmed.

We thought something might be up when Ewenity stayed in her stable when we went to check on them first thing this morning. Looking at her we noticed her shape:

When those dimples appear in the sides towards the back of the sheep, it basically means that stuff inside has started to move around prior to coming out. We'd been planning to go to Swansea in the afternoon, but seeing her that shape it was clear we shouldn't go anywhere. Giles went to prepare the second "maternity stable" and I sat outside keeping an eye on the existing lambs and Ewenity. You could tell something was up when she wouldn't settle, she kept getting up and sitting down and not really knowing what to do with herself.

After a couple of hours her waters broke and she started having periods of lying down and having contractions (during which she looked like something out of Alien as her contents could be seen all moving about). But for a few hours nothing further came out, and we were just wondering whether we should call for assistance when:

Out popped something white!

The little lamb was breathing and starting to baa even while he was coming out. We helped the lamb out and brought it round to the front where Ewenity started to lick it clean.

In only a few minutes the little lamb was baaing and starting to stand up

and within the hour he was up and walking and had made a successful docking with the Mothersheep.

We stayed with them both for a couple of hours, and really we thought that was the end of it since Mum gave no indication of anything more happening. Sheep often have twins but not always, and Ewenity hadn't looked quite as big as Ginger whilst up the duff. So we came in to have a cup of tea and I posted the above pics in forum.

Then I nipped out to have a quick look across the field to see how they were doing and I was a bit confused, I could see Ewenity's lamb but why was one of Ginger's there looking for the wrong nipple?

But I looked and both Ginger's lambs were elsewhere, which could only mean...

- yep, in the 20 minutes we'd been in for a cup of tea, she'd popped out another lamb on her own }:-).

We went out to check the other new arrival and both the lambs seem to be healthy and fine, and both of them found their way to Mum's nipples, so it's looking like a good start for them both. And a lovely sunny day to come into the world on too.

Of course we hope that they are prepared for the hard life that they have been born into; after all it's hard work being a sheepie on our land. I am sure Ginger's offspring will warn them what to expect...

...all that chillin' in the sun...

...gettin' cuddles...

...chillin' a bit more...

...watchin' the Mothersheep cruise by...

...yep, it's a hard life bein' a sheepie }:-).

It looks like a ram and a ewe lamb in the new pair, so that's three rams, and three upcoming visits to the vet for sure - it's nice that Ginger and Ewenity have been able to fulfil their biological destiny an' all, but really now we are FULL of sheep and we can't really have another generation after this one }:-). The Digestive biscuit bill alone will be significant };-).

Boy are we in for a cute Spring though with four little fluffballs to play with }:-D.

whatsamatter wid yu hat?

2008-02-08T21:44:40Z

THIS IS TOM CRUISE'S GURU.

lamb o'clock

2008-02-06T19:57:10Z

As you can clearly see from the position of the fluffy little ears, this picture was taken at ten to three.

LAMB DEFENCE MODE ACTIVATED

2008-02-03T19:38:20Z

All sheep on our land are equipped with lasers and a full set of Smart Bombs. Mess with them (or their lambs) at your peril.

20 quid well spent :)

2008-02-02T23:43:31Z

Geommy Wars on the DS. It's really good, the controls are nice, and they've extended the basic idea enough that it has a lot more variety than the Xbox version which I'd kinda got burned out on a while ago. There aren't that many good shooters on the DS and it satisfies that need nicely.

haha, I so should }:-)

2008-02-01T00:55:52Z

I've been thinking that one day, in some hypothetical future time when we actually have some free time and don't feel insanely pressured just to run on the treadmill as fast as possible to try and barely make a living, I'd quite like to do some VCS homebrew just for shits and giggles.

I made this label for a joke in forum but the more I think about it I so could make the game:

You'd have the meter onscreen and have to use the paddles dextrously to "run out" your engrams to a floating needle. In later levels you'd get more difficult chain engrams. You'd go up the Bridge as you went up the levels in the game, getting a special bonus for going Clear and then getting increasing super powers as you went up the OT levels until you're completely at cause over all 8 dynamics. OT3 would be a bit of a boss level getting through the Wall of Fire. You'd get clusters of BTs and all sorts as you went along. I could make the gameplay very trippy and trancy for that authentic being-brainwashed feeling.

2-player simultaneous mode would allow one player to be the PC and another to be the auditor. I'd have to get Xenu in there too really. Damn, I am sure there's a shit VCS game to be made out of this one day.

Haha, one day. }:-)

scientlology

2008-01-31T14:56:41Z

fluffy little fella

2008-01-26T13:24:02Z

He's probably half the weight of his brother, and has a bit of catching up to do, but he's pretty much behaving like a normal little lamb now, following his mum round, getting milk when he needs it, and even having a nibble of the grass now and again.

Bless }:-).