Kind: Articles

It’s been awhile since Geek Night went on ’til 3am. And what a Geek Night. I’ve just introduced the usual crew to a board game (or will it end up as a computer game?) I thought up earlier in the week, and after a few playtest games to refine the rules and the cardset, we’re really getting together something which is really enjoyable and a great laugh. It’s like… Fluxx meets nanofiction. Like the trading element of Settlers of Catan meets the backstabbing of Munchkin, but with a better definate-length and less last minute struggles. It’s got the exciting close finishes of Il Principe but it’s as easy-going as Carcasonne.

Well… I like it anyway. And it got great feedback from the folks who sat around for three games of it this evening.

I’m thinking of calling it Neumann. Watch this space.

Right; off to Harlech today with Claire and some Singaporeans. No, if you don’t know or can’t work out why, it’s probably best that way.

In any case, we’ll be back for 7pm for Doctor Who and Troma Night at The Place. The second-to-last ever Troma Night at The Place…

Saw The Hills Have Eyes and Hostel at the Arts Centre Cinema‘s “Horror Double Bill” last night. The former was a mediocre horror flick which improves dramatically once you’ve got a lone guy fighting mutants with a baseball bat in a desert. The latter was a pretty good psychological thriller with a charmingly well-paced warm up and character introductions before everybody starts being mutilated: it’s improved by the fact that there’s surprisingly little gore – at least to begin with, with the sound effects making implications for themselves as to the content – but I’ve a feeling it’ll be ruined by a sequel.

I feel that we’re certainly making the most of the bank holiday weekend: too much, even, perhaps. With Faye‘s birthday (and some shopping for jungle-themed stuff, of course) tomorrow, Troma Night, this trip to Harlech, and whatever-it-is I’m supposed to be doing on Monday (can’t remember what it is, but I’m pretty sure I’ve arranged something… it’ll come back to me)… and meanwhile, what we should be doing is packing in anticipation of our upcoming house move. We’ve got a lot to do. Ah well.

Tony Long at Wired has written a great article. An extract:

1968. It was the height of the Vietnam War, the year of My Lai and the Tet offensive. Student riots in Paris nearly brought down the French government. Soviet tanks put a premature end to Czechoslovakia’s Prague Spring.

In the United States, the streets were teeming with antiwar protesters and civil rights demonstrators. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated within two months of each other. The Democratic convention in Chicago dissolved into chaos. And by the summer, America’s cities were in flames.

… 

But as bad as things were then, they seem infinitely worse now.

Well, Claire and I’s move is now confirmed: on 5th June 2006 we’ll leave The Place and head down to our new home, The Cottage. As usual, all offers of help with the move will be much appreciated and rewarded with beer and/or food, depending on the time of day at which the assistance is rendered. And, like last time, we’ll be putting photos online as we take them. Ooh; look, here’s some now!
It doesn’t really feel like we’ve lived in The Place that long: it’s less than six months ago that we moved in, and we’d hoped that we’d have been there a little longer. Nonetheless, The Cottage is lovely: nestled away in a little-known about part of town, surrounded by some fascinating architecture, and with a couple of nice perks I’m sure I’ll fill you in on as time goes on.

It is, however, a little bit smaller than The Place. Some of this space will be reclaimed: for example, there is no bed in the spare room which will give us more space to populate with desks, chairs, and computer gear. Some of it is less-able to be salvaged: for example, the living room – while as long as the one at The Place – is noticabley narrower, and also suffers from the addition of a dining table to it, rather than in the kitchen as is the case at The Place.

As a result, things may become more than a little bit cozy in September, when Troma Night once again comes into full swing. To be honest, we’re just not sure. Maybe it’ll be fine with a little jiggering and pokering, or maybe we’ll have to go with Plan B – the relocation (perhaps on a week-to-week basis) of Troma Night to various venues around Aberystwyth. But there’s nothing to worry about yet (or, perhaps, at all) – we’ll just have to wait and see.

Well, not Paul‘s curry per se, but the-one-he-organised.

Except he didn’t organise a time. It was always a bit up-in-the-air because it depended upon what time Ruth and JTA would have finished their cock-beating activities.

Well; I’ve done the research for him and collated that with his proposed times, and we get 7:35pm as the final time. There. Now you all know.

As Matt said, there’s an open mic night at The Angel, tonight at 8pm, £2 on the door. In the past, these open mic nights have been variable, with some really good performances and some less good ones, but the audience demonstrates it’s Aberystwyth spirit and is welcoming to pretty much anybody.

So, I’m going to pick up the microphone, and, this time – as I’ve been given about eight hours notice rather than the eight minutes I got last time – I ought to be able to rustle up a couple of “knock knock” jokes in advance, so I don’t just have to rip off everybody else‘s material in a methodical manner.

Want to see some of Aberystwyth’s upcoming comedy talent? And me? See you at The Angel.

Ahoy there, mateys. Troma Night tonight will be kicking off simultaneously at Adam‘s and at The Place at 7pm sharp for Doctor Who, and then reconvening at The Place for the rest of the evening.

If you’re not coming along for Doctor Who, then try at least not to turn up at half-past seven, just as the Doctor will be legging it from the cybermen, or you’re likely to be glared at most severely. By 7:30 you’ll have already missed your chance for a coveted spot on the couch, anyway.

I’ve no idea what we’ll watch. Paul‘s got at least one Troma flick we haven’t seen, as well as a mammoth collection of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 I’d love to make a dent in. And I’ve got a copy of Howling VI: The Freaks, who’s 3.7 star rating on the IMDB gives it’s fans the right to call it the “best sequel” to the original Howling. That should be sufficiently dire.

As far as good movies are concerned, I’m open to suggestions.

Just over a month ago, sick of the interest rates, I paid off my NatWest credit card by going into the Aberystwyth branch and saying “how much money do I have to give you to have you cut up this card and never bother me about it again?” I paid three-hundred-and-something pounds, direct from my bank account, then had the lady behind the counter cut up the card. There we are, done.

This morning I received a letter from NatWest Credit Card Services indicating that I’d missed a payment. I called them up to complain, and was told that the branch must have made a mistake in calculating the sum I owed them, because my account was labelled as being active and I still owed forty quid.

Then they said that it must, therefore, be their fault – the mistake of the branch that had mis-advised me (they took my word on the conversation I’d had in the branch) – and closed my account, dropping the remaining debt.

While it’s obvious that this was the correct thing for them to do – it was, indeed, their mistake that had caused the problem – I was impressed that they behaved in this way. They are, in the end, a bank, and over the years we’ve become used to banks screwing us over with ludicrous charges, seemingly just for the fun of it. Meanwhile, NatWest have consistently provided me with excellent customer support and an attitude of genuinely trusting me as a customer.

Bravo, NatWest. I have no problem with continuing to recommend you as a bank.

Original picture.