Along came a spider

Outside what passes for my home office / study / studio type thang, there is a gigantic arachnid of the standard british house spider variety. [S]He hasn't moved (except rotating occasionally) for four days and is just sitting in the middle of a plain patch of wall.

Since my mid-teens, I've had a somewhat buddhist attitude to house spiders and consider murderation out of the question, and "disturbance" undesirable. However, despite house spiders being able to "survive for months without sustenance", it's highly doubtful as to whether he / she / it is going to see any action (sexual or culinary) at all situated where it is (i.e. a converted loft space) and I'm beginning to think that the pint-glass-and-CD-slip routine might be a kindness (the kitchen? under-stairs cupboard?). Given that other house denizens feel somewhat more hostile towards arachnids than I do, this could be problematic in itself.

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That's it: I'm "coming out"!

I'm bailing from the good ship HMS Mindless Optimism and am jumping ship to join the crew of HMS It could happen but it's hardly feckin' likely, is it?. I could never stomach mindlessness beyond a certain point, and that point is passed.

For the Euros, two years ago, I genuinely believed, but, if I ever did this time, I don't any more. It's just not there. I'd be pretending. On current form, England neither deserve, nor are likely, to win.

Sure: I'll watch, and shout, and get hysterical, but I don't believe any more. In fact, I think they're living on borrowed time. "Sketching their way to glory" just doesn't have a very good ring to it, does it?

Music Temptation Gadgets

I've been a good little squirrel and have been heartily gathering my nuts.

But enough of that. Let me tell you about how I've saved some moolah instead. Yup, I've got a bit of loose cash to spend and have been sorely tempted by one of these. Phwoar. Six tons of haulage, though. Feel the burn. Still hmmm-ing and ahhh-ing. There are cheaper options. One of which is to go with the Crafter equivalent, and another is to forget the bass altogether and get Epiphone's Sheraton II or Lucille, both of which I've played and have had half an eye on for a while. The bass seems a better option, though.

Much more reasonably, I bought one of these. It turns out that I do have "perfect pitch". It's just "perfectly" two-thirds of the way to B-flat. Rock.

MFC Entry

I finished my ThrustyMFC offering and it's up at the website with the others.

"Finished" is such a strong term. More: "Got sick of it and it'll do". I've not mixed it on proper monitors (if I get the time and inclination, I may do it before Monday but, to be honest, ... not likely), but it has been mixed on a super-bass-heavy sound system, and I've got a fairly good idea of its characteristics, so it should be OK if not stunning. It's meant to be a nod towards the summer parties of the early nineties.