Please State the Nature of the Medical Emergency

Daily Post No -4

2009-12-28T21:41:32Z

It says here I haven't updated for 54 weeks.

I've been commenting on other people's Livejournals, and I run a couple of work related blogs: DundeeChest and DundeePRN. The work blogs have taken up a load of my time, both at work, and out of it, so I've let the personal blogging slide a great deal; 54 weeks of slide, apparently.

My online pal thermalsatsuma does a daily post, and it's one of the high points of my day! I have no real idea what a T175 TMA is, but I enjoy finding out how thermal has got on with it. So I will try to keep but one resolution, to keep a daily post going. This might be difficult at the very beginning of the year, as I'm in the internet free void of Aberfeldy on holiday until the 6th, but I'll write something, and post retrospectively.

What will I post? I suspect it will be a mash up of medicine, gaming, child rearing, 5-a-side, fantasy football, and perhaps my triathlon training, if I get well enough in the New Year. More of which later.

Slimer

2008-12-08T21:25:05Z

3/4 mile, call the ball.

2008-10-28T22:47:02Z

I am watching Top Gun on Blu Ray. All that testosterone, in 1080p, and DTS-HD Master Audio.

Awesome.

WTF

2008-08-10T02:31:32Z

I was just very very close t writing the olive branch e-mail. I was in the process of writing the e-mail to TDL, saying how all that history, all that time, all that friendship, all the music, all the moments......

Fuck it. How can 15 years of being best friends disappear into nothing? How can he not give a shit for so long, but I still think about him, I still want to talk to him, I still want to know what he's doing. But I know he doesn't give a shit what I am doing, or what I think.

In the morning I'll be sober, and I'll not want to talk to him again. But I got 55 achievement points on Geometry Wars 2 this evening, and only he would give any kind of shit.

Screw it. I'm writing the e-mail.

faroon @ 2008-06-21T18:53:00

2008-06-21T18:00:00Z

I need a new phone, and I have decided not to get an iPhone, as I already have an iPod Touch, and it does everything I need of it already. And I have 3 Orange Magic numbers now, and to be honest, Orange have always been pretty good.

So I need to find an "upgrade" phone. Can't decide whether to get a bog standard one that will just do the phoning basics, or to go for the lovely new Nokia Fancy Pants N78. I have a N80, and it has been pretty much a disaster, with F-All battery life, and it crashes all the time..... The N78 has 5 Megapixel Camera, and Sat Nav. The Sat Nav is the winner for me, to be honest. Particularly as it can be hooked up to my hands free bluetooth car kit, and it will speak to me while I drive........

Och. Not sure. I'll pop in manyana to make the decision.

In other news, never rule out the Germans.

If it's good enough for gingereleanor......

2008-06-19T21:57:28Z

faroon @ 2008-06-07T20:18:00

2008-06-07T19:19:52Z

My washing machine has broken down. Why does this sort of thing always happen on Fridays?

Great Britain Thistle?

2008-06-06T18:11:02Z

Given the absence of a home nation in the Euros, I feel I should select a nation to support.

I have gone for Spain. Ronaldo may turn out to be the player of the tournament, but I think Torres will score the goals.

Grand Theft New York IV

2008-05-27T16:33:35Z

If I ever go to New York, I'll be on the look out for the Statue of Happiness, and the Roller Coaster in Broker......

faroon @ 2008-05-24T09:39:00

2008-05-24T08:48:10Z

Because I'm lazy, I'm going to take my headings from the last few songs on the random play list on my iPod.

Today - Smashing Pumpkins

Siamese Dream: Great album; I remember going round to the house of TDL and he put this on, and I was totally blown away by it. I do have Melon Collie and The Infinite Sadness, but it's not a patch on this. Today is the best song on the album by a long sea mile. This came on while I was driving into the car park at work this morning; 0815 start, cancer patients to see.

LSF - Kasabian

First track on when I got back into the car from work at 1700hrs. I first heard this because it was on the sound track of FIFA 06 (I think) on the Gamecube. I played that game forever, won the champions' league equivalent, and kept on going. All for no achievement points. There's no way I would play the Wii version if the 360 version were available: gotta have the achievement points!

Love is the Law - The Seahorses

Whatever happened to John Squire? The first line of the song is about a Dog Fish Egg Shell, which I always thought was a particularly odd thing to sing about.

Little Miss Can't be Wrong - Spin Doctors

Do you know that there's two new Power Rangers series on Jetix this morning? Lightspeed rescue and Lost Galaxy. A quick IMDB search suggests that they were made in 1999. I never understood the attraction of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, but the kids seem to love it. Every version has a black guy, a chinese guy, a girl, a strapping white boy, and some even have a robot - and none of them appear to be able to act. The kids' other favourite viewing is Ben 10 - now that's a different story!

Snow Storm

2008-05-19T21:01:41Z

Definitely the hardest level yet - multiple goes to get past the N.O.O.S.E (SWAT) guys, and another couple to be able to shake a 3* wanted level. I am particularly lame at losing wanted levels.

In other news - I have a new girlfriend, Carmen, which is lucky, given how it turned out with Michelle.....

In real life - need to order the Wheelie Bin Sticker Shenanigans.

And my students have invited me out for mealage and drinkage on Saturday. But they don't know what FTW means. Interesting.

Wheelie Bin Art FTW

2008-05-18T08:06:37Z

TBTC mentioned wheelie bins in his latest missive.

Decorate your wheelie bin!!!:

http://www.wheelie-bin-art.co.uk/

Nice.

Rangers Fans

2008-05-17T13:13:28Z

This just makes me ashamed to be living in Scotland.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7405259.stm

Not enough hours in the day

2008-05-11T17:39:56Z

Livejournal isn't really the catharsis that it once was - I have time to read my friends' journals every day, but little time to reply, and no time to write my own. This is no real loss to society, I fear.

Things are happening:

1. The boys are playing Super Mario Kart Wii. They haven't expressed any wish to play the Wii since they went on about it so much I had to buy one. But his weekend they have discovered Mario Kart. They can't do the grands prix, and neither can I, but they love the time trials. The original on SNES was one of the most finely tuned games of all time, I recall, but more recent iterations have been annoying: there has been a shift from driving first and weapons second, to overly powerful weapons and random chance over any driving skill. So on-line stuff is a lottery. Maybe I'm just getting old and boring.

2. Just back from a BBQ. The boys were great, well behaved, ate their meat and pitta, played quietly. Lovely. The chicken at the BBQ was very tasty - secret family recipe, apparently. Secret recipe turns out to be natural yoghurt and heinz tomato ketchup. Not so secret any more.

3. I have ceased to be a chest doctor for at least 9 months. From Tuesday I will be an Oncologist, but only for 6 weeks. It'll be nice to have a change of scenery for a bit, but I suspect I will tire of Lung Cancer very quickly.

4. Today has seen the most remarkable final day of a football season that I can remember. And I was at a BBQ with at the house of the only doctor in Tayside without Sky sports....

5. Got the DVD box set of Ashes to Ashes, after the success of Life on Mars in Faroon towers. Like it so far, but it lacks the presence of John Simm. I have always liked John Simm, and now I discover why - he's not a Lanc after all, but was born within the hallowed borders of Yorkshire. All makes sense now.

6. In laws are living with us for the next 3 months: f-i-l has had a triple bypass, and he's convalescing up here in sunny Dundee. He's doing well, but still knackered. Up-side: free babysitting. Down-side: double food bills!

7. Speaking of James. The gig was great, and I've booked tickets to see them again in December at the G-Mex. Or, actually, TAFKAG-Mex. We're going to make a weekend of it - stay in Manc, trip to Blackpool, that sort of thing.

8. Gladiators is back on TV. I'm recording it, in glorious HD. Judgement reserved.

9. Have had a week off in which I've driven 1250 miles and grown a very rubbish beard. Back to work tomorrow after an enthusiastic shave.

10. GTA IV.

Where isn't it?

2008-05-02T17:21:10Z

Game - sold out.
Gamestation - sold out.
Currys.digital - sold out.
Game in Debenhams - No copies.
Zavvi - Sold out
TESCO - Nothing
Toys R Us - Nothing
Comet - Sold Out
PC World - Sold Out
HMV - Sold out, of PS3 version, empty 360 boxes on shelf. Ask behind counter, two copies left, do I want one?

Bear.

Shit.

Woods.

Purchase.

No time to play it until Sunday, at the earliest, I suspect.

Edge review - 10.

Love the advert on the TV.

And relax.

James, Edinburgh Corn Exchange, 24/4/08

2008-04-25T00:13:05Z

Just back from the gig - just so amazing. Playlist, not in quite the right order, but something like....

Come Home
Waltzing Along
Waterfall
Bubbles
Oh My Heart
Upside Down
White Boy
Of Monsters, Heroes and Men
I Want to Go Home
Born of Frustration
Ring the Bells
Sound
She's a Star
Five-0
On Top Of The World
Sometimes
Hey Ma
Tomorrow
Laid

No Jonny Yen. No Sit Down. Didn't matter.

The new stuff sits so seamlessly with the old stuff, having Andy Diagram back (In a dress) means they can play all the anthemic stuff from Seven, and it was all just...... just...... amazing.

I've come home (sorry), had a sit down (sorry) and ordered tickets for the final gig of the winter tour, at the arena formally known as G-Mex. So that'll be a nice road trip down to Manchester in December!!!!

I'm just buzzing!!!

Fraudulent

2008-04-06T16:02:28Z

Weird thing happened in GAME today. I was just buying the family Wii (Not sure it will take much of my gaming time away from the XBox 360, but great for the boys) this afternoon when I pushed my TESCO credit card into the magic box, put in the PIN number, and then the till froze. The woman behind the till was perplexed, and didn't really know what was going on. Then my phone rang - TESCO finance. Just wanted to confirm that I was using the card, and it hadn't been stolen. Answered a few security questions, then he read me the last 5 transactions, and asked me to confirm that they had been me. They all were: Dominos last week, iTunes Music Store, and mobilefun.co.uk (on-line shop where I bought a case for my iPod Touch). Okidoki, he says, and authorises the sale, and the till unfreezes.

I asked him why this had all happened - apparently iTunes is a big target for fraud, and the £1 that came up on the mobilefun.co.uk was "suspicious".

Very odd, but at least they're watching out for fraud. But they are watching. All the time.

Nail biting

2008-04-06T15:26:33Z

We're all over them, yet 1 down. where's the justice?

T.B.T.C.S.P

2008-04-05T21:05:15Z

1. Spent the day at my boss' house. There was my old boss there too, and a rheumatoogy SpR I work with, my boss' cousin and au-pere. Together we have 10 children. So it was busy. My boys were very good - they sat quietly, played with the other kids, ate their food properly, impressed everybody.

2. The boss has a Wii for his kids. I've poo poo'd the Wii - I have an XBox360, of course, and there aren't any games I actually want to play on the Wii, apart from Mario Galaxy, I suppose. But the kids loved playing on Wii Bowling, and Wii Tennis. I wonder...... Maybe birthday time for Dan. There's always Wii Fit, I suppose.

3. Just watching Dr Who on BBC iPlayer, because I missed it on TV. Shame it's not in HD, but can't have everything, I suppose.

4. Barnsley vs Cardiff tomorrow. I suspect we're going to get stuffed. Busto tells me that it's not on BBC so I suspect it's on SKY Sports 1 HD! Just need to get the kids tired out for 1600hrs.

5. The Dunblane safari park is back open, so I think we might go and see the rhinos tomorrow.

6. New James album comes out on Monday. Previews sound great.

7. I lost my Herbie Hancock CD a little while ago, which was annoying. I couldn't find it anywhere online to buy, so I'd given up hope. Until I found it on ITMS today! I wonder if we'll actually bother with CDs in 5 year's time?

8. Dan wants to be a policeman! He told me today.

9. Life on Mars FTW.

faroon @ 2008-04-05T18:28:00

2008-04-05T17:29:18Z

Bah. Hung over from last night's work night out, and knackered to go with it.

Early bed for me, I think. Big game tomorrow.

01/04/08

2008-04-01T18:03:57Z

I know that none of you play console games, but this Blizzard April Fools gag is pretty good - play the video on the site......

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/moltencore/

Surely you remember this? Am I the only one?

2008-03-29T14:28:46Z

Another Year Older, all of a sudden

2008-03-29T10:33:36Z

The boys think it's hilarious that I'm older today. Less hilarious is the hangover I already have, given the ward night out last night, and my 1 in the morning return time. Gnurrr. The other Dr Faroon having a lie in. Boys watching TMNT.

Got some lovely pressies in the post. iPod Touch already in use, but officially a birthday present. Parcel of goodies from Faroon junior, fresh from lovely Yorkshire farm shops. Nice cards, best wishes from folks. All very lovely.

Hopefully I'll get into town for a bit, have a snooze, watch the boat race, then get out for dinner with my pals!

32 - not that old really.

Busto - Blog

2008-03-27T19:59:22Z

1. Work is just so busy at the moment. Home at 1900hrs tonight, back in at 0730 so I can get the ward round done before getting to Arbroath for clinic before getting back to do Cancer clinic at 12:30. Amongst other things.

2. Why can't 11 world class footballers run around and score goals against Frenchmen?

3. It's cold up here

4. Catching up with Botel Babylon, which is nonsense, but it's nonsense, but it's nonsense in High Definition.

5. Two nights out on the bounce, tomorrow is the ward night out, and Saturday is my Birthday. Not sure my liver will keep the pace, but I'll try.

6. New James album out on the 7th April, gig in Edinburgh on the 24th.

Run out of chat. Disappointing, huh?

Head first?

2008-03-24T21:29:52Z

Just when you think you've achieved something in your life.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/diving/7311733.stm

Must get piano lessons.