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Orbital Sports Glider - SPORG - enjoying the main vein, NTODS evolves full pace

¦ dialling in from Sky Bunker ¦

18:27 GMT, Sunday 30th November 2008.  "Mad World" by Gary Jules (Donnie Darko) is playing through the big speakers mounted either corner of my desk, random selection via the laptop.  Darkness is pressing against the glass canopy above my head; daylight faded a couple of hours ago.  Both days of the weekend have been marked by grey featureless weather, a sharp sting of ice in the air.  The air inside the house is warming up now that the heating has kicked in, but up until an hour ago it was off and the house was frozen...one cup mug of tea was cold within 5 minutes, great plumes of steam rising off the surface as it sat on my desk.  Of course, if you know me you'll know I quite enjoy this.  Like getting out from a hot bath and there being so much steam rising off your skin you can barely see anything in front of you.  A quick hustle upstairs to the Sky Bunker and the faithful hot-breath of Life Support.

It's been a lovely weekend - and in no hurry to come to an end, it seems.  I didn't leave the house yesterday, other than to help Jo carry a Christmas tree from the garage in through the kitchen and into the dinning room.

Most of my time has been up here.  Repeated Da Vinci sessions interspersed with 15 minute power naps, keeping my brain revving along at high creative output.  Today, lying on the big bed of the spare room next to the Sky Bunker, I listened to a recorded radio play, "At The Mountains of Madness" in 15 minute segments.  With the near zero temperatures inside the house, it was apt listening material.

Last night I got a great fire going in the front room, the cast iron stove pumping out so much heat we didn't bother turning the central heating on at all.  We drank mulled wine whilst illuminated by brilliant flame, all of the room lamps turned off, not even the TV switched on to spoil the ancient light. 

This morning I drove into the city around 11am, parked up near Dom's old place and walked around the deserted, nearly frozen harbourside, savouring the lack of people, and the grey light, rather than feeling isolated or depressed by it.  Into the Arnolfini, which has become my new favourite haunt for a quiet Sunday morning.  One Americano with a dash of milk, Pain au Chocolat.  M.R.James, a collection of Ghost Stories.  One notebook and pen.  Very similar to recent Sunday's here... but it's the repetition and creation of a new memory-theme that I enjoy.

I spoke to my sister and my mum, yesterday; we're all remembering Dad.  They took a trip to the crematorium, and then down to the coast to enjoy fish & chips from Marshalls (Tynemouth).  Like myself, they were both in good spirits.  Life goes on.  We can celebrate his life rather than moan about the loss of it.

Creative wise, I'm in the midst of "effects on the human body caused by short burts of extreme acceleration; and prolonged exposure to high G-force", and time dilation, special relativity, and trying to determine how long it takes @ 30G to reach 0.8C.  I'm also writing up a variety of vessels for characters to ride in or get their hands upon, if ever thrust into the high-adreline arena of Orbit and Deep Space.  This thing is going to take me bloody months to finish! :o( 

Part of me thinks I'm probably reinventing a few dozen wheels with all this space-RPG malarky, but, it's the world of Yellow Dawn so I feel I need to go through it, walk my own route, from start to finish.  

I came across the brilliant work of Col. John Stapp. A great quote of his, “...one factor is encouraging. There are only two models [male and female] ofthe human body currently available, with no immediate prospects of a newdesign; any finding in this research should provide permanent standards.”- Col. Stapp.

Oooo, "9 Ghosts I" by Nine Inch Nails has just come on. Jolly good and eerie. 

Jo's been out most of the day, so I'm up here in a bubble of red lava lamp light surrounded by shadows. 

WINSTON-DOUBLE-PLUS-GOOD ¦ Chocolate Rectify: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/nov/30/damian-green-arrest

"Here we go..."

Over & Out.

Djr