DIary of Wasted Time

Not the most productive day in the world.

It started at 01:00, when I tried to install a video capture card in my computer, and set up a freeview reciever box with my arial booster. My family already have a system for capturing television to divx, and my idea was to set up a secondary capture system - for recording the occasional programme which they can't capture because it clashes with another one.

The Freeview box couldn't detect any digital signals at all, one of the pins on the S-Video cable broke, and the soundcard stopped working. I did, however, tune in to BBC1, which was relaying George Bush's address to the nation. As my metaphorical jaw descended towards the rhetorical floor, Baby Bush spouted a stream of unconnected sentences, seemingly generated by a Chomsky grammar machine.

My particular favourite sentence was "Freedom will ensure Peace." It wouldn't be difficult to recreate the algorithm, a produced sentences like "God gives Succour to Eye-Ran.", "Terror shall destroy Democracy.", and "The enemies of Justice shall not prevail against the right to Vote."

Okay, if it really was meaningless, it wouldn't be scary. Specific threats against Iran and Syria, and ageneral threats against any country that 'gives suppport' to 'terror'. Plus a committment to keep troops in Iraq until the population stops killing them.

After all that I went to sleep. And woke at 0900 to the news that I had a pointless meeting booked for 1030. After the pointless meeting, I walked home, buying a new S-Video cable and some microphone clips on the 2 hour journey.

What was I saying about the personal and the political?

After an afternoon spent failing to get the sound and video cards to work, I went to the first lecture of my new physics course. Like all introductory lectures, it was all about the course structure, essay writing, and the importance of deadlines. So no actual physics.

Walking to the bus stop, I realised I'd forgotten to bring any money. So, to get money for the bus, I walked to the nearest cashpoint. Which was out of order. So I bought some junk food from the co-op with my debit card, asking for £10 'cashback'. They were happy to do this, provided I bought a minimum of £3 worth of junk food.

After first mistyping my withdrawl was £20, and then as £1, I got my £10 in loose change. And sat at the bus stop munching my crisps and chocolate. The last bus of the night arrived, and took me to within 20 minutes walk of where I wanted to go. Along the same route I'd walked earlier.

The plan for today was to tidy up and rearrange my bedroom, reinstall peripheral drivers, and get the Freeview box working. It's now 0011, and I'm about ready to begin. Just as soon as I drink the Red Square from the co-op.

I haven't seen H for nearly 3 weeks. He should be reasonably free on Friday (today), or the weekend. I hope so - even if it's just to see a dumb movie and disagree about genetic reductionism.

Red Square is vodka, caffine, and taurine. Cheers.

EDIT: It made me want to dance, while removing the co-ordination to do so.

I now have a number of things to do. Set up a business account, speak to the Job Centre about Tax Credits, Rearrange my bedroom, finish digitising the 4-track archives of music I made years ago, continue digitising the cassettes of music made by other people, edit this week's DAB recordings, learn to use Sonar 4, apply for the Media Technician job at the university, get an exercise regime together, finish the maths course, do the first assignment of the physics course, call up H and spend some time with him away from all this insanity.