| One down... |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|07:56 pm] |
Well, Santa-ing for Glenn's family went well tonight. The kids were thrilled, Glenn and his wife seemed to enjoy the experience, I enjoyed doing it, it was good.
Glenn's a customer who became a mate, so it was nice to be able to repay all the business (and friendship) he's given me with a visit from Father Christmas.
It was bloody hard though. Been crook all day, struggled to get ready, but once I was in the suit - POOF! I'm the man, and ain't nuthin' gunna stop me! I'm in character, and I'm goin' for it!
Had lots of people toot or wave at Kringle in his 1970 Holden, too, which I always enjoy.
Got home, stripped off the suit, and it was like Fearless Fly taking off his glasses, except a little slower. Back to feeling really, really substandard and ill.
But very, very happy!
Tomorrow I get to do it again, not for the person who won the eBay bid (don't get me started... grrrr....) but for someone who saw the eBay ad and contacted me. Looking forward to that :) |
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| Priorities... |
[Dec. 13th, 2009|12:45 pm] |
One of the things I've become conscious of in recent months is my priorities. They haven't changed, I'm just aware of them now.
While my health and fitness has improved slowly but steadily since the stroke, I still have a fairly limited amount of spoons, and even when I'm doing well, it doesn't take much to steal them all if I'm not careful. I've been tending to beat myself up a bit for not getting things done, but then recently I realised how it is I work my limited resources. ( Read more... ) |
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| Dashed off Dot Points |
[Dec. 11th, 2009|07:43 am] |
* Today I get three wisdom teeth out!
* My teeth tend to lock into my jaw with curved and hooked tooth... thingys. So for one, they actually have to saw away a small part of my jawbone!
* Weirdly, I'm not nervous at all. I honestly expected to be. ( Read more... ) |
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| Lex Communication |
[Dec. 3rd, 2009|10:41 am] |
 In the last week, Lex has suddenly hit his stride with a bunch of words, symbols, and concepts coming together for him. He's understood sign language previously, but for whatever reason wasn't using it, but this week that changed.
He's now doing his own adaptation of the sign for book by clapping his hands together as if he were shutting a book. Sometimes he will accompany this with the word "dat" which is his most common word for book. The next most common words for it are "dot" and "dook."
He also signs for food now by opening his mouth and then putting his hand over it. Very handy one, that. He sometimes also combines the sign with the word "mum."
"Shluck" is his word for sock.
"Car" is now used for pictures or actual cars.
Of course he already had "Kal" and "mum." Any words he has can get used for other things. For instance, the other day he named my nipples. One was called "mum" and the other was called "Kal."
Other times he just says the words because he likes the feel of the word in his mouth, something I also do. But all the words mentioned have a pretty consistent use associated with their respective objects and lifeforms. I tend to wait until I've seen an ongoing use and connection before I credit him with actually understanding the word.
Today, for the first time, he said "da" as he pointed at me. Will be looking out to see if that's repeated or it was a one off. |
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| For Sale - One Santa, some wear and tear... |
[Nov. 27th, 2009|04:07 pm] |
Well, I've gone and put myself up on eBay!
Would have preferred a funnier write-up, but I didn't have a lot of time. Wanted it to finish with plenty of time to figure out the details, assuming anyone takes me up on it. Also, given the nature of the thing, and that people would be allowing a stranger into their homes, I thought something not too silly would be a good idea. I wanted to put it up under services, but for that you have to quote a firm figure. If someone can figure a better category than Personalised Gifts, that will let me do the auction format, would love to hear it.
Feel free to spread the word, too. On one hand I'm hoping some nice family will get me for the cost of petrol money. On the other, if bidding went insane, that'd be kind of nice. First pref though is cover my costs and give some kids a great surprise.
I Santa-ed for one particular family for a few years, and loved doing it, so I'm half hoping to be able to again. As it is, I contacted my friend Glenn and told him my beard was gone in preparation for tomorrow, so I would be able to pay a visit in costume to his kids at Christmas. Looking forward to that. |
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| Deep Roy Appreciation Day |
[Oct. 28th, 2009|02:40 pm] |
I could go for the ones everyone remembers Doctor Who, Star Trek, and Star Wars but instead I present a rare appearance by Deep Roy in Blake's 7. Why is it rare? Because virtually every time he appeared in the show, he was covered in half a tonne of latex!
I present, from the B7 episode Gambit, Deep Roy as The Klute!
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| Mystery project |
[Oct. 18th, 2009|10:57 am] |
I'm yet to be confirmed for any panels or events for Aussiecon 4 (way too early yet, of course), but if things continue the way they have been, it's looking like I may be rather busy during the con. |
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| Progression |
[Oct. 16th, 2009|04:44 pm] |
Amongst things Lex has learned or experienced in recent weeks are -
- shaking his head (it doesn't actually mean no, I think he just likes the cheap high)
- walking (he did a proper walk last night for all of half a dozen steps - this is how the world ends!)
- his first true word, as in a word that is solidly identified with one inhabitant of our house (the word is "Gahr!" or "Carh!", which is Lex's attempt to say the dog's name, "Kal")
- interior design (he keeps rearranging all the chairs)
- the sign language for milk (it's a two handed milking-a-cow motion, only he does it with one hand and so it's hard to distinguish it from him waving, but you can tell the difference if you really look)
- two big teeth finally breaking the skin after months of bothering him (both have come through in the last day or so, on the left side top and bottom)
- bubbles (a really good way to distract him so he doesn't scream while you're wiping his face after eating)
- swings and slides (both of which he adores)
- paper planes (threw the plane back and forth around him, then let him have it. It became the most precious piece of paper ever, for about half an hour)
In other news, it feels like everyone I've ever known is having kids at the moment. Just heard about another. Will be interesting seeing the direction all the kids of the fannish and alternative folks go over the years. I suspect a few rebellious Liberal voting accountant or sporting types will pop up. |
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| Pointing and posting |
[Sep. 18th, 2009|09:58 am] |
Lex has had a number of little milestones since C5, that have mostly gone unblogged because I've been sick, busy, or haven't remembered when I was posting. In the last few days he's discovered the power of pointing!
It's both awesome and funny. He can communicate that he wants a particular thing by pointing at it, which is great because even though he seems to understand a chunk of the signing he doesn't actually use it himself, so the pointing makes life a little easier.
He also randomly points. He won't even be looking, he'll just raise his hand and point off in a random direction. Sometime he does it with both hands at once - two completely different directions.
And then there's triangulation. You're not sure what he's pointing to, so you pick him up and wave him back and forth, slowly zeroing in on the item in question which, nine times out of ten, is something that he's not actually allowed to have. So he gets the joy of having us take him right to the thing he wants, and the disappointment of not being allowed to have it.
He's also started 'posting' stuff, a term we picked up from Bill Congreve at C5. Posting is when they start going, 'Hey, I bet I can put this thing I'm holding, in that thing over there!' So now we're in a mix of ongoing surprise, and regular hunting. So one can't be sure what will appear in one's drink cup... a block, a rusk, a sock... and neither can one be sure where something has disappeared to... is it in the drawer? The box? Oh! It was hidden in my shoe!
I find both these stages an never ending source of amusement. |
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| Invisible Man |
[Aug. 2nd, 2009|12:33 pm] |
Had chills and been substandard the last two days. Blah!
But I needed to watch through a few things before the The Best TV Shows That Never Were panel I'm on at C5, and being sick suddenly means I'm better able to make the time to do so. Just rewatched the pilot of the 2000 series The Invisible Man (also known as I-Man in some countries), and pretty much instantly remembered why I enjoyed the show. ( Read more... ) |
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| Middleman on DVD |
[Jul. 30th, 2009|08:20 pm] |
The Middleman DVDs have just been released in the US. I know many of you out there are fans of the show, so I thought I'd let you know.
Given that the creator of Middleman is hopeful that with good enough DVD sales the series may come back in some form, if your DVD player can handle NTSC discs, you may wish to buy them ASAP. We just ordered ours through Amazon.com. Wanted to buy from Shout, the company doing the DVD release, but unfortunately they don't sell direct to Australia.
For those that don't know it, The Middleman is one of the shows I will be talking about on The Best TV Shows That Never Were panel at Continuum 5.
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| Great, Cool, Awesome, and Amazing |
[May. 25th, 2009|12:30 pm] |
You know what's great? Continuum 5 is coming up, August 14th-16th, Melbourne.
If you're not there, you'll be missing out.
What's cool is, this Saturday the 30th, C5 is having a Trivia Quiz.
( Poster with details below the cut )
The awesome thing is that Continuum 6 is already being planned for next year.
That's right, it's on baby!
And the amazing thing?
People are already starting to make plans for Continuum 7! |
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| April Dot Points |
[May. 1st, 2009|04:47 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | conventions, dot points, health, interesting or important links, lex, my stuff, sharon, slice of life, swancon, things that delight me, unimportant but annoying, videos/dvds | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  reflective | ] |
* April was a busy and tiring one, hence this being written on the 1st of May.
* This is a very Lex-heavy month. ( Read more... ) |
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| My Little Bull Terrier |
[Apr. 18th, 2009|01:20 pm] |
Bull terriers have an interesting quirk - they can bite down so hard that nothing will make them let go until they want to. Some people mistake this for them 'locking' their jaws, when in fact it's just sheer bloody-mindedness on the part of the animal. No matter how much damage is done to them, they won't let go until they are done, unconscious, or dead.
I once saw our 13 year old, half-blind bull terrier, Pancho, get into a fight with three other younger, bigger dogs that weren't on leads and ran as a pack. Dad tried to intervene, he always did if Pancho was involved in a fight, but after having the owner of the three dogs make no effort to stop them, and make a smiling comment along the lines of 'Sorry mate! Dogs, eh? Whatcha gunna do?' Dad decided to let Pancho do his thing. Dad wasn't trying to protect our dog. Pancho tore them to shreds, much to the dismay of the owner.
Sharon is a bit like a bull terrier At the moment she's pissed off at someone who is wrong on the internet, and is formulating her reply. I was going to reply to them myself, but ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) shazgirl is going to do a much more thorough job than I, who would have been relying on memory and, too be blunt, can't be bothered arguing the point that much. They are making sweeping statements about events they weren't around to witness.
Normally Sharon wouldn't bother to reply either, but this one has annoyed her. She knows the statement made is wrong, and now she's doing the research to prove just how totally wrong it is. Today is the second day of her research. I would have gone into this with a figurative punch on the nose, Sharon will be going in with a chainsaw in each hand.
Love you, sweetheart! And I've never wanted you more! |
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| Travel Pics! (Изображения от моих путешествий!) |
[Mar. 7th, 2009|04:54 pm] |
Having noticed that I have picked up a lot of Russian folks who have found me through the photo-blogs, I just thought I'd use Babelfish to say "Hello" to you all and thank you for your continued interest in my pictures.
So...
Замечающ что я выбирал вверх много русских людей которые находили я через фото-блоги, я как раз думал I' польза Babelfish d сказать " Hello" к вам всему и вы для вашего продолжаемого интереса в моих изображениях. Приветственные восклицания, Дэнни
Anyway, here are the first batch of photos from gutter_monkey's and my trip from Melbourne to Canberra. Some of these you will have seen on Scott's journal, and his facebook, but for the rest of you, here they are... ( 13 pictures below cut ) |
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| Mr. Bill |
[Jan. 14th, 2009|04:23 pm] |
I mentioned Mr. Bill in a recent comment to someone, which then prompted me to go looking for him on Youtube. The trials of this small plasticine man aren't to everyoone's tastes, but twenty years later, I still love him.
( Embedded Mr. Bill vid below cut ) |
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| Deep Roy Rules |
[Jan. 12th, 2009|12:10 am] |
Just rewatched Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I still prefer the original. I find the new one a bit variable, and have a hard time understanding the words in most of the songs.
But it's worth owning because I could watch Deep Roy sing and dance for hours! |
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jubilant
bouncy
sleepy
sick
okay
accomplished