So today I started in a grumpy mood. Logged on briefly, moaned at a few people and then logged out. Drove to the station, got on train. Very uneventful journey, read a complete magazine. Walked to office. Then proceeded to have a rather fun meeting with a company I can’t mention looking at a product I can’t talked about. Left at about five, walked most of the way back to the station, it was actually quite pleasant, there was a light drizzle, but it wasn’t freezing. Got on a tube at Hyde-Park Corner, would have been quicker to continue the walk. Got a ticket, got on train. Had to stand all the way to Reading. Then got a seat. A guy sat down next to me, he plugged himself in, then got a notebook out. He then proceeded to write what was either a song or a poem entitled ‘Death of a child’, he must have had the same sort of day I had.

So started this morning with coffee, breakfast and no bumming. Soon got on to the second coat of gloss on the windowsill. Then it was a bit of a race against time, I wanted to get on with doing the trunking while Jamie wanted to get to his dads. Finished at about half three. Drove there and found out that dinner wasn’t until six, so a bit pissed off with that. Dinner was nice, I manager to get some well done beef which was very much to my liking while everyone else ate red bleeding stuff. The usual hilarity and debauchery took place, with many an innuendo. Got back and stabilised both lots of wine, not sure which one will clear first, but both will be ready to bottle by the end of the week. Did a bit more trunking. It isn’t the prettiest thing in the world, but I think I prefer it against a load of trailing wires. Off to London for a meeting tomorrow, not something I’m looking forward to.

So spent the whole day indoors, well apart from the bits where I went out to the garage. All about the bay window. Took down the old curtains and rail, filled everything in and then painted the ceiling. Bit odd this one. House was built in 1996, but for certain the Artex on that part contains asbestos, you can see the fibres, all other Artex in the house is clean. Anyway, all sealed in using three coats of Dulux finest. Removed all the mouldy silicone from the windows, that’ll need replacing. Painted the window sill and the skirting, only thing left on that now is another coat on the sill and the walls there. So on with the second coat on the sill today, then start on the trunking I think, get that out of the way, that’ll just leave the bay wall and changing the radiator next week, ready for the blinds to be fitted.

Had one of my dreams last night. I finally decided to stab my mother in the back of the neck with a knife. All was going to plan, dragged her body into the car, belted her in and disposed of it somewhere (obviously that bit was a bit dull as it was edited out the dream). Next thing I know I was in court, I was hoping to get away without a custodial sentence, pleading ‘diminished responsibility’ or ‘physiological bullying’. However I got ten years. Oddly I quite enjoyed the prison thing, it had a gym and a cinema. There was this one ‘odd’ bullying character, but all he demanded was that I brought him tea a 2:20PM every day. At one wrestling match there was rather a cutie. I got pulled up on this by one of the gays, he said he knew I was into him as my leg quivered. But he said it was fine as this guy was gay as well, and he and another were both up his ass like rats up a drainpipe, and it was fine if I wanted to join in. I then woke up, which was a shame as I was quite looking forward to the orgy, I guess it was coming up to 2PM and I needed to make that tea….

Woke up this morning with something in my eye, I think it’s still there now or I have a cut or something, very annoying. So spent the day fixing problems on a certain console while maintaining my watch on Amazon. And yes, yet again, I’ve managed to buy a shedload of crap. Actually some good stuff at good prices, will make reasonable presents. Although I don’t buy presents for anyone except Jamie, so all nice presents to myself, which I’ll never use. I am, indeed, turning into my mother. Except she doesn’t use that many commas. Walked Sasha in the rain. Drove to Pump as it was pissing down. Did a session with Laverne afterwards and then came home and fixed a few more bugs. Got a bloody meeting on Monday I don’t really want to go to. Pizza time.

Cleaners arrived today, did an average job. Think I’ll get rid of them after Christmas. I’ve had flyers through for cheaper places, and to be frank, I can pay a lot less for the same average job. Worked on various bits, nothing exciting. Went for an eight mile run. Today is the Thursday before black Friday, the forerunner of cyber Monday, this means Amazon has deals on everything. Already spent far too much on things that a) I don’t need, b) I didn’t really want, c) can’t find a use for anyway. I feel like my mother, but slightly less self-obsessed.

So started this morning trying to speak to the tools department, he then grabbed a coffee and decided that he had something better to do, so I looked at a great bugbear of ours, sky banding. Now the source textures are all 32 bit float in gamma 2.2. So if you de-gamma them and look at the detail they still aren’t that great. By the time you convert them down to a single 32 bit compressed value, any minor detail they had has now vanished. So in the end I did a bit of fiddling in the shader and generated a noise pattern based on screen position and then used this to modulate the source texture, well I modulated the power, this actually works very well and gets rid of about 99% of the banding issues. Didn’t fancy a conversation with the tools guy anyway.

Today was once again cold, but fairly nice. The cleaners failed to turn up. I had to phone them, apparently a van broke down, it would have been nice if they had phoned, coming tomorrow instead. Walked to the gym and did Pump. Walked home, did a bit more work. Finished touching up the skirting.

Got up far too early for the blind man. Not a piano tuner but a man to measure for blinds. Now I must of made a good job of sorting the owners laptop out as the price was considerably cheap, well compared to the bathroom roller blinds anyway. So they are ordered. I’ve delayed the fitting for a couple of weekends to give me a chance to finish off everything in the bay. Then spent most of the day truing to get better precision in a floating bit render target, managed a bit, but to be honest it isn’t worth the aggro, what you gain in one place you easily lose in another. I may just introduce a bit of noise in the sampling to break it up a bit. Then the news came out that the Smiler accident at Alton Towers was a ‘human error’. Someone overrode the emergency system. Go back in the blog and find it, yep, that’s what I said all those months ago. The ride is opening again next year. Went for a run. Transferred the Chenin Blanc. Started touching up the skirting boards.

Never liked Monday’s anyway. Work was slow to start with. Courier arrived with radiator, we unpacked it all and it was damaged as usual, that’s three now that have arrived with minor dents in, no wonder they are cheap. I wouldn’t mind so much but sending them back takes forever. Today was nice but very cold. So walked to the gym and did Combat, walked home and then did a bit more work. Need to move the TV as the man is coming tomorrow to measure for the blinds. Think I’ll pop a pill, have a shower and then head to bed.

Had a nice leisurely lie-in. Which is deadly as my brain goes into heavy ‘REM’ mode and I get weird dreams. The rent boy I banged was worth it though. Had breakfast, coffee, then looked at the weather. It’s been the first day with low winds for about three weeks, so sent a text to Captain James. Shifted all the furniture around the lounge again and started painting the skirting boards, it was not adhering well. Got a reply back and booked in for 3PM. Changed all the sockets for the carbon ones and then headed off to Staverton. We had a play for around an hour, I could still fly, actually I could still fly pretty well, no issues with maintaining height of airspeed, so we did some tricky manoeuvres, including landing in a quarry and then on a pinnacle, finished off with an autorotation. May do a trip out with Ben next somewhere in the south west, need to plan mothers final flight, where I loosen the seat and eject her out the door. Came back and discovered I’d done two coats using completely the wrong paint. So then spent two hours with the correct paint after I’d found it in the garage. So skirtings all done now, really it’s just some touching up, the bay window and some minor electrics left. I have about three weekends in which to do it, so pretty much on target. I’m cooking tonight, so curry, here we come.

Nice to have a bit of a lie in, well until about half ten anyway. Had breakfast and read the paper. Got up and then got on with some of the electrics in the lounge. Drilled the blank plates for the speaker terminals, fucked one up which was annoying, so need to get another one for the TV aerial sockets. Did those and then replaced the light switches, put the wall lights back up. On to the skirting boards next. Decided to go out this afternoon although it was bloody freezing. Walked into town, bought a couple of nice warm hoodies for winter, also got some new shoes, Worked out that a pair of shoes currently lasts me two months at most, not good. Did the accounts, had a shower. Lots of DIY tomorrow.