Printers... I hate clucking printers!

Cats Eyes
Originally uploaded by Last Human Gateway

I recently ran my little Canon ip90 laptop printer out of ink. OK, I thought... off to Staples to get a refill.

"Oh we don't do that ink anymore"

Copycat

"We've stopped doing Canon 15 and 16 cartridges"

PC World

"Yeah we sell them, but you need to remortgage your house and sell a kidney for a full set"... why did I bother even going to PC world?

Thank god for Cartridge World - I took up my old empties, refilled them, and for less than £20 I have 3 full sets to go at. Phew!

I wouldn't mind but it's not as if it's a very old printer - about 4 years old - and to be told "oh it's obsolete" is just irritating.

On to today's picture...

Yeah, I just thought I'd share a beautiful picture of my cat, Tigger.

I know... sappy... but I love her even if she is a whingey, stinky old moggy.

Remember, Remember

2/309:365 - Remember, Remember
Originally uploaded by Last Human Gateway

I love the nights around this time of year... the mists settle in and the lighting becomes subdued.

October and November are wonderful months in the lead up to the cold of December.

Samhain went well, and something tells me this year is going to be much better than last (well it can't get any worse!).

Bonfire Night, whilst not a favourite of mine, was nice. I managed a few photos of fireworks, but nothing spectacular - but with this photo I think I excelled myself! - It's my self portrait for 5th November and is a very long exposure - 8 seconds - and I felt like a right pratt holding a "walking" position for that length of time... in fact it was like Victorian Dad taking a photo!

Hectic... but good.

2/299:365 - An English Autumn
Originally uploaded by Last Human Gateway

The last few days have been very hectic.

Shit has been sorted, and both Hannah and I feel as if the weight of the world has been lifted off our shoulders... I've had the best few nights sleep in ages!

What's more - my inspiration and drive to take good photos has come back! - and OMG look at this one I caught the other day!

History.... sort of

big_test
Originally uploaded by ‮‭‬bees‬

I found the oldest photo on flickr today...

Sadly, the database for it is broken so it comes up as a broken image, but you can still find it if you look.

Newton's First Law of Motion and the end of the recession.

2/295:365 - Barbed
Originally uploaded by Last Human Gateway

I believe that Newton's first law of motion is the reason we will emerge from our current economic woes. That law states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. How does that relate to the financial #$%*storm we're now cowering under? Allow me to explain. There are slightly less than seven billion people on this planet. Assuming that roughly half that number are either too young, too old, too lazy, or too loaded to work, that still leaves almost three and a half billion people getting up in the morning to chase the almighty dollar, the transcendent rupee, the zen yen,the dear ol' euro, the what's goin' on yuan, the... well, you get the idea. Now, call me crazy (and many have called me far worse), but I happen to think that three and a half billion motivated people is one big damn object in motion. And the only thing acting against that object is the friction caused by a small bunch of greedy, dumbass, screw-the-pooch, Ivy League pot stickers (the unbalanced force). I therefore assert that the unbalanced force (you know who you are, shame on you), will eventually be overwhelmed by the object in motion (three and a half billion people with pluck, aka pluckers), thus allowing the object in motion to continue its relentless journey forward, thriving and conniving until it is once again slowed down by other unbalanced forces, or a very large meteorite. Or a plague. Or fundamentalists with nukes. Or atmosphere-eating nanobots. Or a super volcano. Or Skynet. Or Cylons.

Not mine... CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #248

The breakup of society?

2/285:365 - Shattered World

Well... I did my producer at the Police Station, refusing to surrender my driving license in the process. My court date will be notified by post... apparently... but...

Well, will we have any post soon?

Royal Mail, sadly, are shooting themselves in the foot yet again. Strike action is hurting no-one these days as precious little is sent by post anyway compared to 20 years ago. Even Amazon don't use Royal Mail any more because the service isn't reliable enough.

The Prime Minister, The wonderful Gordon Brown, has fiddled £12,000 in expenses... Chavs are taking over the world (having seen the three hanging around outside our local shop and kicking hell out of a wheelie bin, and then the scrote in the VW Gold (complete with PINK trims... NICE) who pulled up behind me and decided the road was the correct place to empty her ashtray - you would think that.

I wasn't even using my mobile phone whilst driving (no sir) and I'm getting the third degree because some Cuntstubble decided that me poking my ear was obviously me using the smallest most invisible mobile phone in history.

Meanwhile, this will make you smile. A chav gets really hurt... apparently, he broke his ankle!

Disappointment...

Aaargh man, only recently I was singing Seth Green's praises with his mohawk/leather combo. Now I read the following...

[about being a child star:] "My childhood success came and went real fast. Between 12 and 16, I grew as much as I was going to, anyway and no longer looked the same. Like most child actors, I found it a difficult adjustment. Still, I`ve done so many things that I wasn`t associated with one thing. I`m an actor, not a celebrity. When recognition became an issue a few years ago, part of me felt undeserving. Desperate to maintain my popularity, I was performing all the time. Then, I caught a glimpse of myself at the MTV Music Awards dressed in leather, grasping for jokes and set about changing my habits. Now that I`ve stopped trying so hard, I`m more comfortable in my skin."

Seth, you're a dissapointment.

Actually... only kidding... Robot Chicken, Austin Powers, Family Guy, Buffy... all great!

Snickers... in brown. Nice.

Snickers are great workwear... well made, comfortable, loads of practical and useable pockets...

But in BROWN!

You just shouldn't.

It's not as if it's a particularly nice brown.

No, definitely not.

I'm currently producing PHLEGM in the same colour as the ones pictured!

Cough... Oink...

2/281:365 - Back to Acoustic

It seems I've succumbed to Swine Flu. I blame the pigs.

I feel pretty damned rough, and it's not helping the fact that my old injury of my broken pinkie has decided to become sore again... I may end up having that one checked out... I know I've not broken it again, but I do fear arthritis may set in...

Meanwhile, I've been shifting my focus back onto my upright acoustic bass ready for Paul's wedding do next weekend... it's just whether I'm well enough to fit a rehearsal in?

Finally... my complaint about the police has been put in. I was disgusted by the way I was given hardly any time to show my phone log, and then the w**ker of a "copper" said he "didn't believe me". He was arrogant - just the sort of police officer we DON'T want in the force.

I have sent off the little bit at the bottom of the yellow ticket asking to go to court, and now await the latest phone bill. My doctor's letter more than clarifies that I couldn't possibly answer a phone using my left ear - and my apprentice, Alex, is willing to go to court with me and stand as a witness.

Before I forget - my ear has an update as of today - it crackled rather painfully earlier today, and I gained back another % of my hearing - I'd say I'm now at 60% in my left ear, and 95% in my right ear... looking up!

Miscarriage of Justice?

2/070:365 - Oh no! The rozzers!
Originally uploaded by Last Human Gateway

... or abuse of powers?

I was stopped today by Her Majesty's Police for "using a hand held mobile phone whilst driving".

OK, Had I been using my hand held mobile phone whilst driving, then I would own up, pay the £60 and take the three points... problem is... I wasn't.

I had Alex in the van with me (we were actually having an in depth discussion about how smelly Tuna Salad is and why we have to drive with all the windows down when he eats it), not using my mobile phone (which I may add was in a rather inaccessible pocket).

The policeman (who I am presuming is illiterate due to the fact that he can't even fill in his own name fully on the yellow slip), and was possibly the most arrogant member of the police force I have ever had to deal with issued me a fixed penalty notice... saying "I saw you with the phone up to your left ear"

Ohhhhh wait till he sees the Doctor's report in court! - I've been virtually deaf in my left ear for almost 6 weeks now due to the infection and damage.

Yes. I am rejecting the fixed penalty notice and taking it to court, because... well... I'm innocent.

When what you say isn't said.

I was rather disgruntled today to recieve my CRS "Rock Society" magazine.

My statement about the end of my time with the CRS has been published, but only with a degree of editing. The editing removes sections regarding the fact that I intend to help out in future, and nothing is mentioned about the fact that I legally own 50 ordinary shares in Classic Rock UK Ltd with a value of £50.

Here is the statement in full, with the edits struck through so you can see what has been done to it:

Kris Hudson-Lee calls it a day with the CRS

After many years as a familiar face around the halls of the Classic Rock Society and being around at some 100+ gigs (many of them festivals) it is time for a change, time to move on.

I have spent many years in bands - none of them really making an impact within the CRS, but in early 2008 I was invited to join Manning. That decision was somewhat of a turning point in both my musical and CRS careers and since then the balance of my life has tipped greatly. I found that Manning was a far more involved band than any of the previous bands I had been in, and that the incredible depth and complexity of the songs required a lot more of my time, leaving me with precious little time for everything else.

It's now time to hand over to Miles, Tommo and Lambsie to take the CRS onwards and upwards... as Peter Gabriel says in Suppers' Ready... "All Change!"

I'll still be around, and you'll still see me from time to time at gigs, but from now on I'm "just a helper", although I still intend to keep my shareholding in the CRS and will still support it in it's actions whenever I can and as time allows.

... so as they say ... it's goodbye from me.

Kris Hudson-Lee
September 2009

I don't think it's anyone's place to edit an official statement. I would rather they not publish it than edit it, or at least consult me. It's hardly as if space was an issue - bearing in mind it's a quarter page box and rather than the usual 10pt text it appears to be 12pt text.

I'm now thinking of a Eurythmics song...

2/273:365 - Kris's Winter Warmer Soup!

2/273:365 - Kris's Winter Warmer Soup!
Originally uploaded by Last Human Gateway

I made a soup today, not just a soup from a recipe, or a tin, or a packet... I really made soup!

Here's how I did it...

1. Peel and chop a small onion, stick it in a non stick pan with a little vegetable oil and brown sugar and fry until they go translucent. Stick the kettle on to boil whilst you're at it.

2. Peel a couple of large carrots (the more comedy shaped the better), a positively huge sweet potato and a normal chippy type potato and dice into little bits.

3. Chuck all the above into the pan, and pour on about a pint and a half of boiling water.

4. Add a couple of stock cubes, a Bouquet Garni (one of them tea-bag thingies), a bit of white pepper. Return to the boil and simmer until all the veggies go soft.

5. Add some Caraway seeds (about a tablespoon), a smidge of Mace (can't remember how much, but it was only a bit), and about half a tablespoon of Cumin seeds.

6. Give it about another 15 minutes on simmer. By this point the veggies will be going really quite mushy and the potatoes will be virtually falling apart in the water.

7. IMPORTANT - TAKE OUT THE BOUQUET GARNI TEABAG THINGY

8. Smush it all up with a hand blender.

9. Eat. I recommend serving with Tesco Value bake at home white bread, Lurpak butter, and a good woman sat opposite eating the same and going mmmmmmmm every 2 minutes!

10. Belch or Fart loudly in approval, as even if I do say, it's rather good and very warming!