I have been completely hooked on space and sci-fi lately. It began with XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and then I finally returned to Star Trek: The Next Generation a couple of weeks ago. XCOM is brilliant. Played the original and first sequel a lot about a decade ago (and intermittently ever since), and I really like the new version. I decided to name all of my soldiers after musicians and actors I quite like, and my crack team of all colonels have done very well indeed. I must admit it came as a shock to me that Andy Bell (of Erasure) would turn out to be the biggest bad-ass in the squad, followed by his band mate Vince Clarke as the toughest Heavy out there.

It took me seven months to watch through the first series of ST:TNG, but so far only two weeks for series two, and I started series three earlier today. I also watched all four ST:TNG-era films across two nights (tip: don't watch Star Trek: Nemesis before you've actually watched the whole series; you'll thank me--or maybe that is just the way to watch the whole thing. Start with the first series, then the four films, then go back to series 2-7). Anyway, Q FTW! I'm also of the opinion that Brent Spiner should appear in everything on telly. He was excellent in Warehouse 13.

Oh, actually, that reminds me; this probably started a bit earlier. After all, I watched series 4.5 of Eureka, two series of Warehouse 13, then the fourth series of Fringe, before going back to ST:TNG. I have been sci-fi'd for about two months now. I'm also looking forward to the rest of the "new" Star Trek shows, starting with DS9. I just have to watch the whole of Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate Universe, Battlestar Galactica.

I've been missing out on a lot of sci-fi stuff, can you tell? I blame not having all the right TV channels.

And then, while watching all this and beamed down photos from the Curiosity Rover, I find myself thinking this enormous universe we're part of is absolutely mind-blowing. It's ridiculous that some people think we're alone out here, but we will probably not find any real proof within my lifetime, which is annoying, to say the least.

So I guess I'll just keep dreaming, together with Cpt. Picard, Maj. Carter, Cmdr Shepard, Adm. Adama and the rest.

Labels: erasure, science, star trek, TV

This is probably the funniest (and saddest) photo I have seen all week: Bee strapped to a metal tube. It's just funny, surreal and cruel at the same time.

Labels: animals, humour, science

It has been proven.

Labels: computers, gaming, science

The Beeb reported a few days ago that being bilingual helps preventing you from developing senile dementia. This works best if you're bilingual from early childhood, but education helps as well, as does dancing, reading, playing musical instruments, solving crosswords and other puzzles.

I want a piano.

Current track: Mr. Man - Restricted

Labels: linguistics, science

One very nice thing about living in the far north is that your house is free of bugs for six months a year. Well, unless you're a really filthy person, but then you're probably so used to it anyway that you don't notice. And of course if you've got a basement you've also got those arachnoid buggers that just haven't heard of that wonderful little word, "hiatus". But apart from those, there's not a fly, not a bee, not a single wasp in sight for six whole months! Yay! It's like being in heaven for a person like me, who goes "eww" at every encounter with an insect or spider. I've got a problem with a quite clingy bumblebee. It's been here two years in a row and will probably be back this summer. It just hates it when I'm sitting on my balcony, minding my own business, reading a book and bathing my legs in the sun whilst enjoying a cool popsicle. So it keeps buzzing around for hours, really annoying me. Sometimes it hides in the curtains so that when I've gone inside for the night, and I'm sitting in my chair, eating and watching the news, it suddenly comes out of there and decides to taste my food. Scares the crap out of me every time. I've also discovered that wasps just hate the colour yellow. I've completely given up wearing my only yellow tee-shirt during summer. It takes about one minute from I step out the door till there's a wasp buzzing around me when I'm wearing that thing. And I really, really hate wasps. When I was little I hated flies. I was really afraid of them. I refused to go into my room if there was a fly on my window-sill. Especially a live one. ;-) When I grew up I was told that the wasps wouldn't hurt you if you just kept still. I didn't listen to them at first, but one day I decided to take their advice. Some time later I was sitting quietly, watching a wasp sitting on my leg, doing its usual waspy thing, and suddenly it stung me and flew away. It happened so fast and unexpectedly that my immediate reaction was to kick my leg up in the air and wave it about a bit while half-shouting a very firm "Ouch!", but this caused my slipper to shoot off my foot and land behind the telly, taking a flower-pot with it. My foot hurt really bad and I was going to the fun-fair with some friends later that evening; that was a very painful walk, I can tell you! Since then I've been really scared of wasps. Could someone please tell me a reason for their existence? I mean, bees help pollinating the flowers and making honey, but what do wasps do? Any use at all, that can redeem their vicious actions against mammals? I know, I know, there's not much use for humans either, we're probably the most useless species of them all, but put that aside for a moment and help me find a way to excuse these buzzing critters, because I really want to "think happy thoughts" when I see them.

The flower-pot didn't break, by the way. And I had a couple of donuts on my way home from the fun-fair so that made me forget the pain for a bit.

Current track: Trying to find one, actually.

Labels: animals, personal, science

A possible tenth planet in our solar system has been discovered.

In other news, I'm planning on going to see no less than three plays at the National Theatre this spring. I know that I'm a bit of a latecomer to two of those, but I bet they've got a few good seats available anyway. *trying to be an optimist here* The three are Jeppe of the Hill by Ludvig Holberg, a classic that I have not seen in years (I'd also like to see The Political Tinker again), Beaumarchais' The Marriage of Figaro, which seems to be a very good production indeed, and last, but not least, The Theatre Maker by the Austrian Thomas Bernhard.

Also, I may have a week off from work starting next Monday. Yay!

Current track: Sort Sol - Holler High (It's still a brilliant tune)

Labels: science, theatre

...I should just maintain my Dutch instead. (See previous post.)

Had a bit of a discussion on ambidexterity at work today (the boss was absolutely horrid and we just needed to stay away from him and do something else.) It's a fascinating subject, at least for me who's ambidextrous. I believe I was left-handed when I was a child but forced to write with my right hand (I'm sure my parents wouldn't have done that today...of course, I am 26 now so I would be rather miffed if they did) and so I have developed a very strange and seemingly illogical way of choosing the hand with which to perform tasks. What an interesting sentence. Anyway. The funniest bit being, naturally, that I always shuffle a deck of cards with my right hand but deal with my left. It's near impossible to do the opposite or choose just one of the two. I have to open bottles and jars with my left hand even though my right hand is the strongest and there's no way I can slice bread with my left hand. I wear my watch on my right wrist but usually write with that hand, unless I'm tired, so using a quill would be out of the question. Then again, using quills is funnily enough rather unpopular nowadays. Hmm...

Current track: The entire Requiem for a Dream soundtrack

Labels: linguistics, personal, science