How time flies

Supposedly it's only when you're having fun, but the past two weeks seem to have gone past quite quickly. One of the more interesting things (for me at least) was the quick drop of my bank balance, offset by the mysterious appearance of a laptop. Yes, I finally got around to getting myself a computer while I'm here. It's not an Alienware like I thought I'd like to get while I'm here (since they sell to Australian custormers directly now), instead it's a lowly Dell. Sort of brand new, it's from the Dell Outlet which is basically refurbished computers that have been returned because of order changes, etc. There may be more serious reasons for returning them, I guess I can't be sure of that, but the price is at 50% or less of their retail. Anyway, Dell was one of the few dealers that would sell a centrino laptop with something other than an Intel Extreme graphics chipset (read: sucky graphics). It'll do me for some time, and I think I could sell it off later in the year to recoup most of my money, maybe even all of it. You know what they say, there's one born every minute.

Last weekend while Paul and Chloe were in Edinburgh relaxing after being sent on business, Damien and Annmarie came down to Surrey for a course Annmarie wanted to attend. Damien invited me to meet up with them on Sunday since he had the whole day free waiting for Annmarie's course to finish. I happily took him up on his offer to spend the day with him, Willow and Gabriel at Portsmouth. It meant another early morning train trip, but I think I've got the hang of it now, no more missed trains for me! We managed to have great weather, just over 30 but with a cool breeze, probably because we were right by the water side. Reminded my a little of the Freemantle Doctor, not sure if it's as regular or as kind all the time though. There were plenty of boats to see, we only admired them from a far forgoing the £15 tour charges. Also another marvel of engineering was the Spinnaker Tower, a 170 metre tall observation tower. It wasn't completed yet (I think) but it definetly took on the apperance of its namesake. A glass elevator takes you to one of 4 observation decks, the top one being open to the elements. I wouldn't have minded going up there, another time perhaps. After picking up Annmarie and taking the "scenic" route back to their hotel we had dinner. The hotel showcased seafood from Loch Fyne, a scottish lake for those who aren't familiar with Lochs. I chose the whole sea bass with basil pesto and a side salad. It was really the first time I had a whole fish. All I can say is it's very fiddly and a lot more filling than I thought. Sea bass is quite nice though.

Work is going fine just now, System Rush will soon be on the shelves and I'm still working on the next project. With my own computer here I'm eager to practice programming here when I can find the time. At Ideaworks I've been cast as a network programmer. Most of the time I've been writing python scripts and sql queries, but I'm doing some actual C++ lately and I get to see a reasonably mature networking system. But still, I had my heart set on engine programming so I can tinker with that kind of stuff now. I was going to start a SourceForge project for my engine, but I figured I could do some ground work before entering any project management systems. I've made a user account with them but it may be a while before my project stars there.