I Was Sick!

I thought I'd let the internet know that I was sick, not once, but twice today!

It's been years, at least 2, since I vomited.  And I was sick twice today.

But the interesting thing, and why I share it with the internet, was that it wasn't from illness.  It was from stress.  I stress vomited for the first time in my life.

I'm trying to book a 'holiday,' (this is very much not a holiday at the moment) that involves co-ordinating three people on two continents, none of whom can communicate in real-time due to the distances involved.  Having to start and stop over and over again for the past three months (I've tried to do this seven or eight times so far) means （ａｓ　ｓｕｒｐｒｉｓｉｎｇ　ａｓ　ｉｔ　ｍａｙ　ｓｅｅｍ，　Ｉ　ａｍ　ａｃｔｕａｌｌｙ　ｂｕｓｙ） I've forgotten everything that was talked about last time.  And the time before that.  And the time before that.  Now I just want to be done with it, but I can't, because of the time difference.  I am busy, which means I can't get it done during my free time, which means I have to vomit everywhere just to make myself feel better?  Question mark question mark.

It's strange the way the body reacts to stress.

I also have a massive headache.

I no longer allow anyone to come to Japan 'to see me,' (they can still see me if there's a valid alternative reason, like holidays or sightseeing) for the reason of organising stuff for them to do is up there with moving house levels of stress, i.e. among the most stressful thing I had ever done.  But now pissing away absolutely ridiculous amounts of money, and other peoples money, has officially topped that record-high level of stress.  Is there another word for stress?  Because this is stress, but I don't want to keep calling it stress.  I feel like stress is something that people getting shot at feel.  This is vomit-inducing something.  Fear?  Anxiety.  There we go, I found the correct term for this.

It isn't vomit inducing stress, it's vomit inducing anxiety.  Phew, glad I figured that one out.

Now I can go and eat nothing while I bite my nails trying to figure out what to do.  And also more vomiting.

I wonder when my hair starts falling out?

Project A Super Reveal Alpha Go

So I've got an absolute ton of projects on the go at the moment.

Super secret project X was started over a year ago and is nearing the end of alpha testing.  It's super cool, and for once I'm not going to backtrack with a deprecating comment here.  It is really cool.

Super not so secret project Y was started before Christmas, but the parts I need are currently out of stock almost everywhere, leaving me with the choice of paying twice the RRP or just waiting.  Obviously, as the richest man in this house right now (I live with a woman but am also currently alone) I have chosen to wait.

So with a long term-project in the works and a short-term project on hiatus until the chinese get their act together and start making electronics again, I was short of something to do for ten minutes one day.

Therefore, I went on the internet and bought some stuff.  That stuff was to go inside a jar I received for Christmas.  This jar was originally full of delicious sweets, which have since been eaten.  The jar itself is really cool, kind of corrugated glass which gives an interesting effect when waving your hands around inside it (it's a really big jar, more than a gallon, or in other terms, 2kg's of fizzy dummies) which gave me this idea.

The De Roeck Microbiome Project

So I filled it with water and added some plants and moss.  Now, the first thing you're going to say is that's stupid.  Yes it is.  Deal with it.

The second thing you're going to say is that plants don't perceptibly move, so the cool effect I saw when waving my hand around on the inside has no bearing on this thing.

Now, of course, you're right that plants don't really move when there are no external forces (yes, yes, yes, they grow and whatnot, stop being pedantic) but this is just stage one.  These plants are to create a livable non-mechanical environment for a creature.

Now, you're worrying that I'm going to buy a shark and put it in there.

There's no denying that would be cool, but it would also be kind of cruel.  So as of right now I'm thinking of a couple of snails and/or a couple of tiny shrimp.  There are obviously a few important milestones that need to happen before I can get to this point.  Firstly, the plants need to get substantially larger.  They're going to be the main input of oxygen into the water.  The neck is large, and has a fair surface area, but not enough in such a small volume of water.

Secondly, the plants are going to be the things filtering all the other toxins, which won't be enough to keep anything alive for more than a few days, which means I'll need to change an amount of water every week or so.  How much I'll need to change is up for debate at the moment, but my current estimate is around 20%.

Before all this, however, I'll need to test the water for nitrates, nitrites, nitritium, nitronium, nitroxidium, heavy metals and all the other good stuff.  With such a small volume of water, quick and exacting problem identification is crucial.

The plants are growing incredibly slowly right now, which leads me to suspect that it'll be well into Summer before they're big enough to process any of the waste products from an animal.  Even something as small as a snail or a shrimp.

There are also concerns with the winter temperatures in Japan, or more specifically the incredible lack of insulation any building has here.  If it's -5degC outside, it's somehow -15degC inside.  A small temperature controlled heating element might do the trick.  Will have to investigate if it comes down to that.

Anyway, keep an eye out for the reveal of the next project.  Start saving up, you'll be wanting to spend the big money when it turns up!

I Came Here To Gloat, But Then I Forgot

So I started having another go at a book of cryptic crosswords today.

In the history of this medium I've managed in the order of five solutions.  Five solutions over hundreds of questions and dozens of years.  Not exactly making myself seem intelligent here.

But today I nailed one.  I intuited a question without any adjoining letters helping me.  I was on top of the world (yes, I really am that sad) and then I forgot my briefcase.

Now, before you say anything, it's not really a briefcase.  It's just an A4 wallet that happens to have a lid and a carrying handle.  It's not posh and definitely not leather bound.

What it is, however, is a recepticle for every vital piece of paper and or information that I own.  It used to hold (after today, I will ensure it no longer holds this information.  Not because having your stuff in one place is inherently bad, but this folder is now tainted with bad juju and must be replaced.) postcards for those back home, letters for the same, bank books and myriad other things that identify me.

I was uncontrollably angry with myself when I arrived home without my case.  I don't think I've ever felt the same sense of self-loathing at any other point in my life.  It doesn't help that the case also holds other personal items, stuff that represents a ton of work and other items that represent the irreplaceable personal items we all hold.  What an absolute idiot.

So today I'll go back to that place and try not to forget my own goddamned feet or something.  There will, even in safe old Japan, be some loss.  If it were England it would have disappeared never to be seen again, so at least it turned up at all.  But I'd be foolish to think there won't be any repercussions for my negligence.



Acquires vases, it's said:

Urns

In case you were wondering what the cryptic was.