I could murder a cup right now. That and some toast. Hmm.

Aside from the horrible pun, I’m back on form. Work has all but killed me of late. Leave the house at just gone 7am, and back in at about 6.30pm. Eat, check my email, fall asleep. That’s been my life for the last month. And the last week has been a veritable fucking-ver by my employer and my University. Data Protection Act? What’s that? More later. Maybe.

Anyway- weekends have been a bastion of sleeping in; of course, these days, getting up at 8am means I’ve slept in super-late. I can now sleep in, and still have a whole day to play with! In one such respect, this is quite awesome. As such, I’m going to try to make the most of tomorrow as I’ve stuff to do, photos to take, and art galleries to look at. In particular the Tate Modern has a new exhibition in the Turbine Hall that I’d like to take in.

And, of course, with work, comes the rampant consumerism. I tried. I really did try to not buy stuff. But I went a little mad. I caught up on my DVD acquisitions. And I bought Six Feet Under: The Complete First Series, Second Series, and Third. And then I bought Futurama, Season One. I know, I’m a sucker for DVD sales. And Sin City. And then, my Visa melted, and I was done for the day. And the day after, KT Tunstall, Eye to the Telescope and Takk…

And, of course, various gifts for various people. There were a few birthdays to cater for, and even a Mini Meet last weekend which went off rather well. And then I had a shite week and went shopping again, and chose to expand my wardrobe with a Sigur Rós Metal Sweatshirt. And a pin badge. And I think a new bag is in order tomorrow, too. Not sure what kind yet, however. Maybe some razor blades; it’s clean shaven or beardymat time again. Bah!

I swear, I’ll stop buying stuff soon. Honest.

Well. I also got a new Ericsson T39m in Ice Cap Blue. I really mean it this time; last thing I’m going to get this month. I think. Other than a new iPod because I’ve just sold my 20Gb 4th Gen Clickwheel. Oops.

No more stuff. Honest. But I did discover the joy of Dominos Online ordering earlier this month. I think it’s the best thing on the Internet in a damn long time. Not since I found Feng Sushi did online ordering and the spring rolls at Ned’s Noodle Bar have I been this impressed with anything I could order online with a Visa card. Apart from iTMS. Maybe.

Quite possibly, the prettiest cardboard box I’ve ever seen.

Well, it arrived. A few days ago, in fact- I’ve just been waiting for Melissa to post about the 9500. My initial battle with HM Customs ended with me losing, poorly. To the tune of about $145 in Duty and VAT. But it was quite worth it. I have to say, this is the my most beautiful object I’ve ever seen. There’s something just so utterly simple and yet evocative about it; it’s like a giant black cucumber. But without the sexual innuendo. Almost. The sheer size gives an impression of it weighing about half a pound, but the resin it’s cast from is amazingly light. The filler system is so utterly simple to use but has gears and wheels embedded in the body so that when the back of the filler goes up, the plunger goes down. That means screwing it back down, ready to use is the action that fills the vast ink chamber inside. And the resin it’s cast from; it’s not black. It’s blood red. Hold it up to a strong light, and the edge of filler mechanism, the ink chamber and the cap explode with deep Shiraz tones; you could just drink it in. There’s even a an individual serial number laser-etched into the top of the cap clip.

Downsides, the Fine nib is still too wide for the feed, or the feed is too fast. With the standard Mont Blanc ink, the delivery is just a little too fast. Solution, get a narrower, EF (Extra Fine) nib, get a OM (Oblique Medium) nib, (both free under the initial Mont Blanc Nib Exchange Program) or, find thicker, non MB ink, which would kill my warranty.

But above all, it’s forced me to slow down my life; ditching the 9500 means I now write everything when on the move, not type. And that makes me think about what I take down. That’s not something I’ve done of late when typing, it just goes from sound to letters on the screen. When writing, everything has to be processed before my hand can even begin to manipulate the pen on paper. And on a commute in the morning, that’s awesome. Less time on IRC on the train, less GPRS data getting burned, and taking in more of the stuff around me. There’s so much stuff out in the world to be seen, and this helps me take notice.

And finally, some real pictures.

Turn off the power at the fuse board. Change the light fitting. It’s dead, no current. Go to change the switch for that same light fitting, and it’s live.

Well, I sure as hell don’t have an explanation for it. Do you?