(no subject)
Ah well, the long weekend comes to a close far too soon, but it's been a good few days. I haven't done as many productive things as I'd intended to, but I have caught up on sleep, and watched lots of DS9 episodes. Speaking of which, the "hidden" special features are generally quite missable, but there was an interesting one that talked about the mirror universe episodes. The writer's basic point was that he was deconstructing the TOS episode to some extent, by saying "Kirk changed the course of an entire universe, it only took him an hour, and problem solved" but that he had actually made things worse. He gave the parallel of the Roman empire, which was brutal, but was afraid of the barbarian hordes outside (ditto for the Chinese empire and the Mongols); it's fine to say "let's all be nice", but then you're no match for your enemies. It's nothing new, in a sense, but I hadn't quite joined the dots from what was said in the episodes.
Meanwhile, my motorbike turned out to need a bit more attention than I'd previously thought, since I couldn't get it started yesterday. It's now running again, after some fiddling with the battery and the alarm, so that's good, and I am learning more about maintenance in the process. John's tip of the day: if you take something apart and put it back together again, then have bits left over at the end, this should be a warning sign...
I've also now finished my first week with WeightWatchers (sort of) - I started last Tuesday, but I've chosen Monday as my weekly weighing day. I've lost some weight, so that's good: 1.2kg, which prompted a warning message from the website that I'm going too fast (they recommend a maximum of 2 lb per week, and 1.2kg = 2.6 lb). Given that I'm sticking to the points quota they gave me, I'd say it's an error on their side, and I can live with it; I'm guessing that the weight loss will slow down over time. Mind you, I also get the impression that I'm not quite the target audience - lots of the articles seem to be implicitly aimed at women with a husband/children. One part of the website talked about ways to fit a bit of exercise into your daily schedule, and their suggestion for day 7 was "Have sex! It's a great way to burn calories, so what are you waiting for?" I can see one or two minor flaws there, unless they're going for a radical cross-branding promotional opportunity by setting up "WeightWatchers Prostitutes Ltd"...
Speaking of not being the target audience for things, I watched "The Princess Diaries" earlier, which I enjoyed - I do like Disney films in general. I've heard from friends that the sequel is good too (probably significant that it wasn't a "straight to video" release), so I'll see about renting that sometime soon.
Meanwhile, my motorbike turned out to need a bit more attention than I'd previously thought, since I couldn't get it started yesterday. It's now running again, after some fiddling with the battery and the alarm, so that's good, and I am learning more about maintenance in the process. John's tip of the day: if you take something apart and put it back together again, then have bits left over at the end, this should be a warning sign...
I've also now finished my first week with WeightWatchers (sort of) - I started last Tuesday, but I've chosen Monday as my weekly weighing day. I've lost some weight, so that's good: 1.2kg, which prompted a warning message from the website that I'm going too fast (they recommend a maximum of 2 lb per week, and 1.2kg = 2.6 lb). Given that I'm sticking to the points quota they gave me, I'd say it's an error on their side, and I can live with it; I'm guessing that the weight loss will slow down over time. Mind you, I also get the impression that I'm not quite the target audience - lots of the articles seem to be implicitly aimed at women with a husband/children. One part of the website talked about ways to fit a bit of exercise into your daily schedule, and their suggestion for day 7 was "Have sex! It's a great way to burn calories, so what are you waiting for?" I can see one or two minor flaws there, unless they're going for a radical cross-branding promotional opportunity by setting up "WeightWatchers Prostitutes Ltd"...
Speaking of not being the target audience for things, I watched "The Princess Diaries" earlier, which I enjoyed - I do like Disney films in general. I've heard from friends that the sequel is good too (probably significant that it wasn't a "straight to video" release), so I'll see about renting that sometime soon.