goal scoring superstar hero

those of you brought up on the commodore amiga might remember a little game called sensible soccer (usually shortened to sensi). i certainly do, and miss those halcyon days of waggling my joystick to lob seaman.

david seaman, that is. get your filthy minds out of the gutter!

however, you can now relive those heady days with this free open source version of the old classic. it's been programmed by a couple of ardent sensi fans, and is open for the public to tinker with. it's not as comprehensive as you may be used to, but it's fairly up to date with the teams that it does have. all good fun.

mixed nuts

props to my bro alan in toronto for this link, personally i can't wait for "henry kissinger's tits" or "tupperware death" to start touring.

if you haven't already, i suggest you go and buy "some cities" by the doves. it's the only album by melancholic, yet uplifting, mancunians you'll need to by this year.

this week, i have been mostly watching......red dawn. if you've never seen it, it's about a group of american teens who become freedom fighters when soviets invade the states. o.k. so it's typical cold war flag-waving nonsense, but the actual invasion is actually quite shocking and head-on, and the commie-bastids are portrayed with character and depth. plus any film that features swayze, charlie sheen, and that bird from dirty dancing is alright by me.

nugget

i hate usually hate mondays, and today is no exception. i always seem to have at least one day a month when every move i make is thwarted. to quote blackadder "the devil farts in my face once more".

for those of you out there with a uk drivers licence, you'll know the fun that comes when your road tax has to be renewed. you have to hunt down all the bumf that comes with getting a paper disc of a two inch diameter. m.o.t. certificate? check. sorn delcaration? check. insurance certificate? check. or so i thought.

because i'm the well oiled and organised machine that i am, i decided that it would be ok to nip down to the post office on the last day possible. there'll be no queues! what a chuffin idiot. of course there were. 15 minutes later i'm at the front.

i hand over the documentation. "i need your insurance certificate as well sir". no problem, everything is organised. what could possibly go wrong? "err...this expired two months ago" what? "it's invalid". shit. so it is. so after 15 minutes of fannying around in a queue, i left empty handed, safe in the knowledge that i'd have to take the car of the road.

then the panic started. was i insured? cack. better make a phone call. "your insurance policy is important to us". yeah, that's why i don't have an up to date certificate. one quick call to india later (or maybe it was norwich, i'm still not sure) and i'm relieved to find that i am indeed insured. but the car needs to stay of the road until i get the updated documents through.

so all of you on a provisional drivers licence, beware. have all the required documentation to hand. and try not to swear when you find out you've been an idiot. it only scares the old ladies behind you.