grudthak

Finally have a new project on the go...

Check out perthurbex for more...

Last night I finally got my copy of "Flight 666" (Iron Maiden's tour Doco)

It is pure win, sex and awesome...

Okay, I have some news...

Turns out The Lump isn't actually a lump at all. It was in fact an enlarged artery that showed up looking like a lump in the CT scan. Thankyou very bloody much medical profession, thankyou for the 2 months of thinking I had something ridiculously nasty when I didnt...

I appreciate it.

So I had testing to eliminate epilepsy as a factor, that came up clear, no epilepsy for me (yay I can watch Japanese TV)

The neurologists at Fremantle now believe that the dizzy spells and blackouts are a result of a circulation issue. I am waiting to get a date for an MRI (havent had it yet) and hoepfully we can get a confirmation. If this is the problem, then I will most likely have to take meds, but at least it means no surgery.

About having to wait so damn long for this test, is the imaginitive flights of fancy leading up to it. It's very hard to remain optimistic when every day, an even worse "Worse case scenario" appears.

Although I already have 1 contingency plan. If this thing is nasty and hard to get rid of (Making work exceedingly difficult) then I will finally have an excuse to get off my arse, sit down (lol) and really hook into my writing.

Of course even that is being a pain, every time I jot down notes for onw of my book ideas, several more ideas immediately appear.

Hell I already have notes down for 27 induvidual titles...

Okay, so now I have the date(s) for my brain-scan and results-getting. On June 8th I go in for my scan and on the friday I find out exactly what THE LUMP is. Bastard thing has been giving me hell today, hence it's upgrade to the all-caps-name-of-doom.

Thanks to Troy for slining me his copy of Hellgate London. Apart from it's demonist leanings, there is something satisfying about a game that has you smashing into hordes of zombies wielding two swords.
Especially when you have Viking Metal blaring in the background.

Oh I didnt mention this last time, but I have a new computer (squee) it's specs...
Intel Core2 Quad - Q9950 @ 2.83Ghz
4.00 GB Ram
NVIDIA GeForce 9800

So what has been going on lately...?

Well I have been home for the last 2 weeks on sick leave. Why so? Well I blacked out at work in front of one of the duty officers as I was securing the bar. Transfield now will not let me go back to work until I get a Dr's Clearance to work unsupervised (I work alone in the bar)

Trouble is, the blackouts are not such a simple thing to deal with...

For the past few years, I have been quietly enduring occasional spells of regular dizzy spells and blackouts. For a while it was thought I had low blood pressure or blood sugar. Another Dr insisted that I have an irregular heart-beat (I do but it has nothing to do with the blackouts). Instead, after a CT scan last week, I have found out I have a lump in the centre of my brain that swells occasionally, stemming blood flow from the main artery into my brain.

Now I have to wait for Fremantle hospital to finally book me in for an MRI so I can find out what the lump is.

Worst thing is, I only have a finite amount of sick leave, AND the Dr has barred me from driving.

.................................

In other news, we are planning on leaving Rockingham finally. I have been offered a new job starting in September. The work is more bar-work, but at the Dongara Hotel. an extra $6 an hour, better work conditions and possibility of promotion later to bar manager. Of course the mega-bonus is, we get the kids out of Rockingham, before they get much older and feral.

*The stranger wanders around the long-abandoned LJ, his fingers idly tracing through the thick dust that has settled atop the old Shirtninja Banner ads. He pauses to look at the rambling, meandering scrawls of a depressed antisocial seemingly scribbled randomly throughout. As he removes the sheets covering screens conveying the random odd vids found in youtube, he muses.*

To continue with this journal or not...?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with hand shaking excitement that I announce to one and all now...

.................. THE SHIRT NINJA IS BACK IN ACTION ..................

I am currently pre-writing an entirely new and revamped comic. Some characters will remain, some have been lost to the horrors of shoddy storytelling (or personal issues) ;)

I am rebuilding this project from the ground up using the hard-learned lessons from the former project so for those who plan to come back, be forewarned, this is not exactly like the last time.

Expect new look, new styles, new locations, new characters and new stories (I hope even new storytelling).

Peace



Like this but different

Latest precious grommet quote from my 10 year old daughter...

"It's not fair, Mum wont let me dye my hair black...!!!"

I have finally succombed to the evil of next-gen social networking...

I have a facebook now.

Anyone who wants to add me, just search for "Chris Hanlin" and look for the Shirt Ninja pic

Don't ask me why but I was singing this to myself at work tonight, so I figured I'd pull it out and share...

(Americans on my flist may as well disregard this)

Okay, so the US federal election is over and they have a clear victory...

Thank fuck for that, hopefully this means that local (read Australian) news services will actually start devoting news time for stuff that is actually relevant to us...

This is not a sour grape or even tall-poppie gripe here but consider that our own elections have taken place, almost the entire country on a federal and state loevel have had massive power shifts in the past 12 months and thanks to the US election nobody has noticed that HARDLY ANYTHING HAS BEEN DONE YET...!!!

Come on Australia, wake up from your hollywood addled, celebrity inhaling, voyeuristsic, America worship and clean up your own fucking backyard. We only get a few months between football and cricket season to actually accomplish anything, and we have been burinign the time watching the sideshow across the pond.

Oh and congrats to the Americans for the big finish... ;)

Okay, not quite so badly but seriously...

Who the fuck keeps making these godawful ads on TV using photo's of people with thier heads enlarged like bobbles...

Cash Converters, Adventure World (perthites would have seen this one by now) even the Apprenticeships Scheme are all using this style...

It sucked the first time, it sucked agin and guess what? it still sucks now...

If I desperately needed to sell my product, I wouldn't mess around, I'd go straight to the guys who make beer commercials...

Stolen shamelessly from jsguardian

"Morality" Survay
#01 Under what circumstances would you be willing to attempt to assassinate the political leader of your country?

Although the Queen is the Head of State (Bless her), I WOULD go for the PM if the Government ever tried to ban smoking. It's not viable as tobbacco brings in some ridiculously large tax revenue, and what government is going to shoot a cash cow?


#02 Who do you think would make a better US president: Hitler or Stalin? (You can't say neither... in this world it's illegal for you to not vote)

Oh dear, straight to the American-centric questions huh?
Okaaaay I would say Hitler, in the sense that until his cronies got to him, he at least COULD be spoken to in diplomatic circles


#03 If you had to bomb one city, anywhere in the world, which would you pick? (Picking none is not an option for this question.)

Perth, Western Australia. So it can be rebuilt with an eye towards reliable infrastructure, environmental sustainability, and perhaps be an interesting place


#04 Is there ever a good reason for terrorism?

Depends on who is throwing the word around. On the global stage, to many people, "Terrorism" is the word used for anyone who doesnt emphatically support the American way. After all, a simple protest or even voting can be viewed as an act of political dissidence.

In short, yes, there ARE good reasons SOMETIMES


#05 If there existed an infallible robot of super-human intelligence, would you vote for it as president of the world?

DESTROOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYY...!!!


#06 Under what circumstances would you agree to have your country's army disbanded?

Never... And if it did, I would be one of the first to be forming a local militia


#07 When cloning technology is perfected, do you think war should be fought with clones?

Knowing human nature, the war would be AGAINST the clones. Hundreds of years of Sci-Fi writers cant be wrong


#08 What's more immoral, stealing to feed your children or working for an arms manufacturer?

Who the hell wrote these questions...?
If I work in an arms factory, I do just that, Work in a factory. Thats like saying as a barman, I am responsible for alcoholism...
As for the stealing to feed, well I believe there is ALWAYS an alternative out there (Like working in the arms factory)


#09 Should there be shame in being on welfare or other forms of state benefits?

I have been on State welfare (centrelink) it is shameful enough


#10 If you were homeless and could get no help from government, would it be wrong to set up a home (tent/house/whatever) on land protected for environmental reasons? If you did, who would be culpable, you or government?

I view this objectively, if I am homeless and setup on protected bushland, I will be found and evicted rather fast. If I where however to setup a squat in a run-down section of town. I could live un-molested for years


#11 Should people need a license to have children?

No, but I think Practical education about sex, reproduction and relationships at an early age is potentially the way to go. I say potentially in the sense that if young people are properly informed about the facts and consequences, they are more prepared to make descisions.


#12 Should anyone ever be forced to have an abortion, and under what circumstances?

Hey and while we are at it, lets sterilise the criminals, mentally handicapped and poor people... What a retarded question


#13 Do you think it's fair that rent can be upped if you have pets but not if you have children?

Ah I am getting a picture of the kind of person who wrote this survey now.
This is one of those questions thats gets thrown around a lot by proffessional types who don't have children. The reason that the bond exists for pets and not children is that children WILL learn consequences. Pets dont.


#14 Should corporal punishment, with parental permission, be reintroduced in schools?
Absolutely


#15 Given that fast food is more harmful to your health than marijuana, should it be banned?

Suddenly I feel another need to justify question 1...

I'll elaborate here. We are seeing worldwide a growing trend in governments to try and "Protect" it's citizenry from themselves.
"oh dear, alchol is bad for you, we will tax it heavier so you can't afford to drink as much"
"Hmmm, some children are getting obese so we will force schools to ban hot food in canteens and provide only healthy salad rolls at twice the price AND make teachers monitor children's lunchboxes"


#16 Do you think it's okay for companies to run drug tests for jobs which don't involve operating heavy or dangerous machinery?

Certainly


#17 Are people who say they love animals but eat factory farmed meat hypocrites?

I love cats, I love Steaks, I love Pork Chops, I love Roast chicken etc...


#18 Under what circumstances would you be willing to consume human flesh?

Soylent Green is people...???


#19 Are all (post-natal) human lives equal in value/worth?

Depends on which black-market dealer you are asking...

I feel everyone is equal, I despise the human race in general, no specifics


#20 If communication was developed with an animal sufficient that they could communicate consent, would it be wrong to have consensual sex with the animal?

WTF...???


#21 What do you think the age of sexual consent should be?

Leave it as it is, but introduce legislation that investigates BOTH sides of an abuse case (Mainly in those just shy of Legal Age of consent) I have seen people deliberately brought down simply by the combination of 15 y/o slut and alcohol.


#22 Do you think porn that contains hyper-realistic depictions of children (modelled, painted, etc) should be legally regarded as the same as real-child porn?

If it looks like a child, it's a child...


#23 If you had to burn one book, what book would you pick?

I'll pick three, the bible, the koran and the torah...
All three on the fire at once (No discriminiation here)


#24 Would you burn a cross whilst dressed in white robes for a million dollars?

Only one cross...?


#25 Should time travel, if it ever becomes a reality, be legal given all the risks it poses to life as we know it?

Remember what I said about Sci-Fi writers...


#26 If you had an envelope containing absolute proof of the existence or non-existence of any deity of your choice, would you open it?

What kind of diety needs proof...?


Should suicide be legal/acceptable for long-term debilitating/emotionally painful incurable mental illnesses? Does your answer to this differ from your answer to the same question with regards to painful, debilitating physical illnesses?"

I would like to think if I was in a position where quality of life would be so poor (No dingity/control/brain etc) that those who love me respect me enough to end it for me...

Cut and paste this if you want to join in, then post to your journal

grudthak's Never-ending story project, lets see if we can knock together something resembling a story...

This is simple; take what exists of the story so far, and then add a paragraph (or a few if you like)


*************************************************


Doctor Toten rolled his eyes as his pager erupted in yet another fit of jangling vibration and plaintive bleating. As he rose from his seat he glanced across at yet another un-drunk cup of coffee. His fourth for the shift.

"Damn gang-bangers"

He mused

"Every time the weather gets humid they just have to ruin my day and go shooting one another"

As he entered the emergancy wing, the look on the waiting nurse's face told him his next patient wasn't just another standard shooting victim.

posted by ziggurat9
She was pale, her brown eyes wide and ... yes, terrified, and perspiration stood out on her forehead in large pearly drops. Normally, Nurse Clarke was the epitome of starched efficiency. Nothing phased this ER veteran, but tonight, that was no longer true.

"Doctor, it's –-- bad." Her voice was steady enough, but there was a brittle quality to it. "There's was an accident on I-90. Multi-vehicle. Most of the lesser injuries were diverted to Valley View and St. Joe's, but since we were closest, EMT's brought the criticals here..."

A scream - a man's voice filled with rage, mixed with urgent shouting, interrupted her.
"Where's the doc? This guy's going fast!" Curtly gesturing for Clarke to follow him, Toten broke into a trot towards the swinging doors. Through the windows he could see figures in scrubs clustering in a group , then his view was obscured as a fantail of blood sprayed across the glass. He sprinted the last few feet, while his mind churned into overdrive, revising his initial reaction. Blood wasn't black.

Cut and paste this if you want to join in

grudthak's Never-ending story project, lets see if we can knock together something resembling a story...

This is simple; take what exists of the story so far, and then add a paragraph (or a few if you like)

*************************************************

Doctor Toten rolled his eyes as his pager erupted in yet another fit of jangling vibration and plaintive bleating. As he rose from his seat he glanced across at yet another un-drunk cup of coffee. His fourth for the shift.

"Damn gang-bangers"

He mused

"Every time the weather gets humid they just have to ruin my day and go shooting one another"

As he entered the emergancy wing, the look on the waiting nurse's face told him his next patient wasn't just another standard shooting victim.

Oh just turn the damn thing on already...

Either it's going to work or hit the ultimate Ctrl-Alt-Delete button...

This waiting is giving me the shits

It is good to see that Western Australia seems to be running under the greek style of democracy...

One man, one vote

Brendon Grylls is the man, and he gets the vote.

I mean seriously, why did we even bother having an election, we all could have saved a shitload of taxpayer's time and money if somebody just pulled this guy aside and asked him to flip a coin...

Bloody politics...

I have been requested, nay ordered to post something, if only to prove that I still exist.

So what's been going on lately?

At the moment I am on holidays, paid annual leave that I decided to take to help myu boss out (Anyone ever heard of taking a holiday to to do the company a favour?). The bar I work at has been temporarily closed due to some sailors bringing in BYO (idiots). while the bar is closed, the company loses 53 hours p/w of bar work. As a permanent full-time, The boss HAS to make sure I get 38 hours work p/w. Trouble is, that means that some of our casuals miss out, possibly even to the point of having to be fired.

So I took a holiday instead.

On thursday, we loaded up into the car and took a nice long drive out bush to Narrogin (a regional city in the wheat-belt region). There is no way we would EVER buy a house in Rockingham (Or anywhere in the metro area) so we are starting to investigate the various country areas to find the place that is just "us".

Perthites on my list, you think the rental situation in the metro region is bad, in the Williams/Narrogin/Wagin region there are NO rentals AT ALL. Bloody mines, Boddington is about to put a gold mine to work, so the bloody miners have been buying up. Mines, I am so bloody sick of them. Expect another quiet little regional centre to become as pricey to live as Kalgoorlie

Our next area of investigation is the Margeret River region and then up to Dongara/Geraldton

For those who have been checking such things, my collection of demotivators has hit the 700 mark. Thats right, I am sad enough that I have made 700 motivational posters so far...



Here's the rest

Cheers