The Official Nonsense Thread

[Minty]

Good old Nelson Mandela - even in death he still managed to do great work by getting that awful Mrs Brown's Boys off the TV early!

Even though it was on the cards, it still feels so unreal that he's finally died. He may have left politics a decade ago, but he still had such a massive influence on all South Africa - there was still that sense amongst the political classes that they were expected to do "the right thing", & those who wouldn't like Eugene Terrablanche found themselves isolated & ignored (thank god that evil old swine is long dead).

But what now? Next year is the general election, & the likes of the Inkatha Freedom Party (Zulus) & the far right Freedom Front (Afrikaaners) that have been playing the political game nicely up until now may see no reason to continue now Mandela's gone. I hope this doesn't end up another Tito type situation where once the main man's gone it's every man for himself.

Elsewhere, Uruguay, Costa Rica & Italy for England in the World Cup finals. Costa Rica has been under achievers for a while but appear to have got their groove back. Despite what the pundits say, I think that group is for the taking, especially if England show no mercy to the Italians.

Those groups the Brazilians & Argies were given look as legit as a Scottish Cup draw with Celtic & Rangers still in the contest (bent as a banana!). Could they have had it any easier?

The US have a nasty group, but have a superb new team - I could see them going far. The Belgium vs Russia match should be a real goalfest considering how good both have become over the last few years.

[Caspin]

Your week-long football talk embargo went so well didn't it.

I love the World Cup. But somehow I feel slightly jaded already at the idea of England's group. I sort of hope they do OK, but at the same time don't really care. Maybe I should support a completely different country.

Today the sky is completely white, like someone erased all the colours. Either that or it is one big cloud. The mother of all clouds.

I had such a tiring week and the next few are going to be even busier. This weekend I'm going to do nothing but watch telly, play games and cook. That's it. No work, no stress.

I may even devote some time to regaining my bubble shooter crown, as surely if Minty can score in excess of half a million points, I can do it too. Yeah!

*wonders if white sky is actually hell freezing over*
*spots pig flying by*
*reduces expectations*

[Minty]

Ended up booting up FIFA Manager for the first time in a long time. Forgot how much I enjoyed it, even if the initial set up is a slog. Having tweeked the game to death to get it perfect, I lost my mojo for it & abandoned it. Now I'm likening it.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I got a copy of Far Cry 3 for cheap (bargain bucket) & it's more enjoyable than I remembered. Sad as it sounds, it's nice to spend time instead of running around hitting objectives simply going in to play the poker game. You need incredible patience for it if you want to get anywhere, not least of all learning when to hold & when to fold. Oh, & ignore those online saying the computer players never bluff!

[Caspin]

I couldn't play poker. Impossible. If the way I come across online indicates to you even a tiny fraction of how excitable I get sometimes, you can probably imagine my total absence of a poker face.

I've got 'Far Cry 3' for my brother for Christmas, since that's what he asked for. Also he wants the last 'Uncharted' (also no. 3 I think) and 'Beyond Two Souls'. That should keep him going for a while. It's good to give games for Crimbo - easy to wrap and light to carry for the train.

Think I'll shoot a few bubbles before it's time to start the dinner.

[Ollie]

Good news everyone, it turns out I shall be getting Beyond: Two Souls for Christmas.

And good choice, Caspin, I loved Far Cry 3. If you do end up getting him Beyond: Two Souls, apparently there's a co-op mode so if you ever find yourself watching on as your brother plays through, you can also join in.

[Minty]

Easiest way to tell if a game is crap.




When it has some broad doing a "does my pixel bum look big in this?" cover in the hope it will get some spec buys from basement dwellers before they get to read the sucky reviews!

[Caspin]

After you've written that it is difficult to look anywhere other than her bum!

Somehow I seem to have reached Friday and am still in one piece. Terribly busy time at work and then add in the obligatory work Xmas lunch today. It was OK though, as someone had managed to pick a reasonable restaurant with nice food at a good price. Happily I am in the age group that can leave the younger colleagues to head off for infinite numbers of Jägerbombs after the meal, while the rest of us headed home to our slippers and telly. I have only one more episode of the last series of Dr Who to watch, as well as the Day Of The Doctor special, and then I'm all caught up!

Have nice weekends everyone.

[Minty]

Work Christmas lunches are okay - even though I have never attended one. I would make the excuse so everyone else could go & the office would be manned. Result = lovely peace & quiet for a whole afternoon, & everyone feeling so sorry for me "giving up" on a lunch they all had to pay for anyway (& which always ended up at the golf club two of the buggers in the place were on the committee of - no nepotism there, 'hem-'hem!).

Work Christmas dinners after hours - ugh! I hated them. No matter where I sat, or how early I arrived to make sure "this year it doesn't happen", I'd end up stuck next to Norbert Boringfunker who'd spend the whole meal wittering on about his bicycle or 20 millimetre camera with hypersonic shutter or whatever that was so powerful it could take a picture of astronauts scratching their arses on the moon or whatever; never mind the number of times the dinner came so "rare" as to be raw in all but name.

Best "Christmas lunch" ever was the year loads were off sick so it was cancelled & I suggested we make one day a "work in Christmas lunch". A buffet (one normal, one Indian) and later pizzas brought in to stuff ourselves all during the working day (as if the office tin of Roses and Quality Street weren't enough). By the time we were heading for home we were all too stuffed to move.

[Caspin]

Staying in the office would have been great. I love it when it's quiet, which is why I go in so early, and I've tonnes to finish before Xmas so could have done with the time. However the lunch was not optional and the new team I'm with are nice people so it wasn't so bad. If one year someone told me we were staying at work and pizzas were en route I'd be so happy! Or if my colleague and I had our own way we'd just eat a sandwich as usual and spend the rest of the allotted time having a nap.

zzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzz

[Minty]

Harold Camping, the preacher that told everyone that the world was going to end in 2011, has died as the result of a fall. Wonder if it was one of his ex-followers shoving him under a bus after the old balloon convinced them to sell all their worldly goods before the Rapture & were left with nothing but egg on their faces & destitution.