deviantART: by:XenonRay

Semester 1...gone!

*XenonRay — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:55:06 PST

Cool, only a week left in University. I can't wait to get back home for some high risk procrastination!

Despite the empty time table, I've got used to it plus there has been a lot of work in the background so it might be a good thing that there's not much on. That said, someone had the stupid idea of giving us a x2 3 hour assessed practicals which start at 8am. Man I haven't had to get up that early since college! Geez when I eventually graduate and get a job, I'm gonna be screwed!

But the work has been annoying since it's group projects and some people don't pull their weight. Though I can't complain since they're my best friends and we get on great- plenty of laughs over the past 2 years! And despite me stressing and nagging, we always get it done in the end...

The big report is ticking on. I've realised that for what's required 5000 words is not that much. It's all the misc. diagrams, figures, graphs, maps, logs, research that bump up the amount of work needed. Still I'm over half way with another month to go. My field notebook is estimated to be a 1:1 (1st class, >70%) and that's half the marks for the project, so that's alright, I just need to match that in the report and I'll be sorted!

However I'll probably have to buy Corel Draw after all, since at a higher level, hand-drawn graphs just don't work. Luckily the University IT shop sells it for Â£10 for all students. Ultra kill!

Here's hoping for a PC upgrade over Christmas too, since last time I was at home my Dad said he'd already begun gathering parts and a copy of Windows 7.

Yes that's right!

Now with 30% more procrastination!

*XenonRay — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:57:42 PST

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Lots and lots of work, but no sense of urgency. A deadly combination! Already last week I've spent ages in University on Corel Draw copying my field trip maps to a silky vector format, and am now a master at that program, which is crash-tastic on the university Dells in the computer clusters. Twice I've broken that program on the PC I was sat at, and had to swap seats to access it on another machine to get it working again. High tech fix!

There's a digital picture in the works right now. Sadly it's fanart, but very happily it's Fire Emblem fanart...Yep. *sigh* I can't think of any original content that isn't some kind of Adrian helmet'd soldier, or some preposterous mech idea.

But it's looking nice. I'm like Dexter (the one with the lab) a bit with my pics; everytime I'm doing a digital piece I'm absolutely convinced it'll be "My most greatest picture ever!!" but usually when it is finished, a few days later I'll just think "Meh, looks alright" or find it very hard to look at. But this time is different I swear! Hahah, ok so maybe not. We'll see. And anyway it's a good method of putting off work- combined with some papercrafting, TV and whistling to various classical music, it lowers academic productivity levels significantly!

The mystery of the haunted security gate continues. I can confirm it makes an irritating makes-you-jump bang every day after midnight. Oh what eldritch forces of depravity manifest themselves in the alleyway below my window on a regular basis? One night it even banged three times! Or it could just be the security guard pressing the magnetic locking button too much...

Despite the "subtle" Lovecraft parodies above, I'm having a break from his writing since the style is so unique yet so repetitive. I'll probably wait until I've finsihed H.G. Wells' The Sleeper Awakes, which I'm pleased isn't some thinly veiled social commentary, but a rip roaring adventure in Hive City London (take that WH40K!) with some social commentary. Seriously it's excellent though.

Upon advice of a friend, I've bought Professor Layton and the Curious Village for the DS. It's really good but doesn't half make me feel like a moron. The tricksy puzzles always get me, and when I try to think outside the box it's always just some irrelevant tangent...Bah, I will finish you with 100%!

Yes that's right!

Blank Timetables and General Creepiness

*XenonRay — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:59:29 PDT

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It's almost 3 weeks since I moved into my new flat but feels like absolutely forever. Now that teaching has started, something seems to be missing...namely the actual teaching. My timetable is shockingly blank such that I'm only in for 3 days a week, so yeah I'm at serious risk of getting very bored. It's because semester 1 has a large chunk of marks made up by this 5000 word report. It's worth 40 credits, while regular modules/subjects are worth only 10. So while you are supposed to get a balance of credits between the two semesters, this report writing doesn't have any lectures or practical sessions behind it. Hence things being a bit empty until next year or until deadlines start to appear.

Well things are alright to good at my flat. Everyone is very friendly and as a whole, the place is far better than last year's accomodation. There's a peculiar phenomenon however at night, where this security gate for the opposite BT Building seems to clang really loud as if someone has kicked a football at it. Man, does it make me jump, yet no-one is ever there if I look. Usually when it self shuts in daytime it is very quiet. I figure it might be some other locking system, though the timing is irregular. The case of the haunted security gate continues!

Also, I'm reading a lot of H.P. Lovecraft lately. Bizzare, nebulous, eldritch and thoroughly unwholesome stuff (to quote his typical vocabulary), with some unsettling (and some downright gooey) plot revelations and twists at the end of many of the short stories. For the fear factor, a lot isn't that bad. More sinister undertones and the unknown than shock value. In fact only The Dunwich Horror (the 1st I read) really spooked me out in my reading-before-bed sessions so far . Edit: Actually The Colour Out of Space did too when I read it in one session. But other stories still give a good chill, I'm pretty hooked and will probably read most of his work before the year's up.

Yes that's right!

New Flat!

*XenonRay — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:25:04 PDT

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I visited my new digs at Liberty Park, Leeds on Saturday and looks like I'm in for another box room! Haha, seriously though it's actually good- definitely bigger than Leodis Residences in 1st year at the expense of a small airline style bathroom, but that doesn't bother me. Nor does not really having any view from my window since I'm on the third floor opposite a B.T. building's brick wall.

Nah I'm not putting it down, though opinions are subject to change once I'm actually living there. Now I actually have non-wobbly shelf space, 2 big desks and a wardrobe that is not at risk of falling on me. The shared kitchen is nice and modern too, with a significantly better view than my room. And at an added bonus of being directly opposite me. Hell yeah, I don't even have to change direction to get there!

As for the other people, there seems to be 4 of them. I was all hyped up and nervous about meeting any new folk, but to my surprise I never saw any of the others on moving in day, though we did turn up earlier on. There's already a girl marked as a 'returning tenant' via a note/form on the door, which was also plastered with all sorts of anime type drawings too. Now that could be a good or a bad thing...

We'll see anyhow, I'll be back for good on next Saturday, so hopefully everything will be good, and won't be a repeat of last year.

Yes that's right!

Getting Back to the Grind

*XenonRay — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:41:25 PDT

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Uh oh, not long left before university starts again. I'm going to Leeds on saturday to get my keys and move some junk into my new flat. I'll probably hardly ever see the folk I lived with last term again, which is a shame since one of them was alright, but I know I can't see her without seeing the (hated) other. But I'm not moving in fully until next week- I'd like to slob it up at home for as long as possible...

As for third year, I've got some more crappy compulsory modules to study such as Mountain Belt Processes (hell no! ) but some others of my own choice like Advanced Sedimentology (err...hell yes?). It turns out the 5000 word report is a gradual thing to work on throughout Semester 1 but I've got a good start (2000 words of gibberish so far), but I've neglected the practical work (maps, notebook, cross-sections) so will need to do them next week since they have to be in for the 23rd.

On the home front, I've accomplished a few things that will only have any significance to me. In other words when one of the teachers asks me what I've done all summer, I'm gonna tell them the biggest lie ever...
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Nerdism ahead!

I finally got a high level mage type character on Oblivion, since the game engine destines them to be weak and feeble until you can get enough magicka reserves to fry things with beefier spells.

Also I'm 80% through my second playthough of Radiant Dawn, which is needed to unlock some extra content and characters. 37 hours clocked up so far!

And also related to Radiant Dawn, I've finally managed to rip some models using the Gamecube/Wii emulator, Dolphin. Their latest versions have fixed the issues which prevented from running the ever fussy program, 3D Ripper DX over the top. So I'm going to be having a beast of a papercraft in the works over the next month or so!

Currently I'm watching a lot of fantastically quotable Futurama episodes which may explain a few extra things added to my page here. Including two great lines from the Zapper himself!

"I am the man with no name.
Zapp Brannigan at your service!"

"Can't you ask a little more...sexfully?"

Yes that's right!

Second Half

*XenonRay — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:54:37 PDT

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Well since the week away I'm now really into the second half of the Summer holidays, which fills me with dread since I will have to start the lengthly report soon. But I'll have to read up on it because I really don't know what it's supposed to be about! Ha 6-weeks away, now I haven't a clue...

The holiday was good, much better weather than last year. We ended up visiting more castles than you could ever need (well 4 but you get the idea). The best was Alnwick (pronounced Annick) which had a nice inner grounds and state rooms in the keep used by the Duke of Northumberland. The amount of wealth and decor was astonishing! Huge 2m paintings of obscure historic folk, a library packed with old books plus a extra balcony and wheeled ladder for a second tier. Plus a ceremonial sword in a display case with the handle encrusted with diamonds and other pricey stones- the sort of thing you'd really hurt your hand on if you tried to swing it! D:

Then there was some re-enactments of Napoleonic light infantry, which I got a ton of pictures of and am using one for a drawing of my own.

Later on I was taken on a small golf course by my aunt/uncle and seemed to do alright considering I've never played more than pitch and putt or crazy golf in the past. Could be worth getting into when I'm older.

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Also I'm nearly done with Kotor II which is turning out to be really good despite not having much sense of plot until much later. Keep on playing Pazaak in your head Atton! (obscure reference, but something that made me laugh in one of the dialogue trees.)

Yes that's right!

Holiday Time

*XenonRay — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:52:19 PDT

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Well I'm off for a week tomorrow. This year it's somewhere in Northumberland on the east coast(ish), so we'll see what can be done over there. Hopefully it won't rain as much as Cornwall last year, though judging by this week's weather it might not be promising (thunderstorms woke me up this morning). Alnwick Castle has some Napoleonic re-enactments going on so I want to go have a gawp at that sometimes and in general I'm glad to get away because I've just been really bored this week.

Commissions are still open (hint hint), I've now added a quick link to that journal on the header bar, and submitted a profile for the wonderful club:

Currently I'm addicted to Fire Emblem on the Wii again, and have the .iso to emulate things a bit, however I can't rip from it yet because to get 3D ripper DX to work I have to run the emulator with a DirectX9 plugin, and this really slows the game down even more. It was painfully slow before at 10fps, but with the ripper running 'on top' and the DX9 settings it doesn't even load past the main menu. Boo...

Also I got Knights of the Old Republic II off ebay cheap, and that's pretty awesome too though not as good as the first. Let down by stopping you leaving some planets until you've progressed the story to a certain point. Curse you random anti-aircraft towers!

And finally I'm also a bit obsessed with Giants: Citizen Kabuto, which has the funniest cutscenes ever!

Yes that's right!

Commissions

*XenonRay — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:03:09 PDT

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Status: Open!

Here we go!

Overview
IÂm open for single original character portraits from bust to full body, either digital or black and white pencilled. Digital pictures may have an optional simple background, and both may have extra characters added, all for a small extra fee onto the main price.

Art style
I have my own style cobbled together over the last three years. Right now it comes across as a clean and ÂlightÂ semi-realism with a few traces of cartoon and manga elements. Kinda hard to describe so have a look at a few things in my recent gallery:

Pencil example: [link] [link]
Digital example: [link] [link]

Terms and Conditions
Commissions are open for human to humanoid characters only, i.e. no landscapes, animals, vehicles etc as the primary picture. One character per pic, unless requested otherwise and relatively simple poses only please. IÂm pretty open to anything, from sci-fi, war, historical, modern and fantasy you name it.

However, a few things I canÂt or wonÂt do:
-Anthro
-Anything that would be classed as Âmature contentÂ
-Anything advocating any form of discrimination or extreme views
-Fan art of existing characters- a negotiable rule but preferably your own OCs please

I reserve the right to turn down your request but to be honest thatÂs quite unlikely so donÂt fret!

Price List
Pencil Single Character:
These will be drawn in my tried and tested method of a HB mechanical pencil, 2B pencil and fineliner pen, with later cleaning and edits in Photoshop.

Bust: $5 (i.e. head and shoulders)
Half Body: $8 (i.e. head down to the waist or thighs)
Full Body: $10 (i.e. head to toes!)
Extra Characters: +$0.50 per character to Bust pictures, +$2.50 for Half/Full body pictures

(Pencil pics can be either left as lineart or shaded for no extra cost. Please specify)

Digital Single Character:
These will be relatively simple, keeping the lines intact so no true CG paintings, though IÂm well able to colour the lines on request so theyÂre not all ugly black!

Bust: $4 (i.e. head and shoulders)
Half Body: $9.50 (i.e. head down to the waist or thighs)
Full Body: $11 (i.e. head to toes!)
Extra Characters: +$0.50 per character to Bust pictures, +$3.50 for Half/Full body pictures
Simple Background: +$1

(Digital pics can be left as lineart, cell shaded or airbrush/paint shaded. Please specify colouring and any line style.)

Interested?
Please contact me by a note on deviantArt or reply here with any queries.
If you choose to go ahead then thatÂs great! Please include in your request the following information:

Your email for contact purposes

Character Name:
Gender:
Age:
Personality: (What are they like? Simple traits help shape a picture!)
Background: (Any info i.e. life story, nationality...

Summer Break

*XenonRay — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:38:07 PDT

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Yes! Scarborough trip is done at last and I'm back at home until September. Though there's 5000 words to type up about it but I can be forgiven for putting it off for a bit.

Ahhh the field trip- 42 days out there, 34 clocked up working on the coast, though some were very short days heh. We stayed sane watching endless TV (which is unlike me) and playing on emulators on laptops.

Quite a few group obsessions came around. Early on it was Arnie movies: "Dohn't bullshit me!" Then later Advance Wars played on a GBA emulator, plus I got the latest DS version for a bargain in town.

That destroyed much of the social scene, with silence occasionally broken by yells of "Bye bye Neotanks!" as someone would smash the other person's army in one stroke during a 2P match. Eventually that faded, I got hooked on playing Majora's Mask and Perfect Dark, trying to explain why Zelda is better than Spyro... And eventually we settled in for Clint Eastwood's three famous westerns which were on TV, as well as BBC 2's spooky and silly Psychoville which caused proliferation of everyone calling everyone 'Tealeaf'.

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So summer is here. I have a few plans that may or may not work out in the art world, which I will reveal should I actually do anything about them! Ha, stay tuned though don't hold your breath...

And to start on a semi unrelated note, I've jazzed up the journal with some CSS, which was a pain even with fiddling around with a premade template by ^Katmomma. This will do for now!

Yes that's right! Coming soon!

Interval II

*XenonRay — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:25:23 PDT
Day off!

I've been working a while now so I'm taking one of my days off and lounging around in the caravan and taking a trip to the internet cafe.

Nothing new to report really other than I'm half way there. 19 working days done, though to be honest 2-3 of them are pretty shocking, particulary thursday when it thundered and hailed, yet I still insisted on going out.

I ended up sliding down the last 8m of muddy slope, which wasn't a good start. Severely put off, I took a few measurements ate lunch on a WWII pillbox that has fallen on to the beach, and walked the long way back since there was no way I was risking going against gravity and climbing that slope again.

British WWII pillboxes are only built for short people it seems. I'm 6ft and couldn't stand comfortably upright, yet alone in the middle where a 30cm reinforcement beam juts down.

That's all really. Caravan is good, we have a thing for Schwarzenegger films, and I finally went shopping for some real food, so for the last few days I've been eating...normally!

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My current comic- updates weekly! (Well not any more...)

Interval!

*XenonRay — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:12:44 PDT
11 days of my Scarborough trip down and things are going well. Our caravan, though cramped in terms of bedrooms has a good atmosphere. Still there is a long time left to go. I'm in the caravan park's internet cafe on my Dad's old laptop. Pricey service but I'm stocking up on some N64 ROMs to play to pass the time in evenings.

In fact the only reason I'm not working today is the high tide is screwing up our schedule by bringing in over 2-3m of water over the rocks we need to be looking at. Low tide is at 7pm today so I'll be setting out this afternoon to get some stuff done. Since no teachers are here we set our own schedule. I'm quite fond of a 11am-5pm session per day right now! No more 8:30am starts!

So for the first time ever I'm not completely shattered at the start of a day's work.

Also, tons of fossils! 40cm bits of carbonised wood, ammonites (got an awesome tiny 7mm one which is perfectly preserved), belemnites (google it) and more shells than you could ever want...

That's all for now. Give it a few weeks and I'll pop back to the internet place again for another fix.

And it's a field trip so as usual I'm eating piles of high calorie crap in the evenings to refuel myself and playing Fire Emblem (GBA) religiously.

Stay tuned!

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My current comic- updates weekly! (Well not any more...)

The Long Haul

*XenonRay — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:23:59 PDT
Not much to say other than my exams are finished and have been running round sorting things for the summer field trip. It's for 6 weeks in Scarborough (East coast of England for folks outside Blighty) as part of a small group, independent from any teachers. In fact our trip manager only comes to see us for 2 out of 35 working days, the minimum amount we have to spend out there.

To be honest I don't know what I'll be doing once we're out there, but if we get to know each other then the small group could be a lot of fun.

So that's all for a long time. I have some big art related plans for summer but in the meantime have a gawp at some of my favourite pics on here!

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My current comic- updates weekly! (Well not any more...)

Burning the (almost) Midnight Oil

*XenonRay — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:09:02 PDT
Ohhhh my. I've gone and broken my record for the amount of time spent in university today. We have an A2 poster to complete based on our Anglesey trip two weeks ago, however it's hard work, vague and we were a bit screwed because for the last day of the trip we crashed out on some sunny rocks somewhere. I for one had a nice sleep using my clipboard as a pillow...

But such jolly times had turned to dread this week since we realised it was probably a bad idea to not do much work at all.

So today I've spent 11.5 hours in the university library finishing my poster, fueled by several large food trips to the Union building and a fast food joint on the main road. I enjoyed most of it in a perverse way but come 9pm fatigue hit me like a brick wall. There's something insane but compelling about doing an all nighter in one of the 24hr computer clusters like some people are planning. Some folks are even having a 'sleep over' in the conveniently unlocked Earth Vis Lab- fatigue gets replaced by hysteria I guess.

Luckily I've done enough to warrant me being able to go home and have a nice cup of tea!

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My current comic- updates weekly!

The Last Slog

*XenonRay — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:47:10 PDT
Five weeks left of 2nd year at university. I really can't wait as it'll signify the end of an era and a fresh start in terms of accomodation for the 3rd year. Before that time is close at hand however there'll be essays, posters and exams to be done, debts to be collected and utility accounts to close down. And at the end of it? A 6 week field trip! Scary but I'll be away from it all without a care in the world, scrounging fossils in Scarborough.

This weekend I'm off on another trip to Anglesey, North Wales with everyone's most hated teacher. No doubt there will be plenty of "As you can see...", "Actually..." and "It's quite simple!" uttered by that smug face of his.

In university they had another open day for the department (3rd one so far) and as always this coincides with our catch up mineralogy session in the Earth Visualisation Lab (EVL or EViL) while we're peering into microscopes. Aren't we dedicated students going in even if we don't have anything on timetable! So a bit of free food was aquired once more. Not bad this uni lark!

Well it's a year on since I got TF2 and I've clocked up a shocking amount of hours on it. I'm developing into a good, if suicidal Pyro right now. I've still not had my PC upgraded which makes me sad...but I managed to pick up a copy of Mass Effect for Â£3.70! I can't run it but couldn't refuse the clearout sale either! So that's on the back shelf 'til I gets me a faster processor.

Until next time!

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Back in Blighty

*XenonRay — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 03:56:12 PDT
Phew, I got back from the Ireland trip last night and very sleep deprived, though that only hit me after I got off the coach.

As usual the trips are the best and worst parts of the course but this one, is probably the most enjoyable we've been on so far. Mainly because the trip was divided into 2 locations that we stayed at.

The first week for our half of the group was Connemara- sort of NW coast, with plenty of moors and huge hills. For the UK folks it looks like a cross between the Lake District and Scottish Highlands. That was all igneous and metamorphic rocks, which means old, folded and horribly complex roots of an ancient island arc and later mountain belt.

The second half was in Kilfenora, County Clare which is where many scenes from the TV show Father Ted were filmed! We saw the real Craggy Island and everything! The rocks here are all sedimentary but that didn't make things easier. There's some world famous structures here including sand volcanoes (not as interesting as it sounds) and a massive ancient preserved landslide and many cliffs up to 200m high. Vertigo anyone?

So now I have 2 weeks off for Easter but I've got lots of stuff to do for both university and myself, so stay tuned!

Stuff:
-A lot of weird people travel on ferries

-Ireland to England they didn't even scan our hand luggage, we could have smuggled a small child without them knowing, or something...

-Xenophobic jokes and comedy accents are quite hilarious in a room of 10 students

-My days in the field were fuelled by fig rolls and chilli flavoured Doritos

-Seriously I ate loads of fig rolls

-The pound-euro exchange rate sucks right now

-"Je suis Napoleon!" was a fun phrase to say to some younger french students who shared the hostel in the first week

-Removing the wooden slats from a top bunk-bed is a never ending source of hilarity

-Geology hammer tossing and spinning is a high risk, high reward trick

-Coal makes a good face paint

-Everyone gets a nickname eventually, some more flatterning than others

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Ireland Trip

*XenonRay — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:19:46 PDT
No nothing to do with St. Patrick's day, rather I have a 12 day field trip to the west coast, beginning on Saturday. Really I'm cautiously optimistic since the teachers running it seem very easy going and not stern safety nuts like the ones running Pembrokeshire last year. So it'll get me away from our flat, which I can't be bothered with anymore, though I'm not looking forward to the ferry trip since I don't like boats...but that's highly weather dependent!

In the last week running up to it, I've spent loads of money on junk and replacement equipment and stockpiling some food. As well as finishing off some university work here and there. I was in again today of my own accord, and again there were prospective students and free food around. We could get used to this! Hehe, I had 3 mini chocolate bars and a cup of orange/pineapple juice!

Part of some work that needs doing is reproducing our old Scotland field trip maps digitally with Corel Draw. It's got a funny layout at times and is unstable on the uni PCs but there's something very sexy about doing vector drawings...

So 2 and a half days to go and I can escape for a while. Or it could backfire and end up being nearly a week of standing in the rain, but I'm looking on the bright side for now!

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Marching On

*XenonRay — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:52:15 PDT
Well we're almost into spring weather now here and only 2 weeks left until I go on my Easter field trip to Ireland for 12 days or so. So 2 weeks to run around finishing everything that needs to be completed soon in other words!

Well, we did owe quite a bit for utility bills, and it's resolved now by severely upping monthly payments. But it's gone well. I think I've got rid of my phone anxiety, and managed to sort things out amongst flatmates without the need for some sort of violent bloodbath. Which is always a bonus!

Today I went in to university to finish some microscope work off but there was also lots of prospective students being shown around. Which meant free food, so we not-so-prospective and far less cheerful 2nd years went on stealth missions to nick some orange juice and chocolate bars. After all we deserve it after putting so much blood, sweat, tears (and wednesdays/thursdays/friday afternoons off) into our course.

Empire Total War is out now. I want it, but am about 0.4Ghz too short for the recommended specs. Plus the Steam demo was a bit underwhelming and slow but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Bills

*XenonRay — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:09:59 PST
Hrm, you know you're getting into adulthood when you start paying through the nose so to speak for all sorts of utilities. Oh Mum and Dad, you make it look so easy! D:

The accounts for elec, gas, water and internet are all tied to me in this flat. So I get the job of debt collecting (a hands off approach seems to work well right now) and any flak if stuff doesn't seem to be working.

I just got a bill from the electric folks and have accumulated Â£80 outstanding debt since November. We set it up so I pay a fixed amount each month to hopefully cancel debts out, but err seeing as how official bills only come once every 3 months (only had 2 since moving in) it's really hard to judge how much we really owe per month. And let it slip for a while and it's built up. Bah. So once again I'll have to be increasing the monthly direct debit payments, and be asking for more gold pieces in turn, not to mention dealing with this Â£80 outgoing milling around my accounts. And that's just electricity! We've not even had a bloody gas bill yet and I'm certain we're not paying enough to cover it per month. I'll need to sort that out too. Man I hate phoning customer services too; last time I did, my phone ran out of credit so I probably looked like some unappreciative bastard hanging up all of a sudden.

At least internet bills are reliable and cheap, and water has minimal grief so far...

Money, money, money- it sure makes the world go round...

University work is mounting up as well. Six out of seven pieces of work left to do.

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Once More into the Fray!

*XenonRay — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:55:49 PST
So Semester 2 has started and normal routine resumes. Which is good because I've been quite bored after the last exam and a week of doing nothing. It's weird, doing nothing at home is fine, but over in Leeds in the flat it drags on. At least flatmate relations seem to be alright to pleasant on the scale of things. I guess we have mutually realised that getting highly strung about minor things, yet not actually speaking to each other about it is kind of silly. That said I'll be living elsewhere next academic year.

Speaking of that I've been browsing around. Now I have 6 good friends but the circumstances mean that it's not really an option for some of us to live together. So I'm going for a single person room somewhere such as an apartment type accomodation. Similar to halls of residences but more swanky and less beer bottles stacking up in the kitchen! I've got my eyes on one of two places in the city- The Plaza and Liberty Park, which are both very similar (a little pricey) but pretty much exactly what I want. I just don't fancy living in a little bedsit in a dingy forest of terrace houses which is where most student living is.

As for the lectures, some are going to be boring but one is surprisingly interesting. Contaminated Land studies is right up my street . Chemistry, toxic stuff and industries being idiots or very unlucky. In summary, if you live near a petrol station, the groundwater is almost guaranteed to have some hydrocarbon contamination. Cheery eh? But don't worry, unless there is a water supply well nearby you'll be alright.

That's all for now!

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My current comic- updates weekly!

2008 Summary

*XenonRay — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:21:02 PST
A year of up and downs really. Mostly filled with university work, 3 weeks worth of field trips another long summer holiday, a new hobby, more art, and the hassle of actually living with other human beings who aren't family or close friends.

Like last year's journal I'll list a few things:

Game of the Year: Super Smash Bros Brawl. I bought my Wii after being fed up to the bone of our 2 week field trip in remote Scotland. SSBB has provided near infinite replay value and more Nintendo goodness than, well anything! Granted I've not played it as much in the last few months but July-Oct it was the game to waste hours on. And I'm still nowhere near unlocking all the achievements, songs, trophies and stickers.

Other worthy mentions are Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn for the Wii. Now this game uses 2D character art for cutscenes, Gamecube standard 3D battles and maps, and sparse voice acting which is sometimes very cheesy and "american". But it's the huge cast of characters, relationships, story and gameplay that make this an awesome underrated game. Granted you have to put time into understanding the story and reading all the dialogue but it is proof that graphics aren't always everything!

Other runners up are Team Fortress 2 (the first game to make me laugh for a long time), STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl (short, vague but incredibly atmospheric and spooky) and Company of Heroes with the expansion, which is the sweariest RTS ever.

Book of the Year: I can't choose. Too many classics and others! In rough order- The War in the Air, Storm of Steel, The First Men in the Moon, Dracula (still not finished), Necropolis, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man.

Film of the Year: Again I've not really been to the cinema much or bought many DVDs, so it's going to have to be...Enemy at the Gates (a few years old, not truly classic but has a great feel to it), Goldeneye (ok pre 2000 but seeing this on the coach back from Scotland has really rekindled my love for this), and Star Wars since the entire series was shown on UK television on a weekly basis a while back.

Quotes
-"I'm not even going to say good morning, because I am furious. There's a hole in the ceiling and room five are to blame! We know exactly what kind of ball caused it!" -Geoff, the bad teacher. We were staying in room 5, we did not make the hole, in fact it was later found out that it was caused by someone headbutting the ceiling. No ball whatsoever!

-"Cheers for the update CNN!" -Chris, my friend in response to something really obvious that Tom said.

-"Wouldn't you hate to 'ave a croissant in yer pillow?" -Neil giving the game away that we put a delicious bakery product in Tom's pillow, and he didn't notice for 3 days!

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Christmas 2008

*XenonRay — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:09:16 PST
The last journal left a bad taste in my mouth so to speak, so here is a happier one!

I'm free for almost a month now, of course the usual January exams are not far off but I always pull myself together in the end.

My aims this holiday are to:
Finish Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn: The difficulty is beginning to kill me and I thought I reached the end last weekend, but no, one more marvellous chapter to go.

Finish Dracula: I bought this ages ago but I was slow to start it. I only read at night in bed and recently I've been up late working/on my PC so I've been skipping sessions.

See my old friends a lot: Self explanatory. In term time I'm in Leeds, one's in Lancaster and the rest are still in Leigh. Hopefully we'll get some cinema trips going like last year!

Papercrafts: Bring on the nerdism! I'm planning to make or design a few more before I have to go back.

Finish some university work: It can wait but I've got a geological map of Snowdonia that needs a cross section making from it before the 12th Jan.

Celebrate Christmas: Hurray!!

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Almost there...

*XenonRay — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:02:46 PST
4 Days left until I can go home for Christmas. Oh it will be a glorious day and a big relief for reasons I'll mention in a second.

The last two weeks have been a slog because we had 4 deadlines crammed into a short amount of time, despite having very little work to do earlier in Oct-Mid Nov. So yeah I wasn't happy with that. But several long sessions in the library and I only have one more thing to hand in and a mini presentation to do for tomorrow.

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Rants etc, skip if you want:

However the real reason I want to get away is because of things in our flat. Sure enough things were good for the first 6 weeks but after my reading week in November and going home for a weekend to miss a party in our flat I didn't fancy putting up with things have turned sour between me and one of my flatmates.

Oh sure enough, slagging her off here isn't going to help but it will relieve my grief. Well according to her I must be:

-a lazy slob who doesn't clean the place (I have cleaned the bathroom, emptied the bin and wiped all the kitchen surfaces for the past 4 weekends in a row almost)
-an unsocialble git (a grain of truth but they stay in their rooms a hell of a lot too)
-the cause of all problems (one or two things yes but that's being human. Certain things have been blown out of proportion)
-a grumpy man (I am with good reason. And she is a hypocrite for saying that)

Sooo I'm tempted to refer to her as an OCD bitch but it will not help things. Haha how can we have a fair share in housework when she does most of it every day! Oh the irony. The most awkward thing that happened was that she left a note asking me to clean the bathroom. I did, and replied with a "Jawohl!". Obviously my humour is beyond her as she replied "I'd prefer if you didn't respond with Nazi phrases".

That really irked me for the nerve of it and the sheer ignorance...

I'm trying to be nice and non confrontational but I feel like I'm being snubbed, which in turn makes me beef (Awesome word to express annoyance!).
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Rant over.

So yay freedom is almost here. Use the boost to get through etc! I just need to collect our utility and internet bill money, which will be a pain as relations are always bad when bills arrive. Wish me luck! But then I can leg it and be free for about a month!

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Leeds Again and My Art

*XenonRay — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:22:55 PDT
I've been back in Leeds for almost a week now, though not started lectures yet. That said I've had a report to finish but thanks to spending literally 10-20 mins here and there since the 25th August I've managed to reduce the amount that needs cramming in this week.

I'm over at a new private flat now, instead of uni accomodation. The flat is very good- once we cleaned it properly and unloaded enough junk to make it feel homely. The ceilings are really high and make it airy compared to my box room last year. The only problem is that the windows are thin single glazing. So 90% of noise gets in and there is a lively hall/clubhouse/community centre nearby which was attended on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday this week until late. Bastards. There was a nice retro sports car parked outside our building too for a while but it got a parking ticket and has since disappeared hehe.

Also I've been thinking about my drawings. Aggh though I've improved a lot since pre graphics tablet times, I can't crack better realism. The Paladin pic is as good as it gets right now. Everything else seems too smooth and void of detail. Plus worryingly I can't summon the patience needed to do a full digital pic. 2 hours in and I blank out and go on TF2 instead.

Hopefully things will improve but it's been a long art block for sure. Here's a list of things I can't draw:
Horses (eh? What's up with their legs?!)
Vehicles ('cos patience is required for good perspective!)
Landscapes (don't interest me- perspectives again)
Lips on both male and females (they just don't look right! )
Defined Muscles (lack of anatomy skills screws me on this one)
Shouting mouths (they end up like fly catchers)

Ok rant over. On the trend of things I'll get better, I just have no patience right now...

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Hurray! II

*XenonRay — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:44:18 PDT
Good news everyone! Today, just under one year on from the last attempt, I passed my driving test! Waha!

I even had to do the exact same manoeuvres as last time (Turn in the road, bay park and emergency stop) but a different route and test person. He was a large, very nice man who seemed quite mellow, yet I think if you did something seriously wrong, he'd go absolutely nuts...Odd combination...

So I can drive legally but won't be getting a car since I'll be back in university soon (ffs) and everything over in Leeds is in walking distance. Plus I don't have a job yet so wouldn't be able to fund it all.

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Holiday 2008

*XenonRay — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:15:11 PDT
Last week I was away in Cornwall, SW England for the year's family holiday. To sum up, we had six days out there, about half of which were affected by rain. Bleh, normally I wouldn't mind but unlike South Wales where I went last year, there's a lot less to do in bad weather.

Still we managed to get some good days in, including visting the Eden Project, Future World and some go-karts. Future World was cool in a cheesy way, and is home to the world's first satellite dish to receive transatlantic television in the 60's via the orbiting Telstar. It was pretty huge and we went on a slightly limited tour of the superstructure. Also there was a chance to ride on segways, which was incredibly fun! After some wobbly starts it really does feel very natural to control them, despite looking a bit silly.

I also saw the Lizard Peninsular Ophiolites. For the non-geologist, they are ancient oceanic crust that has been scraped off and isolated during plate movements. They are quite rare and significant, however I wasn't able to make anything of them besides some pillow lava here and there.

Finally there was some brief but fast go-karting on the last day. Another great activity but with the added "bonus" of absolutely killing my back the day after, and still today.

Also, I'm still designing papercrafts on the sly with my current secret project being this:
[link]

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Summer Art Lull and Papercrafting

*XenonRay — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:22:33 PDT
Things are heating up around here, and as the mercury in the proverbial thermometer climbs to moderate amounts in the UK, everyone goes either summer crazy or blabbing on about how extreme it is. Gotta laugh really...

But ahh being stuck at home should be a boost to drawing output but sadly it isn't. Apart from my comic, which is practically a universal constant, I can't commit to any pictures, or to start a pending request piece.

Oh well, to make up for this I've stumbled upon a new, quite nerdish hobby of making models out of paper (well card actually). There's an amazing amount out there and plenty of Nintendo ones too to keep me busy. I'm even dabbling in the arts of making my own template via ripping models and textures from an emulator. Snazzy, plus I have a potentially nice WIP model going on but have to test if it is buildable first! Sneak peek: [link]

Stay tuned!

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Summer II

*XenonRay — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:54:21 PDT
I got back from my field trip last week so now I'm finished until September. The only thing in the way is moving in to our new flat for next academic year. Though I use the term moving in loosely because I won't actually be living over there in summer.

So on the first day back from Scotland, fed up of walking up and down hills just to see if it is the same type of rock, I splashed out on a Wii with Smash Bros Brawl. Â£198 at Zaavi, though I wish I got the two game deal instead of Brawl and some accessories. Finally the game was released in the UK after dubious delays for many months. Really the only thing I dislike about it is that the Assist Trophy, Lyn, has a too deep voice and some retro game music tracks need to be turned off for their own good. Oh and Zero Suit Samus is far too distracting hehe. Apart from that I give it a hearty 9.5/10.

Anyone else around here have a Wii too? Just thinking in terms of friend codes etc for future...

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My current comic- updates weekly!

Finished (Almost)

*XenonRay — Sun, 25 May 2008 04:26:12 PDT
Woo, I'm back home from university after completing my first year already. So yes I'm free until September, but I have a 2 week field trip to remote NW Scotland to see through first. But that's not until the 16th of June so for the meantime I can crash around at home for a while. Also my parents have gone to Egypt for a week for my Dad's 50th birthday so I'm all alone apart from the cat, who keeps sitting on my bed next to me (aww) but is shedding fur for summer like mad.

Soon I'll get a Wii too, to whittle away the days and for next academic year when I'll be moving into a shared flat- so no more halls of residence for me. Which is good because despite Leodis Residences being modern and nice, and being in a marked quiet block, other people are...well...idiots. The person on the floor above has thunderfeet and takes an hour to go to bed always after I do, to name just one thing.

2000 pageviews as well! About time hehe, but I probably won't be doing a celebration pic like for my 1000 milestone. Quite lazy at the moment, plus need to work on my comic which has missed it's fri/sat deadline this week.

Summer

*XenonRay — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:03:26 PDT
In typical UK fashion, it's been grey and/or cool up until a week ago and then bang! Summer is here (though May is still technically spring) which means sunshine and whatnot, or heavy rain that disappears as quickly as it arrives.

My exams are starting on the 12th and I bought a textbook at short notice since the library ones are all taken out. Better get cramming.

I signed up to Ebay finally after spending hours over Easter looking at junk I don't need but would like to have. It probably isn't a good idea since I'll just spend more money, but it might be worthwhile if I can get a few rare or cheap things off there in years to come.

Oh yes and also, I can feel it in the air. Hayfever will arrive soon- it's inevitable (I wish they'd stop cutting the grass outside my room too). Probably in time for the exam weeks y'know. As always.

Techno Logy III

*XenonRay — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:46:56 PDT
PC specs, logins and Team Fortress 2 Here we go...

Ok so early last week me and my friends went into Leeds to hang about and stuff after our palaeontology () lecture. After spending a student's fortune on a nice pasty for lunch we went to Zavvi, formerly known as Virgin Megastores. Anyhoo to cut the story short I bought Supreme Commander and the Expansion in a box set for Â£10. Another Multikill!

But turns out it is a very demanding game and my PC sucks basically. Which surprised me, because I can run say HL2 and Oblivion to a high level. So even on low settings, zoomed right in I was getting feeble fps. Fair enough it requires a nice processor to enjoy to the full, but the game must be very inefficient or set up weird if it performs so bad when hardly anything is being rendered. So that's put to one side until I can upgrade because I respect that it is apparently a really good game.

Next topic is login systems. I have to log in to apply for student finance support like most people in the UK at university, and to cut this short too, I locked out my account because I entered my password wrong a few times. This would be ok if the backup procedure worked. Y'see to get a new password you have to enter an ART ID (nothing to do with art) but it rejects mine, given on a letter sent to me. And/Or if you want to check your ART ID is right you have to enter your password. Figures. The system also wants you to write your name etc in capitals but does not tell you this anywhere until you ring for support. Helpdesk: 1 Chris: 0. But anyway that didn't work either. So I've being putting off ringing them again to be polite but damn firm that things are still not working. To sum up, online systems are great but it annoys the hell outta me when they are set up in an over complicated way and have a lack of FAQ options to refer you elsewhere.

Now for something nice. I got Team Fortress 2 discounted on Steam to make up for SupCom's stubborness. $19.95 weekend deal, so for effectively Â£11.50 plus tax and 'import' (despite being virtual data goods ffs) it was well worth it. And woo my PC can run it. But I have to lower the settings a bit sadly to keep it smooth when action kicks in.

It is far more fun and lighthearted than say the abomination of CS:S or the style prejudices in my beloved HL2DM. It's my new addiction, right in time for exams. I like to play as the Pyro (toasty!) or Scout (boink!) mainly.

My Mini City!
Visit for Population: [link]
Visit for Industry: [link]
Visit for Transport: [link]

Field Trip and Subscription III

*XenonRay — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:50:28 PDT
Right ho, I'm back from my university trip to Pembrokeshire. Plenty of rocks to see and went a couple of locations we visited on our 2007 holiday.

To sum up, it had some good days out and some awful days out, stuck doing some vague task, half explained by our least favourite teacher in the Earth Science school. Well it kept me busy for a week, jotting down geological information whilst wearing a coat, high vis jacket and a blue hard hat, with compass-clinometer tied around my neck.

Related to the bad teacher, let's call him...err...Geoff...oops, we made a tally for the annoying things he did during a evening debrief. It was something like this:

Talking Crap: 30+
Being Rude: 10+
Introducing someone else: 2
Saying "Actually": 7
Saying "I'm a structural geologist": 4
Looking smug: 10+
Just reading the powerpoint: 10
Making things sound more extreme than they are: 5+
Interrupting someone: 5
Pronouncing Azimuth as "Azimooth": 1

We're really quite cruel on the sly.

Also I've now got a repeat subscription because well it isn't that much for 3 months and it has really spoiled me. I can't live without the 120 pictures or detailed stats.

My Mini City!
Visit for Population: [link]
Visit for Industry: [link]
Visit for Transport: [link]

Obligatory Interrogation

*XenonRay — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:51:55 PDT
Inspired after seeing it on 's journal. A bit spammy but I felt inclined to do something like this.

Your gender: Male.
Straight/Gay/Bi: Straight.
Single?: Yes
Birthdate: 30th August 1989.
Your age: 18.
Age you act: From 15 to 40. Variable.
Age you wish you were: 9 with not a care in the world.
Your height: 6ft.
Eye color: Green with brown in the middle.
Happy with it?: Yes! In the right light at least.
Hair color: Light Brown. Used to be bright blonde as a child.
Happy with it?: Yes.
Lefty/righty/ambidextrous: Right.
Your family: Mum and Dad (plus various aunts/uncles/grandparents/cousins).
Have any pets?: Cat and some fish.
What's your job?: If I wasn't a student I'd be unemployed.
Piercings?: Eww no.
Obsessions?: Zelda, my PC, Forlorn Horizon scenario, WH40k books, Big O, Cowboy Bebop.
Addictions?: PC games and Nintendo, Diet Coke, Flapjacks that I make.
Do you speak another language?: Enschuldigung Sie bitte, wo is der Bahnhof? Or something like that. Nicht gut...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deep Thoughts About Life and You in it
Do you live in the moment?: Plan ahead.
Do you consider yourself tolerant of others?: Yes in general but limits must and are made.
Do you have any secrets?: Hehe yes.
Do you hate yourself?: Sometimes. (Not emo)
Do you like your handwriting?: Yes, looks nice with a black fountain pen.
Do you have any bad habits?: Procrastinating, apathy, think the worst in people when in fact they are nice.
What is the compliment you get from most people?: Nice pictures,something to do with being smart.
What's your biggest fear?: Not achieving, not getting a good future.
Do you ever pretend to be someone else just to look cool?: Never.
Are you a loner?: A shameful loner but with a few ace friends.
If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Eventually. Just talk to me about Nintendo and I'll open up.
Are you a daredevil?: Very careful but devil-may-care about minor things.
Are you passive or agressive?: Passive too much. Bastards.
Do you have a journal?: Only on deviant art.
Do you think you are emotionally strong?: Like a block of granite XD.
Is there anything you regret doing/not doing in life? Not doing maths (zomg) or geography/biology at A-Level. Never making friends with certain awesome people.
Do you think life has been good so far?: Pretty dull this education lark.
What is the most important lesson you've learned from life?: q=mcâT, s=d/t, m=c/v, 4^0= 1 and 6*/6= syntax error.
What do you like the most about your body?: My eyes and hands.
Do you think you are good looking?: Maybe with better physique/skin/hair XD
Are you confident?: With friends yes. Around others, hell no.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do You...
Smoke? No. It is so cool in films/media but sucks in real life...
Do drugs?: Never
Read the newspaper?: The Independant (some arse in the Union Shop queue snorted at me for buying it. Dick.)
Pray?: Only to the God-Emperor of Mankind. Otherwise no. Science is thy master. Repent!
Go to church?: Not since primary school.
Talk to strangers?: Not if I can help it.
Sleep with stuffed animals?: Haha not for over a decade.
Take walks in the rain?: Only if I have to go out.
Talk to people even though you hate them?: Try not to but fate has it's silly ways.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Would or Have You Ever?
Liked your voice?: Once I purged my northern accent and boosted the ol' vocabulary.
Hurt yourself?: I spilled scalding rice pudding on myself twice. F***ing ouch!
Been out of the country?: Florida, Spanish Islands, Greece, Cyprus, France, Wales
Eaten something that made other people sick?: Curry. My mum hates the smell.
Been in love?: Eheh yeah...
Done drugs? Never.
Gone skinny dipping?: Meeeehhhhh not properly. But allllmost...
Had a medical emergency?: Once got hit in the head by a hockey stick but that's about it. Nothing serious.
Had surgery?: An extra adult tooth removed while still in gums as a child but thats more dental.
Ran away from home? No.
Played strip poker?: No but a man can dream...
Gotten beaten up?: Once many years ago when I was small.
Beaten someone up?: Hehe I suppose. Semi unintentionally angrified. Super Shin kick!!
Been picked on?: Briefl...

Techno Logy II

*XenonRay — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:44:24 PST
Half way through last week my graphics tablet stopped working properly. The cursor was all jittery even when my hand was still. The Wacom forums insisted it is likely to be electrical interference from the monitor or power supply. So not overly happy I gave up on drawing for a while. No problem, I'd get it sorted out over the easter holidays.

Then on saturday I was a full of a cold (and still am a bit) and on my weekly walk into Leeds city for food scavenging and recreation I decided to get one of the games I mentioned last time. So I was stood in GAME, sniffing, with mild fever thinking "Stalker or Supreme Commander? Stalker or Supreme Commander? Both Â£15...". In the end I got Stalker (after contaminating the Supreme Commander box with my germs) and waited a while as the shop keepers asked everyone about whether they want a member card (10% off for students I'm told) but in truth the reward points suck and frankly I buy more books than games recently.

Back home with some tea (probably) I played on Stalker. I was all good until I died. Fair enough. But then my monitor coughed and self destructed on itself. It got stuck in a cycle of turning itself off and on every 0.5 seconds- likely it melted it's power supply or something related. Doh, no PC for four nights (DS, drawing and flatmate with DVD player sorted that out). Luckily my dad got a replacement quick and had it delivered today since he was on a conference call to Huddersfield. I felt bad for him shelling out- but I do need a PC for work and he insisted he found a good offer. So he'll get the old one replaces by the warranty and use it as a (high quality) spare.

And two birds with one stone: The new monitor has fixed my tablet woes as well, so I suspect the 'interference' was my screen building up energy to fry itself.
(Also it's a widescreen which is interesting. I need a new wallpaper...)

My Mini City!
Visit for Population: [link]
Visit for Industry: [link] (prefer that you click the 1st one)

Techno Logy

*XenonRay — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 05:44:21 PST
This week I've been meddling in the art of DVD burning. Not just a simple file to disc, but actually putting it in a format so a DVD player will run it. Well thanks to a program referenced to me off my dad, I managed to do it!

But I fail to understand how a 230MB video file is suddenly blown up to 1.2GB in the process. Surely that says something about the coding efficiency of DVDs? It wasn't even a high quality file I think- just lengthly. Anyhoo, we'll see how things go in future, and hell, maybe I'll actually need to burn a DVD properly someday (this was just an experiment). The whole rendering and burning process takes forever though. Either that or my PC is a bit slow (moderately unlikely). It would be better just to use a blowtorch or something...

Also, my mum won an Ipod Nano in a raffle. How mad is that? So on my weekend home I played around with it, infecting it with my War of the Worlds tracks, and putting on her collection of U2 and Oasis.

Verdict? Hmm it's cool but not as well designed as Apple thinks. Partially because by default, it arrogantly does not identify itself as a storage device in My Computer, so no drag and drop transfers. Also unless you buy a mains adapter, it is bound to a PC to be recharged. Lame. So yes, cute and functional but not necessarily...useful 100% of the time. Still I'd rather Apple flog their MP3 players than churn out Macs or something, but that's another story.

I need a new game to play. Preferably an RTS or something absorbing. Considering Supreme Commander since it is cheap in the shops, or maybe Stalker for similar reasons. Recommendations?

My Mini City!
Visit for Population: [link]
Visit for Industry: [link] (prefer that you click the 1st one)

House Hunting

*XenonRay — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:22:15 PST
I feel quite annoyed and compelled to rant about the whole student housing thing. It is habit for around here at least that in the 2nd year, you move out of Uni accomodation into your own private house/flat with friends etc. The season in Leeds started on the 12th Jan and over half a month later things have got silly. Firstly we were told by the housing agency, Unipol that there is not a shortage of houses in Leeds, so no need to rush. Ok fair enough. What they do not mention is that there is a shortage of good houses. Again it's only student living so we're not assuming palatial high end things here but come on...frankly half of the areas where accomodation is prevalent are a dump. Headingley, Hyde Park, Woodhouse, Burley; all terraced wastelands up to several miles from campus in the extreme.

Sooo we have semi hastily waiting to sign up for a flat somewhere southwest of the University: [link]

What worries me is that we haven't seen much else available (or habitable) so we are ending up taking the safety option. Hmm the flat is 3 bedroom and actually fairly nice. It bugs me that on the Unipol website it is only rated 2 stars, so i can't help feel we are missing out on quality elsewhere(I'd rate it a 3 star actually). But alleged 4-5 star houses are located in dubious areas you wouldn't want to walk through at night. What's worse is that Unipol is terrible for actually saying whether or not a house has been taken.

Ok so we should have been vigilant in 2007 when housing ads first started to pop up. Trouble is exams are in early January, so me and the people I'm going to live with decided to wait a week or two until they were over. Doh. First thing we find is that good properties are gone and people are running round like headless chickens.

Next year we'll be racing into the Unipol office the minute the season begins...

Subscription II

*XenonRay — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:36:56 PST
I am forced to renew my subscription, simply because it has spoiled me over the past 3 months. Finally got my replacement debit card today, which is the only reason I didn't re-subscribe earlier.

On another note I also spotted Company of Heroes and Dawn of War in a box set for Â£10! Multikill!! Awesome value for money, so now I have a new RTS to master and a legit serial number for DoW. Since I originally installed my friend's version and patched up so no CD was needed, and put both expansions (WA was dubious, but DC is legit) over it.

Exams-wise, 1 down, 2 to go next week.

2007 Summary

*XenonRay — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 13:00:13 PST
As 2007 comes to a close and only 7-8 days until i go back to university, leaving me in a state of mopeyness, it is time to reflect on the year that was. This might be a long one...

So the first half of the year was my final terms in Winstanley college. I liked yet was always unnecessarily annoyed by that place. Everything was alright, average. We had our laughs in chemistry, most chemicals smell very nasty. The list of the worst offenders: Benzene (petrol with cheese), Chlorine (hygenic yet sinus mashing), Ammonia (sharp, eye watering..just ewww) and gaseous hydrogen chloride (agggh!! it burns!). The only thing we ever made that smelled nice was fruity ester compounds.

Other subjects were a bit boring (like this journal probably ) but I persevered and exams passed us by eventually. Then came the long summer, which due to British weather was unusually rainy, making a few days in our Wales holiday a bit soggy. Wales was good; lots of nice cliff and me being into geology and opting to do it at university was like "wow look at that fold!". Hehe I also learned that wet shale is like greased ice, wet shale with green algae is death to those who tread upon its gooey face.

For the rest of August and early September I never did much really apart from pass my Driving theory test but fail the main Driving part. Bleh. Haven't been at the wheel ever since. Should do really but I don't really need a car right now.

Ok then I started university over in Leeds, which is colder than over in Leigh. So yes my course was soul crushingly boring at first as they went over the basics of geology (using mars bars to observe folding ffs!"). It picked up but still, some sets of circumstances meant things could be better. At least in the final week, me and my course friends, Chris, Tom and Craig all just happened to find out that there is a bunch of "popular" people we all hate. Wow, it's nice to have something in common!

Ok now onto my favourite junk sampled this year:

Game of the Year: Twilight Princess (GC) consumed me from Christmas 2006 to early March. I was paranoid of finishing the glorious experience and really dragged it out, clocking 90 hours somehow. Runners up include Oblivion (finally finished my file in August), Dawn of War and Expansions and Medieval II: Total War (conquer the world before tea time).

Book of the Year: Err a close one but I'd say Traitor General by Dan Abnett. Ok so I bough a book meant to be half way through a series but wow, opened my eyes for WH40K action. I'm now starting from the beginning with First and Only, and Ghostmaker. Runner up: El Sombra- Mexican man takes down Ultimate Reich germans in a steampunk/alternate history setting. Britain rules supreme and Hitler lives on as a brain in a big machine. Crazy stuff. Also more abstract sci-fi from Dune.

Film of the Year: Err dunno. Forgot what I saw in early 2007. Oh! I know, I 'acquired' then later bought the Cowboy Bebop Movie. Awesome animated stuff. I don't admit to liking much anime *cough* but that is one of the best ones ever!

Christmas Holidays

*XenonRay — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:47:17 PST
No university until the 7th January, hurray. I have already has a week and a half off, not being very productive. Got some revision to do for exams and one piece of geophysics coursework to do.

Today me and two of my friends, Carl and Tom went to the cinema. Because of our lack of planning and Empire Cinema's lacklustre daytime screenings, we always end up watching something completely unintended.

The journey home in Carl's car consisted of me and Tom, giddy from the outing, shouting "Xenos sighted!", "Purge the beasts!" and "It's a trap!" whenever we saw some riff-raff outside. Carl doesn't know WH40k and related internet junk so he just sat and drove us back, slightly confused. There were also comments on how I Am Legend is somewhat lacking in correct grammar. No doubt we'll go and watch that before the holiday is up.

Creative Block

*XenonRay — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:50:26 PST
This past two weeks it seems like I have forgotten how to draw. A few ideas here and there but no skill or creative drive to do something with them.

Of course I'm still on my webcomic but I think I rush it too much story-wise.

We had an inspection of our kitchen last week, and failed for some reason because of some crumbs on the counters and floor. It apparently "was in a state of cleanliness well below acceptable standards." And yet I do not see a single beer bottle, piles of plates, burnt in food or anything. The inspectors are idiots if they think our kitchen is dirty. Compared to many student's shacks it is good. We have a re-inspection tomorrow; we cleaned up until our hands bled (or got wrinkly from water at least) and if they still think our standards are too low then they need professional help.

I can imagine they will storm in ala Half-Life 2:
"Attention residents, this flat is suspected of anti hygenic activities. Please assemble at your inspection positions. Failure to cooperate will result in permanent off world relocation."

On a lighter note, I finish for christmas on the 7th of December and go home on the 9th. Hurray, about time too!

November

*XenonRay — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:23:48 PST
Last weekend I went home to see my family, and during the process, managed to acquire lots of free junk (though I had to pay at Sainsbury's) and do the washing. It was a nice visit and a shame to be shipped back to Leeds again.

Ooh yes, today is the 5th of November aka Guy Fawkes night/Bonfire night, the main excuse in Britain to let loose with some fireworks or to set things on fire. So in the spirit of the occasion me and my flatmate and various friends of friends went to the Hyde Park bonfire and firework display. Twas fun but we ended up standing around in the cold for ages afterwards. (Legs...very stiff...)

Also I think I missed a tutorial session today, semi intentionally. I don't feel particularly bad about it as I heard it was a bit of a bore. I better crack on with my report for next week's session: "An Examination of the Possible Causes
Of the End-Permian Extinction".

Why is it that I get the most pageviews and faves for my oldest, crappest pencil fanart from 2006. My recent gallery is far better! Someone fave'd my midna sketch in scraps when there is a far superior version in the main gallery. Agggh stop it!

This Month

*XenonRay — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:55:34 PDT
Six weeks now spent at Leeds. Things have been up and down, from learning very little in some lectures (I'm looking at you structural geology and natural hazards), not because of lazyness but because I learned lots at A-Level and everyone else who didn't has to catch up...

I went into the big library finally, and even got some books out for a pending report I've yet to start. They have all kinds of obscure journals from 1930 and further back (saw one from 1898! Wow!). Most amusingly was the geophysics journal which had a funny advert on the back: "Are you still using an old heavy seismometer?".

I've been plodding along with my comic, issue 7 is in the works. I successfully made a delicious casserole on saturday, got some proper gravy mix, busted my budget on a DVD box set and lots of food (ingredients for baking ffs!) and consumed a dubious amount of cheap biscuits. But walking up the steep hill 2-3 times a day to get to University should sort that out.

Subscription

*XenonRay — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 05:07:57 PDT
Oddly enough due to family stances and my own habits, I'm not exactly strapped for cash as a student. I don't really spend much, in fact I log things into an excel spreadsheet and last week I only spent Â£34, Â£15 of which being Battlefield 2.

So for a laugh I've got 3 month's worth of subscription here. We'll see how it goes, perhaps I may renew it, I don't know... :-/

Anyhoo, I'm free until Monday so you know what this means. Laundry day! Exciting stuff.

Leeds, Stir Fry and Lecture Theatres

*XenonRay — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 12:11:17 PDT
Wow, in week 2 of life in Leeds university, and boy has it gone fast. Well to be fair the first week was just a mega doss, save for a few course meetings and a coach trip to Malham on Friday when it was a bit rainy. Turns out my 'outdoors' bag isn't very waterproof. Mostly I've been living on various stir fry dishes (bought some meat ), some pasta, potatoes and cheap fish fingers from Morrisons.

Leeds itself is a great city- walked in three times now. Found an awesome shop I can only compare to the comic book guy's store in the Simpsons. Even been out and about with my flatmate and her friends to a Japanese restaurant on Sunday night. Chopsticks are fiddly...

But now proper lectures/lessons have started, though I swear my timetable is more empty than it should be. I've far less on per day than back at college.

I've even been trying to get a new webcomic going but even though my new pics on here seem alright, I still suck and get bored when drawing repeated pictures on a smaller scale.
Website is here: [link] not much at the moment but stay tuned as I may eventually update it with something.

Leeds University

*XenonRay — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 12:33:05 PDT
I am over there now. Unloaded all my junk into my new room and after some PC configuration, a late lunch trip out and more PC troubleshooting I said goodbye to my parents.

Currently only one other person is in on our side of the corridor but she is a very friendly sort and helped me cook my first meal, a sort of pepper with black bean sauce stir fry with too much rice.

If I can keep that down me tonight I think I'll be fine.

Things don't start 'til monday so tomorrow I think I'll walk aimlessly around the campus and maybe buy some milk. The possibilities.

The Last Few Days (Edit)

*XenonRay — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 05:59:54 PDT
I go to Leeds on the 15th September which effectively alters my entire lifestyle I have had for the past 7 years. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. :-/

I did my bank thing on wednesday but had to go into town twice because I needed my passport for ID purposes, despite the fact the bank letter said it was not needed. They've been having problems ID wise when setting up student accounts apparently.

As for the driving test today. I failed. Bugger. [Other profanity]. I had 8 minor faults (passable) but got 1 major fault by apparently being too close/ too fast to parked cars and in narrow gaps. Graaah.

Ok well I've cleaned up my favourites slightly and am trying to get in a mindset where I will start to draw other things besides fanart, which though good for a laugh and googly eyed admiration of your latest favourite character, is not perhaps the best way to improve creativity. Point being, I will try to do more original work and when I do make some fanart then I'll damn well put some effort into it!

Birthday!

*XenonRay — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:08:39 PDT
It sure is. I am 18 now so if I was that way inclined I can now vote and/or get legally hammered. Hmm the possibilities.

I finally achieved my goal of getting a graphics tablet. Now I can attempt to mingle with the digital art bandwagon- just got to get used to the damn thing first! It's like forgetting how to draw overnight!
I also acquired a scanner (exciting!), a new pen and some student cookbooks (no beans every night for me!).

I joked with my 10 year old cousin that he should get me a plaque saying "Worlds best cousin" i.e me (unlikely) and low and behold they got a custom chocolate one made in Thorntons! Be careful what you wish for! o_0

Some early August pencil pics have been scanned and uploaded and what's more only one of them is fanart. Go me!

Exam Results and Gallery Purge

*XenonRay — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 05:53:41 PDT
The Australian vistors who stayed at our house were very nice people and we all had a good time going out wherever.

But yes. Today in the UK is A-Level results day. I got a convenient lift in to College and luckily spotted one of my friends walking in. After plucking up some courage we got our result papers.
Chemistry- A
Geology- A
Media- A
Computing- B
General Studies- B

Unfortunately I missed the group photo for the people who got 3 A's or more because I didn't read the attached letter on the results form. Bah I always accidentally miss out on things like that...

I've also purged my gallery of some deviations I uploaded in the early days to fill up space. Most were old 2004-2005 pieces. Some have been downgraded to scraps, while others are now erased from existence. So now it is even more empty but don't worry- I have 3 pictures in reserve that I will upload as soon as I can get my hands on a scanner.

In Months to Come

*XenonRay — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 14:32:50 PDT
Things will be getting a bit busy in August and September for me.

In chronological order, first we'll be having some relatives over from Australia. I have never met them, I don't even know their names or what they look like but apparently my Mum sends and receives letters/emails with them. So yeah, forgive me if I just hang in the background. Then said Aussie relatives and us will be going to a family reunion, which sounds horribly cliched. Y'see my immediate family are very close and get on great but a few great uncles/aunts away I have no idea who exists over there. So again, I know nothing of people I am related in some way to.

Next up is A-Level exam results day, which is self explanatory.

Then we have my birthday on the 30th! Ta-da! Ahem, so yep I intend to get a graphics tablet and some other useful equipment of sorts e.g. my own digital camera. Recommendations?

In September things step up a gear, pun intended because I have booked my driving test for the 13th which hopefully won't be too unlucky for some, i.e. me. This is important because if I don't pass now 1st time I have botched up 6-7 months of learning because of the next item.

The big 'un. University. On the 17th I'm of for an introductory session or something and the (feels slightly ill) freshers week. This is a bit daunting; I don't know whether to look forward to it or not....Oh yeah it's Leeds university- 4 year Geoscience course I'm doing...for...some...reason...buh...

Hurray!

*XenonRay — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 03:41:30 PDT
Today I passed my driving theory test. I got a very good 34/35 on the questions and a moderately good but still passable 56/75 on the hazard perception video clips. It involved me getting up the earliest time since I was still in college (6:40AM o_0) and getting a lift into Bolton from my Dad, who very conveniently works for the Evil Imperium of Virgin Media(TM) which is located on the same office site as the test centre!

Glad I finally got it out of the way, since I've been putting it off for (counts fingers) 6 months or more. I wasn't feeling very well during the test, due to something or other plus lack of sleep the night before. Though I somehow wasn't mega tired and pulled through ok. Graah!!

Afterwards I went shopping in town and spend a whopping Â£35 on a book, DoW Dark Crusade and a DVD for once. Then also very conveniently my Mum went shopping briefly and we met up and went home a while later.

Back in Business

*XenonRay — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:20:59 PDT
And thus ends my week long break in Wales. We stayed in a big cottage near Freshwater East (near Pembroke) for some fun in the um...rain.

Summary:
20th: Set off from the North West down to Wales. Arrive at 4pm ish and pop down to Freshwater East beach.
21st: Spent the drizzly morning in Pembroke town, visiting the castle. Later we went to Amroth for another beach walk. I fell over on wet rocks. Wet shale = greased ice. Wet shale with green algae/seaweed = deathtrap.
22nd: Went to Manorbier castle (spelling?). Warmer and me and my dad went on the cliff walk and spied on the army launching a remote plane. Later went to Amroth and played cricket on the beach until we got rained off.
23rd: Went...somewhere in the morning. I forget. Tenby maybe? Rain cleared up and we went to Carew castle and mill later on.
24th: Longer trip to Broadhaven north beach. Very sunny.
25th: Went to see a rock arch and hidden chapel in cliffs, followed by a visit to Broadhaven south beach and trail. Sunny! More cricket!
26th: Rainy! Went to Avondale glassmakers, Pemberton chocolate factory, Amroth again and Heatherton where I did some archery, go-karts and air pistol shooting.
27th: Picked up sandwiches and headed home.

Phew. I have forgotten how to type. Ok well I'm back home but mustn't be too lazy as I have my driving theory test on the 2nd of August.

On Holiday

*XenonRay — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:50:14 PDT
That's right, I am off to South Wales from the 20th-27th of July for a week of no PC and probably rain, though the weather is nice here at the moment.

For the past 3 years in a row we've been to Naples and the Keys in Florida, away from touristy Orlando. But this not surprisingly is expensive, has increasingly awkward US security procedures for us visiting xenos and plus we need to save money as I'm off to Leeds university in September so I'll need to uh...sponge some funds from back home most likely. Wales it is for a comparitively cheaper week in a cottage somewhere in Pembroke.

See you in a week!
So From friday I won't be able to reply to comments/faves...
duh...

Today

*XenonRay — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:11:53 PDT
I visited my deviantArt page using my mobile phone. It was fun for a minute or so, cost me 5p though. Hmm I don't really see the point of internet on phones- slow, tiny screen and (probably) costly. Use a PC instead...
For a laugh I also visited my now discontinued webcomic C17TV, but the comic wouldn't even show so that was a waste of time. o_0

A few days ago I drew a picture of a bunch of "Western Empire" soldiers from my long running imaginary scenario but have no way to scan it now I'm done with college.

Also, summer holidays and stuff! Woot woot...err...Ah who am I kidding, I'm bored as hell...and hungry. Better put the oven on. (Runs to kitchen)

Only a week until I go on holiday to Pembrokeshire for a while. Must...hold..on...

Oh yeah, not done this for a while:
Clubs:

Nice People:

Update (Edit)

*XenonRay — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 04:08:11 PDT
Right ho, just uploaded yet more fanart in the form of "Sense of Foreboding". Check it out if you must.

Also art wise I think I'm almost on to something...As obvious as it seems I figured out that by adding a reason/story/emotions into a picture makes it much better than say my older 'character sheet' style pics. As much as I hate them, backgrounds help too. As well as a glob of perspective here and there.

College wise, I have finished and came in today to get a form signed. I did but when handing it in a student reception I was reminded I needed to pay Â£2 to dispatch the exam certificates. Oh crap. I never carry much money on me at all. The result was a day in the almost empty library draining my creative juices into a new picture. (Just as planned)

Sooo I'll have to pay on monday despite the deadline being today.

EDIT: And I did. College deadlines always seem flexible. I have a "Class of 2007" poster with tiny pictures of everyone that was taken to use for student ID cards at the beginning of 2005. Trouble is I can't find my picture. I'm stuck here for another hour and have no inspiration/art libido to draw another nice picture.

And if all goes to plan I will have this [link] at the end of the day to replace my broken graphics card.

End of an Era

*XenonRay — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:14:54 PDT
My last two chemistry A-level exams were today and I think I did good, because (no one who does not do the subject will agree) at this level it is fairly easy to be honest. Except I got stuck on two very simple maths question, I forgot how to re-arrange a basic equation and that in electrode potential equations you can make the reaction go backwards. Simple eh? Err...maybe...

So looking at the bigger picture, I have finished college now though I have to come in again to get some forms signed. I would have done it all today but my media teacher was in a meeting...

So I am a freeman until September when I go to Leeds university. Aims over this stereotypically grey British Summer: Pass my driving test, draw some pictures, get a graphics tablet and maybe a job.

Unfortunately no college means no scanner. Oops, I didn't think that one out...

Exams

*XenonRay — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 06:42:43 PDT
Oh noes, my summer exams start next week which means revision time gets a higher priority. On the plus side I have finished college now and only have to come in on the days I have an exam and on the A-Level results day sometime in August.

Actually one downside of staying at home all week is the fact I have no access to a scanner So on monday when I go in for my geology exam I'll scan and upload some stuff here. Currently got 2 pictures waiting- both WH40K related after I was inspired by playing DoW Winter Assault which I uh...'aquired' recently.

EDIT: Right there we go, scanned, edited and uploaded. Geology exam today wasn't too bad and the maps seem to get simpler every year.

Also is it me or is the search actually showing results correctly by newness but not by popularity and has greatly reduced the amount of results that turn up?

Hayfever is a pain...

Clubs:

Nice People:

Update

*XenonRay — Tue, 01 May 2007 14:54:22 PDT
I uploaded a new picture a short while ago: "Descent into Darkness", bit of a gloomy picture of Dark Link from Zelda.
EDIT: Oh and also another Midna true form picture: "Am I so beautiful?" which for once I like how it turned out. Only has 3 page views so far though ...I swear the upload system is a bit broke and doesn't list new content properly until a month or so later...

So I guess I am a bit of a Zelda junkie, churning out primarily fanart these day. Err yes...

As for other news, woo, my geology and computing coursework is out of the way. More time to do...nothing...in particular but yeah, those projects were a pain. Of course only 25 days till summer exams start but for now a brief respite. (*Yawn* time for bed...)

Clubs:

Nice People:

New Art

*XenonRay — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:08:54 PDT
You know the saying about buses? "You wait ages and then three come at once" Well I guess my drawings are like that too, during the Easter holidays I churned out three pictures: 'Midna', 'Ooccoo and Son' and 'Knight' but had to wait until I was back at college before I could scan them in. Some photoshopping later and there we go, uploaded. Enjoy!

Clubs I'm in:

Easter

*XenonRay — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 13:01:17 PDT
Well, April already. Where has the year gone? Since it is currently the easter holidays I have got some pictures ready for scanning and uploading, more Twilight Princess characters on my new paper pad.

I also have some chemistry test papers and loads of computing write up to do. The good news is that media coursework is virtually done and dusted and geology 1st drafts have been handed in for checking so I don't have to worry 'bout them for a while.

I had a nice day trip out today to Ingleton, somewhere in Yorkshire. It was good weather and an enjoyable walk. Some personal issues are lingering in the back of my mind but for the moment I am ok.

Oh yes I nearly forgot, I'm part of this club now ^^

Scraps

*XenonRay — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 11:30:50 PDT
Since I have run out of good paper I did a few doodles on my lined 200 page pad. 99p at ASDA. Buy now!

Anyway, I uploaded a whopping 2 scraps, one from a while ago, another from some quality drawing time I squeezed in now that college work slightly eased off. I aim to get some new paper and pens/pencils soonish. The ultimate goal would be to get a graphics tablet- perhaps for my birthday in August. Any recommendations?

March

*XenonRay — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 09:12:15 PST
Well, it is March already and I've got lots of college work to be getting on with. Deadlines here and there and a constant nagging feeling about whether I should do something useful in my free time.

I don't plan on uploading anything any time soon due to lazyness and a creative block, plus I filled in my good drawing pad last week.