Silhouetted on the sunrise

[vin_petrol]

So I had the 'malaise' for several days. Late Wednesday night through to Sunday morning, really. No real specific symptoms, just a complete lack of energy. Fortunately, I had no massively significant events planned, so spending lots of time asleep was no real problem. I did go to a Alison Leech's birthday barbecue in Otley on Saturday night, where I ate some food, and then snuck off upstairs to find a bed to sleep on till it was time to go home. I ended up really just being there to drive Trash home, after she had consumed too much ethanol to be a lawful driver.

By Sunday I was feeling better, so Trash and I made a key lime pie for the GP watching session. gothgrr cooked a huge heap of lovely nachos covered in cheese and olives and salsa and stuff. I believe cyberspice contributed some lovely avocado dip. During a mass-insult session mistressmalaise said that I "was the default setting for everybody's scorn and sarcasm." Bah! Anyway, the race was reasonably interesting. As usual, Ferraris/Schumaker won, but Sato was fun to watch in his lovely Honda, doing Banzai Attack Battalion style racing. I owe Derek 50p 'cos I did bet that Kimi would not finish the race, and he did. Oh, and for the record, Button pulled into the pits due to a *gearbox* failure, not engine.

I watched the second half of the Portugal vs Spain match, and then went to bed to get lots of sleep, as I was up at 02:30 (really) to meet gothgrr to go and watch the solstice sunrise. We went up to the top of Otley Cheven, and met mistressmalaise, cyberspice and Wesley up there. It turned out to be a great place to watch the sunrise from. The sun rose at 04:32, although it took a few minutes to creep above a cloud bank. There are some pictures. If I'm in them, then gothgrr took them. Thanks to her for driving me that early in the morning, and for providing most welcome hot coffee.

I got to work for 09:00, and I'm feeling remarkably well!

Comments

[steer.livejournal.com]

I suspect that the gearbox is also built by Honda -- though I may be wrong.

[vin_petrol]

I suspect that the gearbox is also built by Honda -- though I may be wrong.

Aye, this is true. I'm just being pedantic and pointing out that it wasn't an angine actually *exploding* or anything this time round :-)

[foxy76.livejournal.com]

Pictures are very cool...

[vin_petrol]

They have come out well, especially for such an ickle little camera. I think some of them make us look like an Industrial band posing for our album cover ("Achtung! Panzer!")

[sarcaustik.livejournal.com]

So I had the 'malaise' for several days.

In your dreams, sunshine! ;-p

Good pictures. :-)

[vin_petrol]

In your dreams, sunshine! ;-p

Regularly, and very sticky they are too! :-P

[sarcaustik.livejournal.com]

TMI!

[cyberspice.livejournal.com]

We should get some band t-shirts made. Who cares that we don't exist. I'd quite happily wear an "Achtung Panzer" shirt.

[vin_petrol]

I'd quite happily wear an "Achtung Panzer" shirt.

Hmmmm. I can see this happening... All I need is a really good image...

So which is your favourite German tank of WWII? I'm very partial to the PzKpfw V Panther myself. I like it's sloping sides. The Tiger is too much the lumbering beastie next to the Panther's sleek lines.

[blue-condition.livejournal.com]

How can anything beat the Jagdpanther for sheer elegance? ;)

[vin_petrol]

How can anything beat the Jagdpanther for sheer elegance? ;)

*gasp* you're sooooo right! That BEAUTIFUL slope of front armour and the classic 88mm gun... Hmmm. I shall have to find a good image. To google!

[everild.livejournal.com]

How fab! Let me know next time you're doing something similar - I'd love to come along. Sadly I've only deliberately got up once to watch the sunrise (as opposed to watching it by default because I'm still up!) but given that I was on a boat going across the mediterranean at the time it was pretty sensational ;-)

[vin_petrol]

Let me know next time you're doing something similar - I'd love to come along.

Date for your diary then: August 12th is the Perseids meteor shower maximum. August nights are nice for observing (warm) so I'll do a trip around then *if* the skies are clear.

I also watched the sunrise on August 22nd 1985, 500 years to the day after another significant date.

[cyberspice.livejournal.com]

Gah! I wont be in the country for that one. Having said that I will be in tenerife so I could always go up the mountain and have a bloody good view up there.

[sarcaustik.livejournal.com]

500 years after the world watched the sun set over the rightful royal line!

Count me in for the Perseids - perhaps Brimham Rocks would be a good location?

[vin_petrol]

perhaps Brimham Rocks would be a good location?

Perseids is easy. We just want somewhere dark, easy to get to, and preferably somewhere you can lie down (really). Perseid spotting is best done reclining. I've not yet been to Brimham Rocks, so I can't say.

[sarcaustik.livejournal.com]

Brimham Rocks would be ideal. I can't really describe it but there are lots of big rocks on which it is possible to recline.

[vin_petrol]

Excellent... <checks Multimap> ah, I see where they are. I shall have to take a motorbike ride up there one day to recce the place.

[cyberspice.livejournal.com]

I forgot to say, that key lime pie was absolutely wonderful. I think Vince is now officially the yummy pudding maker for these events.

[foxy76.livejournal.com]

...although he does seem perplexingly unable to cut a cake into the requisite number of slices...

:-)

[vin_petrol]

...although he does seem perplexingly unable to cut a cake into the requisite number of slices...

Bah! You got me there! What's worse is I actually counted the number of people there on Sunday ... but forgot to count myself! I was clearly having a "blonde moment" :-)

[vin_petrol]

I think Vince is now officially the yummy pudding maker for these events.

Trash deserves some of the credit too. It's turning into a weekly event we quite look forward to: the making of the astonishing dessert. There's no significant event to make one for next week... Might just make one anyway and take it into work and feed the programmers there :-)

[sarcaustik.livejournal.com]

Please may we have the recipe? You never know, you might be able to salvage your reputation from 'Vin, lightning conductor for insults' to 'Vin, dessert chef extraordinaire' ;-)

[vin_petrol]

gothgrr sent me this URL:

http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blfruit28.htm

although that's all in American 'cups'. I made translation notes on my printout so I'll post that at some point.

[blue-condition.livejournal.com]

re this image, when's the album coming out? ;)

[vin_petrol]

when's the album coming out? ;)

Ah yes, definitely the cover for the first album by Achtung, Panzer!, entitled Replicant Cryonauts and the Solstice Angels.

[cyberspice.livejournal.com]

What's the single from the album going to be called? "Polish your gun!".

[vin_petrol]

"Polish your gun!"

Ooooh, me like that! Maybe Polish your Gauss Rifle or Polish your 88mm though...

[blue-condition.livejournal.com]

> Achtung, Panzer!

Don't take the title of General Guderian's memoirs in vain ;)

[kissmeforlonger.livejournal.com]

Pictures turned out well :-)

[vin_petrol]

They did indeed. I see you weren't joking when you said you had taken a picture of the sun between my legs! :-)

[kissmeforlonger.livejournal.com]

It works, though, doesn't it? Although I like this one better.

[vin_petrol]

Do you remember The Tomorrow People TV series from the 70s? The opening credits for that show features some quite evocative images, some of silhouettes or shadowy figures. One was of a small group of people silhouetted against the swirl of a galaxy. These pictures remind me of that. In fact...

<meddles with Photoshop>

Oooh, now I think this is a lovely effect. I might have to do some more of these...