To coin a phrase - abandonment anxiety...

... is what people with mental health problems often have regarding their care in the community.

Miniatures

For the first time in years I have started to paint miniatures for RPGs. This time it is the Judge Dredd figures by Mongoose Publishing.

Relaxation

Have taken this weekend off from doing C++ stuff.

Yesterday was all 3 Jurassic Park films.

Been listening to BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge 2013 today.

Luxury :)

When I was a teenage coder, for English Literature I was told to read the classics... so I spent 5 weeks worth of pocket money on "The C Programming Language" by K&R.

Experience is a harsh mistress

This month's lesson is...

Act in haste, repent at leisure.

Reality Poisoning.

Since I was a teenager. I suffered from Reality Poisoning which I escaped by playing Dungeons & Dragons (and, later on, Mongoose Traveller).

I was having a Reality Poisoning spell over the weekend when I realised it was similar to what other people call Depression.

Neurocomic by Dr M. Farinella and Dr H. Ros

This is a graphic novel about the mind and the brain. It's something that I've been studying on Wikipedia for some time.

It's brief and easy to read. It may take concerted effort to remember the key parts - however, I think the effort involved is worth it.

Cinema and Mental Health

I went to see Blue Jasmine recently. It was a good film with a real life kind of ending. Cate Blanchett was excellent as Jasmine. We get to see the side effects of a mental health problem but it's not mentioned in the film's dialogue - but Jasmine does take a lot of pills.

Reasons why Sheldon is not like me.

1. Sheldon plays MMORPGs (World of Warcraft) online. I run a RPG (Traveller) IRL (In Real Life).
2. Sheldon has a Doctorate in Physics. I have a Degree in I.T (Information Technology).
3. Sheldon writes Java applets. I am a C++ programmer migrating from Windows to Linux.
4. Sheldon reads Marvell Comics. I read Sandman graphics novels.
5. Sheldon watches science fiction written by amateurs. I read science fiction written by gifted authors.
6. Sheldon says Bazinga. I say Woot Woot.
7. Sheldon endlessly promotes his high intelligence. I endlessly promote FLOSS (free) software especially Linux.

Reasons why Sheldon is like me.

1. We've both got OCD.
2. We're both highly susceptible to stimulants.

LGBT friendly.

It seems that prejudice against the LGBT people is still all too common. From my own limited experience of hate crime – as a schizophrenic – I have decided to delare myself as LGBT friendly.

Been neglecting my C++ studies doing householder stuff and basic systems administration.

Almost ran out of space on my main memory stick (16GB) so I ordered a 32GB stick from Amazon UK for just over £13. In the late 1980's, a Miracle Systems 40MB hard disc for the Sinclair QL costed £450. According to my calculations, my new memory stick was equivalent to just under 820 Miracle System's hard discs costing nearly £370,000.

Am back on the C++ trail.

Been a bit under the weather recently. Don't know what I would do without music to ward off the voices.

My C++ studies are making progress.

Been helping Richard C, tracking down a problem with his PC, getting a replacement monitor from PC World and setting it all up again. The instruction booklet was in Greek but fortunately there was a big diagram to follow.

R.I.P. Mary

I've just found out that Mary McCulloch, from Libris, has passed away.

Condolences to all she left behind.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) occurs when your sub-conscious and consciousness have a row and stop talking to each other.

R.I.P. Dad

Dad passed away a year ago. We all miss him.

spirituality is concerned with the mysteries of the soul.

science is concerned with the mysteries of the cosmos.

Great new book!

My copy of "The C++ Programming Language (4th Edition)" arrived today!

Fantastic!

My brain is a car and I am learning to become a rally driver.

accu-study-tcpppl has gone live! Now waiting for my copy to arrive. In the meantime we're studying some draft chapters.

Once a week, over a number of weeks I've been running a Traveller adventure. The players found themselves on a space liner that crashed out of hyperspace and onto a collision course with the atmosphere of a gas giant. It completed this week and I'm chilling out before getting ready for the next session.