For ages I've had two stories I've been meaning to dig up and post. And rather than let July not appear at all on my list of all fic I decided to polish them up and post them.

So, there's the second (or third, I can't remember) LOTR fic I started: Last Alliance which is Haldir/Isildur. It came from the random pairing generator and that was the first pairing in which the two people were alive at the same time. So I wrote it. And then got to v14 in edits. And then it's sat around on my hard drive for three and a half years. So now I've posted it to HASA.

The other one is the first Stargate Atlantis story I wrote, albeit a crossover with Stargate: Five Relationships Jack O’Neill and John Sheppard Could Have Had. It represented my OTPs at the time: John/Teyla, John/Elizabeth, John/Rodney, Jack/Daniel and Sam/Jack. It was only afterwards that they were all trumped by Jack/Elizabeth. And I'm also quite partial to quite a lot of other pairings - I think I once found one pairing in Atlantis I didn't ship, but now I can't remember what it is. But this fic I even managed to post to Wraithbait. I did get an account to post fic there after all. The rest of my Atlantis fics I'll put up there too, but not all at once.

I was unimpressed to find that Scrabulous on Facebook has been taken away for US and Canadian users. It was even in my BBC News email, which only gives the three top stories in each category. There is a Scrabble application on there, but there are separate ones for North America and the rest of the world. Although I don't know what's to stop anyone from installing both, I haven't tried.

However, it turns out this isn't a problem because it turns out Scrabulous has the same application on their website that not only works all over the world but also emails you when it's your move. Which is a big improvement. So anyone that wants to play with me over there, use my gmail address and I'm up for a game. Let's see if this version gives me consonants even when I'm winning.

Recently I found out what the use of Facebook was - it's the status changes that tell you what people are up to. Like blog posts, but in one sentence. The trouble is, when I go to the 'home' page I can see some status updates but they're buried in among the friend adding and application adding that goes on constantly.

However, it turns out there's an RSS Feed that just gives you your friends' status updates. So now I have that instead of the notifications RSS Feed - because that just told me when someone else had started a Scrabulous game with me, or, really unhelpfully, when I'd started a game with someone else (do they think I didn't notice I did that?).

So what Facebook really need to do now is sort themselves out with RSS Feeds or something to tell you when there are new posts in your groups - just like every other forum out there!

After dinner (and making flapjacks) I sat down and wrote the first draft of my Sarah & Harry ficathon story (which is due three weeks yesterday). There's something to be said for working out the plot in advance and writing it down (especially handy since I had forgotten some of it). And I think writing prompts helped me to get the plot down too.

I just need to go back and add in description, expand the two paragraphs that ought to be a scene and the 101 other things that need revising. But I feel more like I might actually finish in time now!

I haven't posted for so long I have such a big update. With headings. Read more...

I went to see Prince Caspian last night and it was really good. I really want Peter's sword, which I think I thought when I saw The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. I've been working on getting the books in the same version my sister had when we were kids, because I remember so little about the series.

The only thing was I spent a lot of time feeling sorry for Peter because he was having to make all these really hard decisions, just because he was the eldest. Possibly this has something to do with me being the eldest and possibly it has something to do with my mood not really having improved at all.

Today I had the day off and I'm not going back to work till Wednesday. So I don't have to worry about the project that loses me the will to live on a daily basis. When I eventually managed to wake myself up I spring cleaned the kitchen. It took two hours and I didn't half ache afterwards (and sweating in rubber gloves really isn't pleasant) but it looks so much better now. I will definitely be moving the microwave and cleaning under and behind it more often. It's amazing how little stuff I actually got rid of, yet how much more space I have. Not that I'm complaining. I did manage to fill my recycling box with carrier bags, though. They must have been breeding.

Tomorrow I'm off to a windmill in Somerset for the weekend with some people from uni, which I am looking forward to. Then I'm coming back to do more spring cleaning and see if I can get it done before my parents come to visit (then I might have space to put the router).

I've started reading my Canadian guidebook, so I can work out roughly where I'm going to go and when. And basically I'm trying to fit in a lot in two and a half weeks (between 18th October and 3rd November), not helped by the train from Halifax to Quebec not going on the day when it would be most convenient.

So, to help me plan:
a) What is there to do in these places that people would recommend?
b) Does anyone want to meet up in any of them? (the trouble I always have going away is what to do in the evenings)

The plan is to start off with in Halifax, so that part's sorted. From there I'm thinking of going to Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. I fly out from the latter, so I definitely have to go there!

The only thing I know I'm going to do is Niagara Falls. Apart from that, going to Canada/US/Australia is always a problem because the main thing I do on holidays is castles. And other old things. So apart from those, I'd like to do stuff that'll tell me the history of the country, go up tall things. I don't really know beyond that.

I have finally managed to read through all the TARDIS Big Bang stories and have a list of recs. I also liked all the art and vids, and commenting on art was a new thing for me because I never usually look at any of it. In order of author: Read more...

I am determined to read all the TARDIS Big Bang stories, despite the rampant Americanisms in many of them, but there was one I read this morning which really made me laugh. I don't know that I could describe it as an Americanism, but it was certainly funny.

I once saw a story describe Mickey as African-American which remains the worst Americanism I've ever read (I mean, how can you not notice that you're describing someone British as American?), but this looks a lot like someone trying to transcribe that into British English and failing completely, when Owen describes Martha as Afro-European. Admittedly, the phrase is in Wikipedia but that doesn't make it any less nonsensical and it certainly isn't something Owen would say.

Although now I'm wondering how you could describe me using the same phrasing. Euro-European perhaps?

The second worst Americanism I've seen was when the Torchwood team drove down a highway in Cardiff.

I'm so annoyed at Lovefilm being a) shite and b) taking over everywhere, including Amazon.

Before I decided Amazon were the best for DVD rentals I tried out a few free trials. Which I can't do again (despite having more than one email address, moving house and changing credit cards) because Lovefilm have taken over all of them and the ones it hasn't got to it's just a matter of time.

What I liked about Amazon was:

• You can put all the DVDs on a numbered list so you can decide exactly what order to have them
• It tells you if you aren't going to get them for a while
• You get 10% off DVDs you buy

Now I get 5% off DVDs for two years. Whoopee. And Lovefilm does actually tell you if you're not going to get DVDs for a while, it just took me ages to find it and you do need a magnifying glass.

What really annoys me is when it all moved over they explained the system of rating everything High, Medium or Low priority. According to the FAQ this is better. Given that this means that they'll send you a random title from your High list, or if none of them are available a random title from your Medium list, or if none of them are available a random title from your Low list. Whereas Amazon just worked down the list in order. I'm finding it really hard to work out exactly how that's better because as far as I can tell it's worse in every way.

The first I knew that Amazon had actually moved over was I got an email from Lovefilm to say I only had 8 titles on my list. Which was a bit of a worry because I had about 50 when it was at Amazon. It turns out that it counts box sets as one title and will only send them to you in order whether you want them to or not. Which I wouldn't mind if they counted as one title in my monthly quota but that don't. So why count them as that way on the list?

What also didn't help to change my list from 50 to 8 was that they lost some titles on the way. I know they lost the one that was number 2 on my list, I don't remember what else was on there and now isn't. But, I had Sapphire and Steel Assignment 1 at the top of my list for ages and I finally got it just before they changed over. The rest of S&S was available, I just wanted to see the first one first. Which it now turns out was a stupid thing to do because Lovefilm refuse to admit they have the rest.

So, yeah, I'm not a happy bunny.

There was a point tonight when I turned left at a set of crossroads, having congratulated myself for timing it so I didn't have to stop for the lights, and then the car stalled. That was the point where I decided I need a new car.

Mine's nineteen next month and I keep telling people that there's nothing wrong with it, except what I, the people who broke into it, and the pheasant did to it. Except when the petrol hose sprang a leak.

It would be nice to have a car that starts immediately when I turn the key and has pedals I can reach. Everything else is optional except I'd really like to not have a fifth gear, except I don't think you get a choice on that. Although I'd quite like power steering or a less heavy wheel because I don't think it's doing much for my right wrist.

Except the car doesn't like the rain. In normal dry conditions there's a certain speed you can lift the clutch up after you've stopped and beyond that it'll stall. In the wet it'll stall a when you do it a lot slower. So I'd worked that much out and thought I'd be fine tonight. I already knew that if you go along in first gear without a foot on the gas or clutch it's not happy, but that's only really applicable in queues. Tonight I turned at the crossroads at a speed that was quite slow for second but would have been fine in the dry. Not in the wet.

Since I'm taxing it this month and MOTing it next month that's what I'll be saving up for for next year. Maybe I'll hate driving a bit less with a car that goes better, you never know. I won't hold my breath though.

Well, wow. That was the best part of five hours spent on the edge of my seat. Or seven hours including rain breaks. I don't think I've ever seen anything as exciting as the Mens Singles Final, including all tennis and everything else (yes, including last night's Doctor Who - in the latter you always knew the good guys would win in the end). Read more...

Except lots of Wimbledon excitement after the Mixed Doubles tomorrow. In the meantime, I don't care who wins out of Federer and Nadal as long as it's a really good, close match. All the finals so far have been good (including the girls singles finals, who would have thought I'd have been watching that!).

Whereas last week's Doctor Who couldn't live up to the Wimbledon excitement, this week's did quite well (mind you, that could have had something to do with Virginia Wade, who didn't shut up even when I shouted at the TV). But, to tonight's Doctor Who, with SPOILERS:
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...but Virginia Wade is commentating and she talks rubbish in an annoying posh accent, so I'll have to continually mute the TV. And my neighbours never went out today and have currently decided I need to hear what they're watching, which is boring.

It's almost enough to make me watch Doctor Who.

Just a reminder that the sign-ups for the Sarah & Harry ficathon close tomorrow - and by tomorrow I mean once I get up and look at my emails on Sunday it'll be closed, so that'll be 10am GMT ish.

(There will be Wimbledon squeeing and photos soon, but I'm just distracted by the moment of the 9+ hours of tennis a day still going on.)