Opportunity Mocks

Sadly I Missed It
Yesterday your humble scribe had an unparalleled chance to throw metaphorical dirt at the hideous grinning maw of First Bus, and failed to take advantage.
     "Why, whatever could this insult be?" I hear you query.  "Surely you have flung every imaginable insult at them over the past 2 1/2 years?"
     Well, yes, but that was when they were actually offering a service.  Christmas Day is the only day that you can guarantee First Bus's service will not let you down, as none of their buses actually run on this day.
     I know, I know, a once-in-365-chances and Conrad missed it.
     Oh well.
     Today, of course, they have a splendid excuse, as the centre of Rochdale, which includes Rochdale Bus Station, is under water, the River Roch having burst it's banks.

No. 1 Riverside, Bus station would be to the right of here

     Thankfully The Metro is not being produced today, as it would have turned into a Real Newspaper with vistas of doom and damp, which we can do without.

Bells And Trumpets OR Popular In Poland
Thank you to everyone who pitched in and read the blog yesterday.  111 hits, the most ever.  Not sure exactly what got everyone interested, perhaps the lack of atom-bombing the Moon means parents allow their sensitive children to view BOOJUM!
     Since Conrad is convinced that everyone out there positively thirsts to see blog stats, here is proof:

The darker the green, the more folks like BOOJUM!

     Thank you to the Poles who piled in and perused, and yes, BOOJUM! is invaluable for teaching sensitive Polish children some of the more obscure words in the English language.  Although they usually derive from Latin, the swines!

NCIS Christmas Day Marathon
Ah, Fate.  Thanks, Fate, you pick your times, don't you?
     Conrad, noble Conrad, spent yesterday afternoon dog-sitting Edna, which is not really much of a chore.  She does tend to sulk out in the hallway if not getting attention levels of at least 97%.
     Anyway, what's on television but one of Conrad's guilty pleasures:  NCIS.  About the Naval Criminal Investigation Service, and since it's now in it's thirteenth season, somebody out there besides Conrad likes it.  It's on all day!
     Except at this point they're broadcasting all the episodes I've already seen <sad face>

The Haul
Normally this consists of Conrad's book purchases.  Not today!  Today we have his presents, proof that other people in the world care about him*.

Making it Extra-specially large so you get the full benefit

     The tee-shirt is a Twinkies one, for as you know your gifted author has a frighteningly sweet tooth and has an especially intense fondness for Twinkies.

A Twinky

     Here you have one as an illustration, as they are not part of the British consumable landscape yet, much to the regret of Tom.

At The Kids
Sally, a.k.a. Darling Daughter, and her boyfriend Tom elected to have Christmas at their apartment this year, so we the Family went to visit yesterday, bearing presents.
     Let's get the Christmas stuff out of the way first:

Twinkly-dinkly Christmas tree, decorated with chains of skulls

     Right, that's that.  Conrad, of course, was far more interested in the vertical display case next to the tree, viz:

No Comment.  The Charm Offensive, remember?

     This is all Warhammer stuff, and Conrad - obviously! - wanted to know all about the big armoured fighting vehicle**.  Tom checked up on it but didn't have stats on brake horsepower or ground-loading, which is frankly letting the side down.  Must to better next time, Tom.

Boxing Day Tradition
The extended family all goes bowling on Boxing Day, a bit of a tradition for lo these many years.  Don't worry, you don't have to worry about 127 photos of people bowling, Conrad is by nature cruel and capricious, but not that cruel.
     Instead, have this:

     That's Ella, dealing with a sheet of bubble-wrap - by stamping on it.  She spent every spare moment when not bowling - stamping on the bubble-wrap.  Unless she was rolling on the bubble-wrap.  Trust me when I say that bubble-wrap's not coming back.

Z Nation
Final episode of the second season and I have to say I didn't see several of those ends coming.  I'm not going to post anything here except to say there will be spoilers in the next post.  SPOILERS, DAMMIT!  Just so we're clear.





*  Or, the other alternative, they got him presents otherwise they'd get none themselves.
** This is as close to calling it a "t@nk" as I can get.