cheekbones3

The laptop is in a parlous state. After trying numerous different methods to sort out some corruption in the win32 folder (and failing), I tried to reinstall Windows (failed), and I'm now trying to use the Packard Bell Recovery Program from the partition (now I've managed to get it going), and it's failed four times so far for a variety of reasons.

Anyone know how best to proceed? I'd have reformatted the C drive if I 1) knew the command and 2) could get to DOS.

Any advice?

Well folks, we made it through the winter, and it's a fine sunny morning, nice and crisp, no wind, and looking pretty good for the weekend.

Not as much snow or cold this year sadly, but I suppose we'll enjoy it all the more for that next time. Light evenings from Sunday too, how quickly winter melts away, event accounting for the relative shortness of the GMT period, it still feels like the path out of the valley of winter is much shorter than the long slow descent into it.

Only one thing wrong with this picture, I'm in the office rather than sitting atop a hill somewhere!

As per usual, I've got a collection of ongoing ailments at various stages of healing.

Sprained ankles x2 (almost chronic at this stage, the joy of korfball): Both almost painless again, it's been a few weeks since I last twisted one of them.

Torn cornea (left): It's been about eighteen months now I think since this cycling injury, or maybe a year. Still painful if I rub my eye on a morning, so I don't do that, but for the first time this week I was able to rub my eye properly during the day without it 'going' again. Almost sorted!

Bruised knee (left): Football injury, still superficially numb after four weeks or so, this numb area is gradually shrinking I think though. The weird bruising and lumpiness etc on the bone surface appears to be dissipating too. Very painful if poked at the wrong angle,no impediment though.

Facial/oral damage: My mouth's now settling down now a couple of weeks after an accidental clash of heads during rugby training. As usual, the gash in my lip turned into a very painful ulcer in the shape of my incisor that dug in. That's almost healed now, and my bruised nose is gradually settling.

Everything else seems okay apart from my fitness, I'm a minute per kilometre off my running best. Oh well, can't have everything!

I have an interesting left knee at the moment. Playing 5-a-side football the other day, I bounced off the wall, turned around, twisted my ankle, and to take the pressure off my ankle, fell over, taking full bodyweight through my knee. Coincidentally I knocked over a woman playing for the opposition

I'm very good at falling over, and do it often, you may already know this.

On a basic level, it blimmin hurt! The knee swelled lots, and was very tender.

Now, two weeks later, the swelling has mainly gone, and I'm left with some painful lumps (I assume haematoma), and complete numbness of the skin on the left half of my knee. Nerve damage I assume, although a little tingling around the edges in the last day or two implies some level of healing occurring.

Luckily, this hasn't affected my movement at all, but it appears to be set up for months of not kneeling on that side, and possibly permanent local numbness. We shall see!

In the interests of keeping blogging alive, I'm writing this post.

It seems that most of my time is sucked up by too many hobbies, although I seem to be happiest in this situation. Down time is good when there's always something fun to do! Will get back to more writing when I've got the mojo.

Two fingers, two nipples, one ear and a formerly soft, dangly collection of objects. If found, please return to a rather hoary Leith.

So, that was interesting. Definitely the most damage from wind I've seen in a very long time, there are smashed windows (car and building) outside here, chimney pots and lots of roof tiles down, communal bins all over the place, a few trees down, traffic lights flattened, a street lamp broken, and a large wall on Portobello promenade collapsed just after I'd walked past it. I assumed there was no-one underneath it!

Don't have to go out again until tonight, so that's fine.

I bet even Demis Roussos is having to tighten his belt at the moment.

Oh, wait...