I need this software! Found via Twitpic (@Jas)

Imagine being locked in a house, with 21 people you had never met and having no contact with, or knowledge of, the outside world for 13 weeks.

This is the experience Rebecca Shiner had when she competed in Big Brother 9. She visited Coventry for one of the University’s Coventry Coversations on 12th November.

It became apparent that despite her fame being short lived, she is still somewhat of a ‘celebrity’ to some people as females and males alike were getting quite excited outside the doors of the lecture theatre, saying ‘Oh My God she’s in there!’, or ‘There she is..i saw her!’. Having not seen the show, my first impressions were that Bex seems to be the type of person who likes to keep up with fashion trends and seems an approachable person, saying an energetic ‘Hi!’ to most people as they entered the room.

Throughout the interview, it seemed like no topic was off bounds and Bex was open to all questions from the audience and interviewer alike. Having made £32,000 in the first 24 hours alone it is easy to see how fast fame comes to the evictees of the Big Brother house, although Bex’s agent turned down £100,000 from Nuts, who were after a photoshoot with the Coventry born lady, as it was apparently not enough.

Bex said she wanted to go into the BB house so that she ‘could do an autograph’, which is fair enough, i’m sure most people would like to sign an autograph at some stage in their lives, but most people wouldn’t flaunt their breasts on national television, an action which Bex took. When asked why she took such a forward action, Bex said that she wanted to show that you don’t have to be a size 6 to have a good body and that she did it for the curvy girls.

Now that the media attention has died down, apart from the recent media storm she has created by getting a ‘Jedward’ tattoo on her bottom, Bex is looking forward starring on a Derek Accora programme which she is filming in Manchester within the next couple of weeks and is also travelling to Australia.

I should really update my blog! So here is one. What I’m doing right now? Listening to Robbie Williams, which is my new love affair. Well, with his music of course. I never liked him before, but Bex has been watching him a lot on television in the build up to his new album, and I have fallen in love with the track Bodies (see below).

In other news, Bex and I have been invited away by another couple to spend a weekend in a cottage. What’s so special about that, you maybe asking? It’s for crossdressers and their partners. We are looking to take them up on the offer and arrange the trip for sometime next year.

Doctor Who is on Sunday! I’ve been looking forward to it ever since seeing the Doctor’s appearance in the Sarah Jane Adventures a couple of weeks back. Well, that’s a lie, as I’ve been looking forward to the Waters of Mars since Easter! Tune into BBC1 on Sunday at 7pm. It’s meant to be the scariest adventure yet!!

Gemma – Remembering those have laid down their lives for us, now and in the past.

เขียนเมื่อ 9 พฤศจิกายน 2552

เขียนจากความรู้สึก กรุณาใช้วิจารณญาณ

ตลาดรองหรือ secondary market นั้น ส่วนใหญ่ทุกคนก็คงรู้นะครับว่ามันคือตลาดที่เอาไว้แลกเปลี่ยนซื้อขายตราสารหนี้ ถ้าเป็น Primary Market ก็คือเอาไว้ซื้อตราสารหนี้ในการเสนอขายครั้งแรก (IPO) แต่ถ้าใครเคยเข้าไปดูในเรื่องของสภาพคล่องของตราสารหนี้อาจจะตกใจได้ว่ามันช่างต่ำจริงๆ ไม่ว่าจะเป็น BEX หรือ OTC ตามสำนักงานที่ให้บริการซื้อขายตราสารหนี้ในตลาดรอง

ถ้าเปรียบเทียบความคึกคักระหว่าง SET ที่เป็นตลาดหุ้นและ BEX ที่เป็นตลาดตราสารหนี้นั้นจะเห็นได้เลยว่าความคึกคักต่างกัน นั่นคือ SET จะซื้อขายกันเยอะมากในขณะที่ BEX ไม่ค่อยมีเท่าไหร่ ความพยายามของผู้ที่เกี่ยวข้องอาจจะสงสัยว่าการที่เรามีตลาดกลางนั้นทำไมทำให้ BEX คึกคักไม่ได้ ในความคิดผมแล้วไม่มีทางหรอกครับเพราะหุ้นและตราสารหนี้นั้น ธรรมชาติมันต่างกัน และผู้ที่ซื้อขายก็ต่างกันเช่นเดียวกัน

ถ้ามองในมุมของผู้ซื้อขายตราสารหนี้แล้ว การไปออกที่ตลาดแรกนั้นส่วนใหญ่ผู้ที่มาซื้อก็จะเป็นขาใหญ่ๆที่มีลักษณะ Maintain Risk ซื้อยาวซื้อเก็บ เช่นบริษัทประกันชีวิต กองทุนบำเน็จบำนานทั้งหลาย คนรวยๆก็ซื้อทิ้งไว้ยาวๆ ถ้าเป็นลักษณะนี้โอกาสที่เราจะไปขอซื้อเขามันก็ใช่ว่าจะง่าย ตราบใดที่เขาไม่ขายเราก็อยู่เฉยๆ นอกจากจะให้ราคาเขาสูงๆๆๆ ซึ่งผมว่าเราเอาเงินไปลงทุนอย่างอื่นดีกว่าไหม 555 ถ้าเป็น OTC ตามสถาบันการเงินก็ใช้ Matching กันไป ผู้ถือตราสารหนี้ร้อนเงินเมื่อไหร่ก็มีของเมื่อนั้น

ในขณะเดียวกัน ทิศทางของตลาดหุ้นและตลาดตราสารหนี้ก็ต่างกัน กล่าวคือใน SET นั้นการที่เราซื้อหุ้นก็คือการที่เราเข้าไปเป็นเจ้าของ ธุรกิจดีไม่ดียังไงก็สับเปลี่ยนมือตามการคาดการของแต่ละคนในแต่ละธุรกิจ  ผิดกลับตลาดตราสารหนี้ที่เราในฐานะเจ้าหนี้จะถูกกำหนดโดยทิศทางดอกเบี้ยที่มักจะมีแนวโน้มให้เห็นในทางเดียวกันในทุกอุตสหกรรม คนที่ถือก็ถือกันต่อไป ถ้าเราถือ Yield ต่ำๆ ก็คงอยากได้อันที่สูงขึ้นในขณะเดียวกันใครถือ Yield สูงๆก็คงไม่ขายมารับของต่ำๆหรอก (ยกเว้นร้อนเงิน) เรื่องของตลาดรองนั้นผมก็เลยมองว่ามันจะ Boost ได้ยังไง เห็น BEX มันเป็น Case Study ที่บอกอยู่แล้วว่ามันไม่ Work

ได้คุยเล่นๆกับผู้เชียวชาญด้านการลงทุนว่าการที่จะสร้างตลาดรองให้คึกคักได้นั้นจริงๆแล้วอาจจะต้องมาดูซิว่าจะบีบให้รายใหญ่ๆปล่อยของออกมาในตลาดได้อย่างไรเพื่อให้คนโน้นคนนี้ได้ซื้อบ้าง วิธีการนั้นก็อาจจะใช้ Yield ของตราสารหนี้อื่นๆที่ออกมาแล้วมีผลตอบแทนสูงกว่า มาแทนที่ Bond ที่เขาถืออยู่ แล้วปริมาณก็ต้องใหญ่พอที่จะทำให้เขาต้องทิ้งสิ่งที่เขาถืออยู่ในปัจจุบันได้ เมื่อคนใหญ่ปล่อยของแล้วมันก็คงจะพอมีสินค้าให้คนเลือกมากขึ้น ตรงนี้แหละที่พอจะทำให้เกิดความคึกคักในตลาดรองได้ การขยายตลาดอาจจะไม่ใช่ลักษณะการ Bid Offer / Matching อีกต่อไป แต่ใช้วิธีการขยายไปยัง Segmentation อื่นๆโดยหลักการขั้นบันใด แล้วเปลี่ยนถ่ายกันไปตามความต้องการที่มากขึ้นในผลตอบแทนแต่ละบุคคล แต่ตรงนี้สถาบันการเงินต้องเข้ามาช่วยจัดการในการเพิ่มสภาพคล่องดังกล่าวละครับ

คิดเล่นๆนะ เอิ๊กๆ

Bex is looking to start voluntary work, and the one thing Bex loves more than anything, well a apart from me obviously, is cats. We have been in contact with the people are the Cats Protection charity, and Bex has an appointment to see someone a week on Tuesday. Working with Cats Protection will keep Bex out of mischief, and what’s more importantly, give her something to do. She loves cats and has a great knowledge about the species. She even has two of her own, which is really important, and has grown up with them. She still insists that in the future she wants a breeding pair of Maine Coon, and wants to call them Louis and Clarke. Did I tell you Bex is a huge Superman fan? Hopefully the meeting with the lady from the Cats Protection will go well and they will find her something to do.

Gemma has been ill. I have a nasty chest infection and a perforated eardrum as a result of a cold. I would like to apologise to those regular readers as life has been rather hectic.

First up, Bex has finished her move. On Monday she moved to her new house just a mile down the road from me. She was originally living 30 minutes away by rail, which meant going two and fro on the train every weekend. We have no plans yet to live together, so I will still be living in my tiny little flat, and commuting back and forth by bike to her new house. This means Bex can now spend more time with Gemma! We’re hoping to conduct another photo-shoot in the coming weeks, which I’m really excited about. We haven’t done for a long time. Not sine July I think. We planned initially to do one every month. She wants to set up her own photographic business taking portraits of transgendered people. See this blog entry for further details. We haven’t managed to get it off the ground yet. But there is no rush.

Talking of photos, my Flickr page as had 27,258 views to date. One of my photos has had 1074 views by itself! That’s really amazing! I still get obscene comments left on a daily basis by yucky creeps.

A couple of weekends ago I meet two people from Roses Forum. The interesting thing was they are both role-players too! We enjoyed a game together and are planning to meet up again in the future. The world seems to be getting smaller and smaller.

Going back almost a a month, I met up with my friend who I recently reconciled with. Read here if you unaware of what is going on. They too are transgendered. After a little awkwardness between us, we struck up a conversation, and it was like nothing had happened. It’s a pity that we didn’t reconcile sooner. We didn’t talk about the events that lead to us falling out, just concentrating on the present, catching up as it were. I haven’t seen my friend since, but we have been kept in contact via Facebook. Hopefully we will meet up again soon.

Didn’t Nick Griffin make a fool of himself last night on Question Time? I just love how he dug himself deeper and deeper into a hole. The BNP claimed the show “attacked” him. Did they miss the fact that he directly attacked Islam and Muslims? And to think he feels that Sir Winston Churchill would join his party is sickening. Churchill had now time for Oswald Mosley and his Blackshirts. It was Churchill and his government who banned British Union of Fascists shortly after he came to power in May 1940. Perhaps Mr Griffin should check his facts before spurting garbage on national television. Churchill had seen the threat posed by Hitler long before the outbreak of the Second World War, and tried to warn the government at the time. He is very unlikely to have got into bed with a party like the BNP, which is clearly descended from the BUF. God, I wonder what Nick Griffin and his BNP cronies think of us transgendered folk? If its true what he thinks about Gays then I don’t want to know!

Lastly, a tentative broadcast date for the Doctor Who special Waters of Mars is Saturday 14th November! Rumour has it maybe transmitted during this years Children In Need telethon, just like The Five Doctors in 1983. That would mean it may be transmitted on Friday 20th November. I will keep you updated.

The past few days have mostly been about work that will lead to other work.  I’ve mostly disassembled a dead Underwood typewriter, and harvested many delightful bits with a steampunk aesthetic.  Leather and metal are in my future.  I started a new story about Bex, and promptly had to go creeping through an old derelict house in downtown Fort Worth for inspiration.  And oh did I find it, in the form of a dirt cellar with its trapdoor ripped from its hinges.  Wonderful creepy stuff.

Another name for Lindane

So Aber freshers life is going GREAT! I have my new laptop now, which is just so much better than my old one, it’s insane. I met my team mates who I’ll be blogging with, two guys. We had a discussion about how the blogs would be written and we showed them our blogs that we’ve been doing every day. They said they were awesome which raised the confidence, of course.

Bex managed to slice her thumb with a carving knife while the rest of us were in Morrisons. We left her at home because she’d been ill for a few days but we came back to find an unbaked potato, a huge knife and a first aid kit strewn across the worktop in the kitchen. We assumed she’d just come down to get some paracetamol, until she came through the door a while later with her thumb bandaged up, saying she’d been in A&E for two hours! We didn’t leave her alone for very long! Apparently she’d phoned Nick, who lives at Number 28 (we live at number 134) and he’d come over and taken her to hospital.

Sorted out my timetable now. I only have 8 hours of lectures and seminars combined, so lots of free time with Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. Quite happy about that.

Although everyone is nice, David (who is also here) upset me majorly yesterday by giving me lots of undeserved abuse and said hurtful things. It then caused an argument between me and Dan, as he got upset when he heard I’d spoken to David. It all got very sad and tearful and nasty. Not good at all, when you’re so far away from everything.

I want to go home. I think it is right for me to be here but I miss everything LOADS. Soon people, very soon.

2009 So Far
This year has been amazing so far. I returned from Oak Hall in November, just as the credit crunch hit, really unsure where/whether I’d be able to get work, but returned to Winchester, as I knew I had a good reputation there, and was sure I could pick up a few bits! Friends put me up in their spare room whilst I applied for work, but after about 3 months, I had enough bits and pieces coming in to rent a room closer to the University of Winchester, where I was picking up most of my work, with every small project leading to another one… and at one point having to turn down work!

Summer
In May, I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through the summer, as teaching was coming to an end, but I picked up a couple of summer projects, went to France with Oak Hall, and in fact haven’t completed my own studies this summer, and teaching commences again next week! I then started conversations with a few others, and look what’s happening now…

2009-2010 Timetable
Semester 1 (Finishes 5th February)
I have quite a full timetable (all modules include preparation/marking):

• Monday 3-6: Introduction to Media Studies
• Tuesday 9-12: 20th Century British History
• Wednesday 10-11: Landmark (The Internet as a Landmark in History)
• Wednesday 1.30-5: STUDYING the PGCLTHE + associated 3 x 4,000 word projects
• Thursday: 7.5 hours “Blended Learning Research Fellowship“, including Learning Website
• 5 Final Year Project Students for Media Studies (Due 5th May 2010)
• Media Studies Website (for March 2010)
• History Website (for March 2010)
• SkillsNet Website (Content, Staff/Student Evaluation)

To also fit in:

• Monday Evening: Housegroup
• Tuesday afternoon: I’m not available from 12 noon on Tuesday afternoons, this is time I need!
• Super Fun Days Out Adrenablog; Twitter feed, Facebook Page, and Delicious.
• North Winchester Community Church website/Gathering website.
• Sunday: North Winchester Community Church/Christ Church
• Syzygy Website (for November 2009)
• Own websites:  Digital Fingerprint; WW2Poster; Bex Lewis (and integrating old websites into new WordPress formats)
• FRIENDS, FAMILY, SOCIAL and GYM time!

Christmas

• Cooking at Lauterbrunnen for Christmas Week (may be JA2 instead?)
• New Year, who knows yet…
• Complete VD poster article. Start to think about Book Proposal (Thesis to Book)

Semester 2 (Finishes 18th June)
I have an extremely full timetable:

• Monday 3-5: Introduction to Media Studies
• Wednesday 9-12: Dreams and Nightmares
• Thursday 9-11: Film History
• Thursday 11-3 (2 hours of): Creating and Consuming History
• Friday 9-12: Researching Media Studies
• 2 hours for 6 weeks: Reflecting
• History Independent Study Module, Dissertation/Second Marking
• Tuesday or Friday: 7.5 hours “Blended Learning Research Fellowship“
• 5 Final Year Project Students for Media Studies (Due 5th May 2010)
• Media Studies Website (for March 2010)
• History Website (for March 2010)
• SkillsNet Website (Content completion – for May 2010)
• Adding French content to ARCA website (awaiting translations).

To also fit in:

• Monday Evening: Housegroup
• Tuesday or Friday afternoon: My time
• Super Fun Days Out Adrenablog; Twitter feed and Delicious.
• North Winchester Community Church website/Gathering website.
• Sunday: North Winchester Community Church/Christ Church
• Working on Digital Fingerprint as a business model, continuing WW2Poster; Bex Lewis.
• FRIENDS, FAMILY, SOCIAL and GYM time!

Easter

• Unconfirmed as yet…

Summer
The summer is yet some time away, and the Blended Learning is permanent, so I guess if I’m sensible with my money… Although waiting for the dates of Oak Hall in Israel, and may go there next September… I know it’s quite tiring, but invigorating in other ways.

So if you’re wondering why I go quiet for long periods of time, this may kind of explain it, as there’s usually approximately 3 hours of preparation for each hour of teaching… and then the marking, well, we try not to think about the marking (e.g. Intro to Media, around 40 students, 2 assignments, about 1/2 hour + per assignment)! Some weeks there’s tutorials, and some courses run alternate weeks rather than all term, so manageable – with a few late nights, I suspect!

Well, Gemma isn’t literally going holiday, it’s really a hypothetical sort of title. Bex and I have been talking about us going away for the weekend and staying at a hotel that cater for TVs/CDs. Having looked on the internet, there are quite a few to choose from. That way, Bex and can spend the entire weekend with Gemma. I have spent the weekend en femme before, but never away in the outside world. I’m no longer scared to venture outside, heck, Gemma once walked to a friend’s house, albeit alone after dark. I’m sure I could do it again. This time I will have Bex by my side, whcih will make it a lot more easier. Plus I’m quite convincing and could easily pass as a girl. In an environment which caters for TVs/CDs I should feel right at home, and be comfortable meeting new people like myself. In the past, one of my TV friends has said that I’m more than welcome to spend the weekend with her. That could be fun, spending time away having a girly weekend. One of these days I might take her up on the offer. In the meantime, I have Bex as my soul-mate and companion, who I can have girly fun with. And believe me, Gemma and Bex can be quite mischievous when they get together!

Don’t panic, Gemma isn’t going anywhere. It seems all of a sudden that everyone is moving house! Today, my sister and her husband are moving to a new house just around the corner from me, my parents are moving next month to Boston in Lincolnshire, and Bex has already started viewing houses around my area. My sister’s new house is literally a stone throws away, and I got to help her start shifting boxes over today. My sister and her husband have been living with my parents for the past year, saving up enough money to move. Now that the children have flown the nest, my parents are downsizing – to a bigger house! How is that possible, you maybe asking? They have found a house in Boston that is £100,000 cheaper, yet is slightly larger than the one they currently occupy at present. They will no longer have a mortgage, so that’s one less expense they will have to pay out for. The area isn’t renown for its industry, and unlike where we live now, there isn’t much work. This will suit my parents down to the ground, as my father is retired and my mother will work from home.

Yesterday, Bex and I visited two properties in the local area. Due to the lack of social housing, Bex will have to privately rent. This causes a lot more hassle because she is going through a letting agency, who, to be honest, have been extremely helpful. Unlike getting a council house, there are more procedures to follow, plus she has to assure the new landlord that she can pay the rent with a guarantee. Today she is looking to getting help with the deposit, and hopefully she can start the ball rolling so she can move in before November. It will be nice not to have to keep getting the train backwards and forwards all the time to see. I will save £50 in train fares once she has moved. It will be easier for us to see each other, and for her to spend more time with Gemma. At present, now that Gemma spends time with Bex, its difficult to find the time to do so. Gemma needs to come out frequently, and at the moment, this has been happening rather rarely. Hopefully with the move all sorted, bex and Gemma can have more time together.

It has been a while since my last proper entry. I have seen how negative I can really be. I should be concentrating on the positive and not dwelling on the bad things. I should talk more about my life rather than complaining about what other people might be getting up to. I’ve been quick to criticise and pass judgement instead of offering support. That’s all going to change. On reflection, I should be happy the way my life has turned out. This time two years ago I applied for the part-time job that saw me eventually return to work. Last July, Bex and I started our relationship, and now I have a ready-made, loving family, with two future step-children who adore me. The love Bex and I share for each other, despite all the turmoil we have shared, is solid as a rock. Earlier this year, my sister married a fantastic man, and our family grew. And next Summer will see the publication of my book, the one I have been working on for the past ten years! I’m over the moon. I realise now I no longer care what people say about me behind my back. Their opinions no longer matter to me. I have changed and moved on. I’m confident, strong, outgoing, and energetic. If something bad happens to me, I don’t let it get me down. I just carry on knowing that a solution will present itself to me. So here’s to a bright future, one that’s filled with promise and prosperity, one that I can look forward too.

Let you tell you all about my weekend. On Saturday, I went to Twickenham for the Middlesex Charities 7s. At the start of the Rugby Union season, the sevens is a charity event in which all Guinness Premiership clubs take part, along with four guest teams. This years guests were ULR Samurai, Help for Heroes, The British Army and Kukri White Hart Marauders, all of whom put on a dazzling display. This years winners were London Irish. My team, Saracens, managed to reach the semi-finals, but were knocked out by the aforementioned winners. Gemma was extremely naughty. She drank way to much Guinness, seven pints in all, and was rather ill when she got home. It’s the first time I’ve drank that much in a very long time. No wonder I was ill! The next morning I felt fine, and was able to make my rendezvous with Bex. We were going to the cinema.

That leads me onto my next subject. Bex and I went to see G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. Gemma is a bit of fan girl when it comes to G.I. Joe, and has been waiting two decades to see a live-action version of her favourite kids cartoon and comic book series. The opening fitted rather well, with James McCullen’s ancestor receiving the famous “Destro” mask worn by the McCullen’s for centuries, as a form of punishment for selling weapons to both sides. I knew there would be sweeping changes, and I will get to those in a moment. There were so many blatant references to both the original G.I. Joe doll and the cartoon series, such as “Kung-Fu grip” and “a real American hero”, and of course the futuristic weapons and vehicles. The characters were well envisioned, and were very much like the originals. The action was great, and the story was your typical G.I. Joe scenario, with Cobra trying to take over the world in the most ridiculous fashion possible. The few things that let the film down were origin stories for each character were changed, and somehow the Baroness and Duke having a past romantic relationship. Nor was there any kind of romance between Ripcord and Scarlet. Her romantic interest was Snake-Eyes.

It was a nice idea having the Cobra operatives under the controlled of mind-influencing technology, but the major players like the Baroness never needed to originally. They were willing participants in Cobra’s schemes. Snakes Eyes and Storm Shadows back-story changed in a big way. Storm Shadow, Tommy Arashikage, originally infiltrates Cobra to find the assassin who murdered his father, who turns out to be Zartan. He did blame Snake Eyes for a while, until the truth was revealed. Snake Eyes taking a vow of silence was just silly. Originally, he suffered catastrophic burns during the Vietnam war, which left him disfigured and unable to speak. Hence the mask and the mute Ninja. What’s more, were was his faithful Timber-wolf? The birth of the Cobra Commander was done wrong, in my oppinion. Originally, he was a used car salesman were went insane after he lost his family and his business. Blaming the American system for his circumstances, he created Cobra was a way of getting back at the United States. Although the new Cobra Commander, or Rex, did have a good enough reason to turn terrorism against his own government. I preferred the hood to the new, futuristic looking mask. I think that’s homage to the Cobra Commanders third costume from the Rainbow made cartoon series of the late 80s, early 90s.

Zartan was by far my favourite character. At the end of the movie he is enthroned, disguised as the President of the United States. Now in a perfect position to free Cobra Commander/Rex and Destro, Cobra, even though they suffer a heavy defeat, they actually win in the end. The only thing that lets down this ending is the Baroness. Freed from Cobra brainwashing, thanks to Duke somehow breaking her programming, she aids the Joes to defeat Cobra. The twist is she still has the nano-mites in her body, which means if Cobra Commander escapes, which no doubt he will, she will fall easily under the influence of Cobra once more. The end also sees Duke and Ripcord being made full members of G.I. Joe. Strange how their real names match that of their original cartoon counterparts’ code-names. I do hope that when they make the sequel we will see more of the Joes and Cobra. For the Joes, Shipwreck and Wild Bill would be nice additions. For Cobra we are yet to see the legal twins of evil Tomax and Xamot, as well as the war criminal Major Bludd.

Overall the movie was much better than I thought it would be. Defiantly better than it’s sister movie franchise, Transformers. You do have to give Hollywood some leeway in making a movie adaptation, and this one seems to work quite well. Compared to GI Joe: Resolute, it’s not quite up to scratch. As a stand alone movie franchise, it may not be Oscar nomination material, it has what it takes to make a good action movie.

I haven’t been keeping up with my blog as much as I like too. Been far too busy with work and family life to find the time to write. Bad Gemma! There isn’t really much to tell you, other than work is a nightmare, Bex and I are organising a BBQ for her birthday, and I’m pondering what to write next. No, not here on my blog, but for a new written project I maybe undertaking. I’ve just got to get the green light and away I go. The biggest piece of news is, and this will shock you, I’ve not even had chance to go and see G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra! I’m such a fan-girl, yet I’ve haven’t had the time to get to the cinema to watch it. Bex and I are planning on going this coming Sunday. I will let you know what I think when I review it next week. Also, there has been no major developments in the world of Doctor Who. There is still no official news on Torchwood’s future, and the only thing that I’ve found out recently is the Doctor, as played by David Tennant, will appear in an episode of the Sarah Jane Adventures, in which Sarah Jane Smith is to marry.

That’s pretty much it folks. See you next time.

Via twitter.com/sapbwtweet and SDN I came across a not yet valued but evaluated tool to get a faster insight into your query definition without utilizing BEx and facing long waiting times.

• Enter transaction se38
• Execute programm RSRQ_QUERYDEFINITION
• Enter a query name (known selection dialog from BEx)
• Select / de-select some option
• Execute
• Analyze your query

In my opinion the structure of a query and all its elements are displayed in a transparent way without missing details. This transaction yould be used to analyze a query regarding filter values and the usage of variables much quicker than by see the real definition in BEx front end.

Some of you may be wondering what had happened to Gemma. Well she went on Holiday in the Isle of Wight. So, I’ve been out of touch with the world, just a little, and unable to blog. Let me tell you about my holiday.

Saturday 1st August: Bex and I arrived on the Isle of Wight. It’s the first time I’ve been on the Island in twenty years. When I was a child, I use to live on the south coast, so frequent trips to the Isle of Wight with my parents were always a good day out. We didn’t really do much, because we spent much of the day travelling to the Island by train and by catamaran. We then spent the evening with friends.

Sunday 2nd August: Bex and I went out for a carvery lunch on the sea front in Shanklin. After which, we enjoyed a seaside stroll along the promenade, visiting some of the gift shops. It was a rather lazy day and we didn’t do much else.

Monday 3rd August: In the morning we took a trip to Godshill. The Norman church there is rather eerie, and has a spooky tale to match. The legend goes that when they were building the church, it was being built at the bottom of the hill. Each night, the builders would leave work, with the stones laid out ready to start building, and each morning they would find the stones had been moved up to the top of the hill. This went on for a number of weeks until it was decided they would build the Church on top of the hill where it now stands. Godshill is mainly full of gift shops and tourist attractions. In the afternoon we went to Bricksfield Horse Country, a Shire Horse sanctuary and stables. Whilst Bex went horse riding, I explored the museum and enjoyed the Shire Horse show.

Tuesday 4th August: In the morning, Bex and I decided to visit the Railway museum at Haven Street, a former station now used as a tourist attraction for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. We enjoyed a short round trip on the steam train, lasting about an hour, before we explored the museum. In the gift shop, I found the most bizarre thing ever to be found in a museum shop dedicated to steam trains: a Skid Row DVD for £3.99! I had to buy it. In the afternoon, Bex wanted to visit the Isle of Wight Zoo to pay a visit to the tiger I adopted for her. Bex is absolutely mad on tigers. She was in her own little world visiting her tigers, especially her adopted Zena. Zena is such a beautiful white tigress, and she is the star of ITVs Tiger Island series.

Wednesday 5th August: In the morning, Bex and I spent an hour at the beach. The weather wasn’t very nice, and the tide was slowly creeping up the beach. We had to leave in the end because our time ran out, as we planned to undertake a visit to Carisbrooke Castle, just outside Newport. The Castle was originally built by the Normans, and is mentioned in the Doomsday Book. It later became the home to the cousin of Queen Elizabeth I, and was later transformed into a prison for King Charles I after he was deposed by the Parliamentarians after the English Civil War. In recent times the Castle was home to Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, used the castle as a summer home, and opened the museum there. There was a medieval living history exhibition, including a proper Fool, who just happened to pull up Bex and myself, amongst others, for the crowds amusement! It was very amusing.

Thursday 6th August: Bex and I spent the day at Blackgang Chine. It’s more an amusement park for the kids, and the last time I visited the place I must had been ten years old. As a child it seemed a magical place. As an adult it felt rather tacky and cheap. I found the steam museum there rather interesting, as well as the history of the cliff-top erosion that is slowly eating away Blackgang and the amusement park. The park itself has moved several times over the past twenty years, further and further up the cliff-top. Eventually it will have to move completely. There use to be a cliff-top road and a string of cottages close to the park. All are now gone. In the evening Bex and I went out for a meal with friends. I think that was the most expensive thing of the entire holiday, as we treated our friends.

Friday 7th August: We travelled home. Again, we took the catamaran to Portsmouth Harbour and the train from there back home.

Overall, it was a extremely enjoyable holiday, allowing Bex and I to do what we both wanted, whilst recharging our batteries. For those real ale connoisseurs out there, there are plenty of pubs and restaurants that serve cask ale. You must beware of the tourist traps, mind, as many will be rather overpriced. Bex and I plan to travel back later this year, hopefully around Christmas time. And I’m looking forward to a return visit, as we missed so much.

2-days-festival for ambient, noise, experimental music

with TROUM, SOLAR SKELETONS, LUNA DOPA, BEX, DE GRÂCE (ex-HIS DIVINE GRACE), 1997EV, TZII, NIEDOWIERZANIE

info: kalyugfestival@gmail.com
www.kalyugfestival.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/enka52

NK, Elsenstrasse 52, Berlin Neukölln
(S-Bahn Treptower Park, U8 Hermannplatz, U7 Rathaus Neukölln)

Do you recall that another cross-dresser made a claim that I was copying their photos? Read it here if you didn’t. I was told by someone that they claimed that I copied their photo, one of which where they were sitting, posing on a sofa in a specific pose. Since I’ve never seen this photo, and really care if I do, it’s quite natural to strike a pose sitting on your sofa. Considering that it was Bex taking the photos, she was the one posing me. I’ve seen other photos of this said person, and believe me, the quality of the photographs are rather poor. Rather grainy, blurred, using poor contrast, and obviously shot using a cheap camera. I haven’t seen any photographs that match my pictures. I doubt that it exists. To make a wild claim is just ridiculous. Even if it does exist, surely it’s very unlikely that I was wearing the same outfit, striking the same pose? This person must be so jealous that they have to make up crap and spread it round the internet. If that is the case, then they are rather pathetic.

This weekend was Bex’s and Gemma’s first anniversary. We have been together exactly one year on the 24th July. I bought her two gifts, the first being the Red Dwarf DVD, Back to Earth. The second one, I renewed her adoption for Zena, an Indian white tiger at the Isle of Wight Zoo. Bex bought me a Pendulum CD as well as a nice new top. Friday evening we went out for a meal. We drank far too much and staggered home drunk later, like a couple of teenagers! Saturday, we went out to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Having ripped out so much of the book and added very little, we both enjoyed the film. Sunday we lounged about watching Priscilla Queen of the Desert. We’ve been watching a lot of films recently with a transgendered theme. I think Bex really enjoys being able to explore and share my transgendered lifestyle, and these films allow her to do so.

In related news, this past week, I have accumulated over three thousand views on my Flickr account! I’m certainly Miss Popular on there. I just wish I could keep the perverts away from adding me to their favourites.

Before I begin this blog entry, I would like to tell you that Bex and I are celebrating our first anniversary today. We have been together now for one whole year. I can’t believe it! Since the very start she has known about my transgenderism, and has loved every aspect of my life, including Gemma. She is an amazing woman and I love her with all my heart.

Now onto the main topic of conversation. The BBC reports that distraught fans have launched a website to save the Torchwood character Ianto Jones, as played by actor Gareth David-Lloyd. The Save Ianto Jones website is campaign to get the character resurrected. Their campaign does have some benefit, as it has raised over £1,800 for Children in Need. Ianto Jones was killed by the alien 456 in the third series, Children of Earth, screened earlier this month, which sparked shock and alarm amongst fans. Campaigners said Ianto’s passing has left them “as sorrowful and hurt as any death of a person close to us”. They went onto say, “Though we, his devoted fans, still hope that he’ll come back (it’s still sci-fi, and in sci-fi, death can be reversed, can’t it?), we mourn him.”

There is still no news on Torchwood’s future, as head-writer and creator Russell T Davis has stood down from the show, as he plans to break into Hollywood.