Chris Thompson   Chris Thompson on the internet

In a short while, I’ll be off to Cambridge. I just thought I’d have a bit of a mooch around the shops, to get a bit of fresh air, but also because it should be fun – I haven’t been into the town for a while – and it will be a change of scenery.

Before then, I thought I’d write a piece on a game that looks as though it could be pretty exciting, when it finally hits the shelves. Like many big titles these days, it’s been pushed back. I’m not complaining – if it helps make the product more polished, it’s fine by me.

This company also made Baldur’s Gate and Mass Effect – which are award winning games – so the pedigree is there. And more so than those games, this one is more up my street. It seems to be something of a mix between the two: branching story line, like Mass Effect, and dungeon crawling like Baldur’s Gate. It will be interesting to see how it develops.

With the relay underway, the world athletics championships are drawing to a close. But what a wonderful week of television it’s been. The best championships I’ve ever seen, I think; it’s had everything you could expect, and much, much more.

I expected joy, and I expected heartbreak, I even expected mind-boggling world records (it is, after all, Usain Bolt we’re dealing with here), but one thing I could not have predicted is controversy over gender. It’s just nothing I’ve really seen before, despite knowing there have been tests in the past, and people who have failed them.

Because the South African athlete Caster Semenya is being asked to take these tests, lots of people are upset. And it must be horrible and embarrassing for her. But all the same, they have to be taken.

There are a number of reasons why people are suspicious (and this includes me). She has only eighteen, she has come out of nowhere, she is shattering conventional times, I think, were I to describe her in a story, I would say she was handsome, rather than pretty. Add to that the fact she has a very deep voice, and you can see why people are suspicious. So, yes, if she is a female, it is horrible, and rude – but it still needs to be done, because people have cheated in such a manner in the past before, so we know people will do anything for success.

I hope she passes her tests, and I hope if she does, she isn’t put off what would be a spectacular career. But, whilst the IAAF might be going about it in a rude manner, it is their duty to go about it.

Today, my morning has very much revolved around shower enclosures, funnily enough. Considering it’s a bright, sunny day, this is not ideal, but as with most things that are not ideal, it needs doing. Of course, my dog doesn’t understand why that’s the case. I should be outside chewing on a bone in the sunshine, but then she can’t see the state that my shower’s in after a spot of foolhardy chin-ups. To think, it all happened with an increase in membership fees at my local gym.

There are things around the home that I decided could probably be used for a decent enough workout. Bicep curls with chairs or small coffee tables, that sort of thing. And, of course, chin-ups on my perfectly suited shower enclosure. It looked sturdy enough – like most electric showers, I suppose – but the rail has essentially been crushed, and it is now impossible to close the curtain. All in all a bit of a mistake, then.

Apparently 1 in 3 people favour deodorant instead of a shower, and I don’t particularly want to join that number, so it looks like I’m going to have to sort it out somehow. This will more than likely mean replacing it than trying to fix it. Currently, I can’t even begin to imagine how I would go about fixing it. You would think that, if it is weak enough to bend under my weight, then it should be malleable enough to move back into place, but evidently not.

So yes, not the most exciting start to the day. But there is much to look forward to, if you’re an athletics fan, at least. Usain Bolt is again taking to the track this evening in the 200m final, and I’m especially looking forward to it because I’ve got a bit of money riding on 2nd place. It should be interesting. And, of course, there is always the opportunity of another world record being broken.

There is an article here, telling of how scientists are using interesting and unusual methods to try and fight disease. They are investigating the likelihood of our survival if zombies were to attack. It’s easy to think that that sounds a little – well – fictional. When I first read it, that was my first thought.

They say that the best way to handle a zombie outbreak is to deal with them quickly and aggressively. Otherwise, it seems, civilisation is doomed.

Part of the reason they are doing this is because, in a way, a zombie outbreak is similar to a flu outbreak, and currently these things are proving quite difficult to deal with. It’s quite a scary thought, because if, after a zombie outbreak, we fail to deal with it quickly and aggressively, and if it’s true that this will mean “we are all in a great deal of trouble” then is it not somewhat dangerous that we haven’t stamped out swine flu?

There is vaccine available for swine flu, of course. But it still involves a lot of confinement, and sitting around, and fear of infecting people if you do get it; so even with the wonders of medicine it’s still not exactly under control. At any rate, it’s interesting to see such creative methods of investigation going on…

I thought that, before I hit the sack, I’d look at the news articles already springing up after Bolt’s magnificent world record.

It was hinted at even yesterday. The quarter finals were hilarious – Bolt, after 50 metres, seemed to be not only jogging, but talking and smiling with his Trinidadian training partner as they eased across the line to claim 1st and 2nd place.

There is a wonderful piece here, too, which perfectly describes the sights and sounds and emotions of Berlin, as they witnessed history in the final. Some of the writing is beautiful, and it sums up the event perfectly.

My friend just told m that he made a small fortune betting on Bolt to break the record – and I imagine it will be even better odds on him to do it in the 200m. He only just beat Michael Johnson’s record last time, but it was into a headwind. And judging by his ridiculous time in the 100, and considering he will only be going faster in the second half of the 200, it could be interesting to see.

Over at the Guardian website, there is an article discussing how there has been a steady increase of CCTV systems and surveillance in Britain over recent years. In fact, they state that it’s a 44% increase since 2006, which is really quite staggering. But saying that, I have heard a lot about it over the years, but never really seen much evidence of it.

My not noticing it though is probably more to do with me not paying much attention than anything else. Because today not only did I notice it, but I noticed it almost everywhere I went. Britain now has more surveillance and CCTV cameras than anywhere else in the world, and if you look for it, you can see why.

Often, they are so well hidden that you just don’t notice them. I suppose that’s the whole point really, but when you are simply walking through town, or going to the cinema, it seems a bit much to be recorded 24/7. I wouldn’t have noticed the camera in the cinema lobby at all, if I hadn’t specifically scanned the area for it: the small print next to the ticket machine informed me that I was being watched and recorded.

It just seems slightly … James Bond-ish. It’s futuristic and surreal, and really not very nice to think about. I just hope that it does its job – presumably helping with crime – as much as it raises the hairs on the back of my neck.

There is quite a disturbing story here about someone who has hidden a dead body in the walls of their house. But I suppose if you want to hide a body, inside walls will generally be quite safe: if you have thick enough walls, you can keep a lot of stuff in there.

I read The Wolves in the Walls, by Neil Gaiman, quite recently, and the story reminded me of it – I suppose it’s the whole idea of a sort of horror in the space between the walls. It is a story about a little girl who thinks there are wolves in the walls, and of course her parents dismiss her fears as foolish. But then they come out of the walls, and it’s all over.

I suppose I’m in a bit of a house-ish sort of mood. Well, a bathrooms sort of mood, really – we’ve been doing ours up, since it’s fallen into a distinct state of shabbiness recently. Touching it up here and there, and adding a number of special bathroom accessories to make it sparkle a little bit more than it did before.

And it seems to have done the trick. Except that now I am not thinking of bathrooms, but houses, and hidden corpses.

Michael Vick has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, and whilst a lot of NFL fans are torn on the matter, I can’t help but feel glad that we’ll be able to see him in action on the field again soon.

Vick, in case you don’t follow the sport, was the face of not only the Falcons, but the NFL itself: he was the highest paid player in the league, and sold more shirts than anyone. And then he had a huge fall from grace, due to dog fighting. But now he has been given permission to play the last two pre-season games, whilst awaiting the full result of his reinstatement later in the year.

Yes, I’m certainly happy he’s back. After all, where would we be, without second chances? It’s quite interesting that he’s landed at Philadelphia, too. Someone on NFL.com was saying how it’s a good move – the Eagles have structure, and McNabb won’t feel threatened. But I would imagine he will. This is the same McNabb, remember, who was benched last year. And now they bring in Michael Vick?

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. But I’m definitely looking forward to seeing him play again, whether it’s at quarterback or not.

Today has had an odd, grim, gloomy sort of feel, mostly due to the fact that death seems to be everywhere in the news, both locally and globally. It’s pretty chilling, especially when one of those deaths is a local kid, going to the same school that you went to in your youth. It’s surreal.

When it comes to ghosts, of course (which have been haunting a variety of news websites this week), it’s all a bit more light hearted. Well, they’re light-hearted when they’re the harmless sort of ghosts; the ghosts that are kindly, and don’t raise the hairs on the back of your neck. That is what these ghosts seem to be.

Indeed, this first one might not even be a ghost at all. To me, it seems to me to be a woman, sitting somewhat eerily behind the child. There is a video to accompany it, and they seem to think that it is unquestionably a ghost – they make a big fuss of it, in fact, and don’t seem to think anyone could consider it to be anything but a ghost. It looks very much like a woman to me, and a hoax. And this one, too is probably just smoke, or else there is someone in the photo, with a spooky air about them.

The ghost stories just served to remind me of the horrible deaths that seem to be happening all too frequently recently. Even my friend’s dog has died, making it quite a horrible week for him.

I decided that, after my contract in town ended, I would come back and live with the family for a bit. I suppose it’s a chance for me to gather myself. The whole “simple life” thing is wonderful stress relief; walks with dogs, brisk, chilly air, woods bustling with wildlife. It makes a nice change.

I find that I love being with everyone, even if we’re not doing anything at all, I find that it’s nice to just be around them. It feels something like a meeting place: my brothers have returned from university, and in a way it’s something of a reminder of a time when you didn’t have to worry about much more than what kind of crazy antics you were going to get up to.

So, yes, today has been a fun one. We ate at our local pub, played a bit of croquet (which is really quite a wonderful game), and, now, wrapping it up with a quick mess-around online, I’ve stumbled across this news article: a mouse, living in a cash machine.

What a wonderful way to live, wrapped in money.