Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey

I have just read “Leviathan Wakes “ by James S A Corey. Wow what a read. It is space opera at its very best . Its set in our future where man has colonised the solar system. The main crux of the story is told from the view of two very interesting characters, Jim Holden, Xo of an ice miner and and Detective Miller, who is tasked with finding a missing girl. The two main characters are fascinatingly different and that whats makes the story even more engrossing.

Both characters courses of action are set because of their uncompromising natures and the story as it develops just makes you want to read more. The author should be credited because not only does he introduce loads of themes into his story, he doesn’t skimp on short changing you on any aspect of it. I was gripped from page 1 to the last. At least it wasn’t a short book.

I would very much recommend this to anyone who would want a fast paced interesting read. It is hugely entertaining and it also is a fascinating look at how man conquers the solar system .Read it and you wont regret it.

My ranking….a fantastic 10/10

I had to "fire" someone today . This chap, since he had joined us, had been on the watch list soon as it became apparent that he was not performing to expectations. After 3 months we had the chat with him and he seemed to respond well to the constructive critism of his efforts. In month 4 we had another chat with him as he was still perfoming less than expectations. Month 5...well we didnt last to month 5  as today I, with management, asked him to leave.

Its the first time I have been so involved in the process and I have to say it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Through out the process my tummy was tied in a knot as I know the decision will be devastating to the individual. It was the right thing for the company and to be honest for him. Why do I day that, well quite simply if his heart isnt in it then he needs to find a career that will keep him occupied, and interested!!

Heres the thing, you can fool the people around you some of the time but you certainly cannot do it all the time. Keep that in mind

His reaction to the news was pretty good actually and only then did the tension start to ease. If I can give anyone some advice when faced with a similar situation - tell it like it is and dont try and make things up. Know exactly what you want to say and be honest to the individual and yourself!!

The experience though, was not pleasant. I am off to have a nice boozy lunch and hopefully that will make my day a whole lot better than it was before.

I saw two movies over over the weekend that are worth noting if you ever feel the need to watch something without taxing your brain.

The first was Drive Angry http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502404/ with Nicholas Cage. This was an enjoyable movie about our anti hero John Milton who escapes from Hell to try and save his grand daughter. I actually loved this movie. My wife started watching it with me but within 5 minutes there were 3 dead bodies, an explosion and enough profanity to last a life time.

Piper (Amber Heard) is the eye candy who attaches herself to Mr Cages character and their story on how they get to save the girl (lets face it the ending wasnt going to be anything else but save the girl - er baby!!!) is entertaining. My favourite character is the accountant (the devils main man ) who is on a mission to get Cages character back to hell. And the baddy is suitably bad and evil.

Great movie...greatest scene has to be the shootout in the motel room when Milton is still mating the waitress from the bar..Awesome.

My rating has to be a rollicking 9 out of 10.

The second was Priest http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0822847/ a vampire movie set in a bleak world run by the church. According to the movie prologue the church trained warrior priests in the war against vampires. In victory all the remaining vampires were put into reservations and the warrior priests themselves faded into obscurity. This is the story about the wakening of the vampire hoards, the kidnapping of a young girl and a warrior priests determination to recover her, come what may.

The vampires are different (more animal than human) and for that alone I give this movie some credit. Nice to be different .. Also the priest Paul Bettany comes across well as the warrior priest. The story on how he saves the girl, while obstructing the will of the Church is as you would expect it to be and his skills in fighting , as the movie progresses, is impressive (even if some of what he can do is unbelievable) But hey what do you expect from a vampire movie...reality..I think not.

Rating 7/10 and I would have given it more than IMDB.s 3 star.

I have just finished "Outpost" by Adam Baker, a fastpaced book about the end of the world from the view point of a group of people working off an oil rig in the arctic circle. Its a very easy read and very very enjoyable.

I wont give too much away, other than to say its not your run of the mill disaster book. I would have liked to know more about the contagion and how it manifested itself (unless I missed it) to take over the world. But even without it it still is a gripping read. 

 I could identity with the heroes of the story because they are all flawed in some way, and that, along with how they deal with the disaster facing them, what makes the story interesting. I very much  liked how Mr Baker kept you interested in the characters even when they were beyond saving.

The book has some flaws but then what book doesnt. I read it in 3 days flay, no mean feat when you consider i have work and a family taht take up my time too,

So this is a heads up from me as a recommended read.

My rating 8/10

Transformers 3 - Dark Side of the Moon

I got the movie Transformers 3 on DVD and sat though a couple of hours of entertaining shit...Acting 3 out of 10 (no oscar nominations there) , special effects 10/10 - amazing what they were able to churn out..Story line a good 7.

I have watched them all and would grade the movies in following order ...1, 3 and 2. The first was  suprisingly good, original and fun. The 3rd was a giant step ahead of the 2nd (which, to be fair, was still an enjoyable romp, albeit not as good as 1 and 3).

My only gripe on the 3rd is that it didnt have Megan Fox.

To all and sundry, i would recomend this movie if you want to have a brain rest because the story line will certianly not tax your brain..visually it is fantastic and it delivers on the excitement front.

My grading 7/10

action cricket

I play action cricket every Tuesday for the Wombats in the Guernsey Winter Indoor leagues, and last night we had a great game against the KPMG Vipers (the youth development team) and we won!!! So 4 wins in 4 and we top the league which is fantastic.

http://icg.spawtz.com/SpawtzApp/FixturesAndBookings/CricketScoreSheet.aspx?FixtureId=1320

See scoresheet. Of concern is my contribution of -8..cant seem to combine my bowling with my batting. I did pretty well with the bat but got pasted by my bowling with the opposition taking a huge liking to thrashing me around the place. 

Still, very good game and great to be a part of a winning side!!

To those that dont know its an exciting indoor game of cricket which lasts no more that an hour and abit ...all players bat (4 overs) bowl 2 overs and field  in a net. Its  a frenetic fast paced game and is alot of fun.

Thank God for every Tuesday because winter here sucks and its a great sport to keep me occupied. Roll on summer thats all I can say

I have Bronchitis!!!

bloody bronchitis again - another reason to hate winter!!

UK about to go Siberian on us and if the news is to be believed, will be seriously cold for next few weeks. Global warming is what I want, hurry it up please!!!!

I played scrabble against the computer on the IPAd on the Hard setting. Its an awesome game but it frustrates me to death. I have played it plenty of times and it always beats me. What i have learnt though is that it will be unbeatable until i have mastered the art of pulling non words out of the air and displaying them on the board. Am i accusing the computer of cheating - too bloody right I am.

Still the addiction is on because the computer is seriously fast and you can finish a game in 10 to 15 minutes assuming you are quick. I cheat too but not on score, i just kill the game if computer gets too far ahead of me.

I did manage to just lose once though with a score of 393 (my second best score ever!!!) against computer's 415. Not bad..

Anyhow its improved my play no end cause I now know that there are loads of 2 letter words...The invaluable ones and totally acceptable are:-

Zo, Jo, and Xi

My love affair of the game continues cause it really is addictive