Sideswiped

It had to happen sooner or later... Since I picked up BotCon 2003 Sunstreaker some time ago, I had a strange yearning for his brother Sideswipe. Supposedly they turn up on eBay quite regularly but it wasn't until last month that I actually saw one for myself.

Naturally, I had to have it.

It arrived today, some 20 days after being posted (thanks, Royal Mail, you really shot yourselves in the feet with those two strikes, and I wouldn't be surprised if you start losing a whole lot of business because of them), all nicely wrapped up and waiting to be set free.

It actually looks damned good... In some ways, I regret recently picking up the second release of RiD Prowl to feed my RiD Lamborghini fetish. With both Sideswipe and Sunstreaker (TransFormers' only true 'Car Brothers'), I've rounded off that part of my collection on a real high note.

And, no, I'm not going to cave in and go looking for the other pair of BotCon 2003 cars, Shadow Striker and Roulette. Frankly, I find their remolded heads disturbing.

Guilt

Dunno what's come over me this evening... My plan was to get back into writing this evening, but my mind's just not in the right place at the moment.

For some reason, I can start thinking along vaguely positive lines, and then gradually descend into outright maudlin.

The train of thought was roughly as follows:

Following my week off work, I now have a much clearer idea of where I'm likely to be able to find an affordable place of my own.
Of course, due to the vagaries of the property market, I probably don't want to move as soon as I'd like, lest I lose a fair chunk of the value of the house before I move in.
Mortgages are still a worry, despite already having one arranged in principle.
But then, of one of the grandmothers were to die - as has been previously discussed with my folks - I probably wouldn't need a mortgage for the areas I'm aiming at...
That being the case, if that were to come to pass, should I worry about property cost versus imminent drop in property value?
Gosh, now that I think about it, I feel kind of bad that I don't visit my grandmothers very often these days.
But then, on the other hand, it's a deliberate thing because I want to remember who they were at their best. It's bad enough at Christmas, seeing less and less of the women I called 'Grandma' while I was growing up...

And that's really what it is... I want to remember my Globetrotting Granny (father's mother) - who'd pop off to China for a holiday simply because she could - not the poor, frail thing who can't even get herself out of bed, and barely remembers who my parents are.

I see my mother's mother more often because she lives locally. If my folks go on holiday, I'll sometimes pop over to her for an evening meal, so the both of us have some company. She has Alzheimer's, but is still just 'forgetful' rather than completely gone.

I can't imagine what my parents are going through, watching their parents unravel like this. They don't tend to show it (my mother tends to make light of her mother's situation... and then starts playing on her 'brain-training' gadget, or Sudoku, or something) but I'm sure they're horrified by how quickly their condition can change, and has changed in recent months.

Much as I say I don't want to see them as they are now, I'm sure I will soon enough... It'll be either by myself or with my sister, though.

One of these days...

...I'll learn not to touch the lens on my camera.

It seems very likely that the problem I had earlier with anything in the top/right of a photo being lighter than the rest was entirely down to a fingerprint occupying much of that area. Now that it's wiped away, the images are nice and clean again. Shame I didn't think to check earlier, but I didn't know I'd touched the lens.

Oh well.

In what little daylight remained before the afternoon became the evening, I snapped another few shots of Movie Leader Prime, Voyager Ironhide and Deluxe 08 Bumblebee, individually, to turn into 3D images. Worked reasonably well, though not as well as it might if they'd had a background of some kind to give them context. I ended up doing two versions of each - one where the 3D midpoint was at the waist, and one where it's the head. Interesting difference it makes...

At this point in the year, it seems that the light is good enough for photography between about 8/9 am and about noon, then again from about 2 to 4pm. Between those two slots, I have too much direct light casting shadows.

Kinda wish I'd done more of this earlier in the week, but the weather really wasn't up to it, and only cleared up on Thursday.

Back to work tomorrow... Shouldn't be too bad... depends on whether or not I have to lay down the law with the editor.

"Full Aperture!"

By which extremely obscure sci-fi reference, we come to... More stereoscopic photography!

One of my favourite things about this life is that it's a true learning experience. There's the old saying - all too often used sarcastically - "you learn something new every day", and it's so true. If only we pay attention, it's possible to learn thing without even trying. Forget school (well, OK, don't... it's important in its own way), just try things out and think about the results, and you're learning.

Getting back to the point now, I've had this digital camera of mine for at least 8 years... possibly closer to 10 or more. During that time, I've done holiday snaps, pictures in the back garden and, of course, photos of my toys.

And during that time I've never once fiddled with the aperture settings. I've just stuck it on Auto Colour Balance, Auto Focus, Auto everything.

Now that I have, I'm looking back at so many photography sessions I've done and thinking "That would have worked so much better if I'd adjusted the aperture settings..."

Thing is, I remember years ago reading a tutorial in a computer magazine or photography magazine on how to get good, detailed closeups of things that are perfectly in focus. I'm pretty sure (in retrospect) that it mentioned aperture settings but, to be honest, I lost that magazine ages ago. Knowing me, I filed it somewhere 'sensible', and I'll find it next time I do a clearout... but as far as I know, it's gone, and the photography tips with it.

Yesterday's stereoscopic photography yielded some excellent results (see below, if you have Red/Blue 3D glasses handy), but the models in the foreground were always hopelessly blurred, and those in the background weren't perfect.

The above is the result of using the default aperture setting, and placing the camera 0.8m away from the middle row of models, with focus set to 0.8m. Blackout and Starscream are nicely in focus, but everyone else is blurry. The 3D effect works quite well, but the blurriness reduces the impact. Bonecrusher, in particular, looks like a fuzzy blob - no detail whatsoever.

Same deal here. With the default aperture setting, Bumblebee, Arcee and Jazz are so blurry, you can barely make out who they are. The 3D effect is excellent and they stand out well... but where's the sharpness?

Well, that's where aperture comes in. It's dealt with quite strangely for a novice like me. When I did a web search for 'digital camera techniques macro' (since Macro mode is used for closeups, as the majority of my model photos tend to be), one of the pages dealt with where to focus, and how to set the aperture.

For a greater focal range, the aperture must be reduced... The article then went on to say "f/8 rather than f/2.5" or whatever. Now, call me simple, but when I first read that, I thought "Why does a higher number equate to a smaller aperture?" I was on the verge of putting it down to photographers being strange when I realised that it equates to 'f divided by [whatever number]', so dividing 'f' by a smaller number produces a larger result, and dividing by a larger number produces a smaller result. Not sure if that's what it actually means, but that's a good enough way for me to remember it...

I'm still experimenting, but the results so far are good... See here (again, only if you have a pair of Red/Blue 3D glasses handy...)

Everyone is now nicely in focus - so much so that I decided to add Scorponok and Frenzy into the mix. Not sure I've made the best use of either but, as I said, still experimenting...

Now you can see lots of detail on Bumblebee, Arcee and Jazz, and Prime is still in focus. Both he and Megatron seem to have become somehow washed out, so that'll be the next thing to fix... but I'm very happy with these two results.

I shall leave you with a quick battle scene I threw together. I really need a better background than my towel...

Weird Dreams

2 work-related dreams last night... One I barely remember now, because it seemed to just be routine stuff (inspired, no doubt, by news of my Monday magazine, that the Editor is being a prick and huge numbers of ads aren't on the system because of a problem with Sales Support). It was odd... but nothing spectacular.

The really weird one seemed to be set back at the old office. Recent enough that we were running PCs, and editorial featured the current lineup, but not really recent... My cyberstalker ex-colleague turned up, put his bag down, picked up some work, and proceeded to act as if he still worked there. Everyone was a little perturbed and confused because he was 'made redundant' some time ago even in the dream. No-one actually wanted to do anything about it (who knew what might happen if they tried?), and my boss wasn't around...

When he went off to make himself a cup of tea, I made a beeline for the Accounts guy - who seemed to be the only person in any worthwhile position of responsibility in the office - and mentioned that this guy had apparently returned. He then ran off to the kitchen and escorted him out of the office... While I hung back, out of sight, in the Accounts area.

I'm happy to report that this is only the second time - ever - that my cyberstalker has appeared in a dream of mine, and his first appearance (as an entirely black figure, standing in my back garden) was far more sinister... but still... not really a good start to the weekend.

Speaking of which, I slept far later than I'd intended, despite getting to bed at a reasonable hour last night. I finally surfaced around 11am. I'd planned to do some more stereoscopic photography this morning - before the sun rose too high, ruining the light conditions - and when I got up, the light was already creeping round into the danger zone.

Still, I had already prepared the shot I wanted in my head, so it was easy enough to get it set up. The hardest part, as usual, was getting the models out of the cupboard without knocking the rest over.

The next hurdle was that, while the camera reckoned it had about 50 minutes of charge yesterday, it wasn't five minutes after I turned it on today that it flashed up its battery warning. Thankfully, I managed to fire off three good shots, and have turned them into two 'greyscale' 3D pictures (the second being far more effective than the first) and - just to be all cool and experimental - one full-colour 3D picture. The latter doesn't work as well, but it does work. Assuming the light is still good - and that I get out of bed in good time - I may well do some more tomorrow... The key, as always, is to plan in advance, and have a very good idea of the layout of each shot before I make everything ready.

Now... Where's that camera charger...

Getting the message across

So there I was, just off the phone to my boss about an event we're hoping to get to (the AGM of the folks who organised that stonecarving day I did for my birthday), and I go downstairs to check on the progress of my lunch.

All of a sudden, and without any obvious context, my mother asked me "Do you know (friends of my sister and her husband)?"

I sort-of remember them... The guy frequently argues over trivia with my sister's husband, and the girl (his wife) barely says a word... ever... because whatever she says tends to earn sarcasm in response.

Well, to cut a long story short, this girl has just been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.

I say 'just diagnosed' but I hear that she's known about the lumps - and been in considerable pain - for at least a year but was (quote) "too afraid to do anything about it". It seems she hadn't told anyone - family, friends, husband - let alone a doctor, and had been passing the pain off as the result of a horse-riding accident. When she finally told her mother, she was whisked off to a doctor, then to a hospital. When examined, they found her now riddled with tumors and, while they're talking about chemotherapy, they're also pumping her full of morphine and describing it as 'terminal'.

Now, say all you want about me lacking sympathy and/or empathy, but how bloody stupid do you have to be to ignore the steadily worsening signs of cancer because you're too scared to find out whether it is definitely cancer? Hell, years ago, my sister found a lump, went straight to hospital and had it removed. That may not have been pleasant for her (and I only found out about it while she was in hospital), better that than wait a full year, 'soldiering on' through increasing pain, only to find you've left it too late to be treated.

Dumb, dumb, dumb... Seriously, that is a special kind of stupid.

"Now everyone's shattered," my mother said. I'm not bloody surprised! A year ago, this could all have been over and forgotten in a few days... Now this young woman is dying because she was too thick - sorry, scared - to get herself checked out when the first signs presented themselves.

And it's not as if medical practitioners need any cajoling to deal with a cancer scare. A couple of years ago, I went to my doctor with a certain discomfort/swelling and, without anyone so much as uttering the 'c' word, I was sent for an ultrasound scan. I was all clear, and I was relieved. That was the end of it.

In this day and age, when they've been recommending for years that women examine themselves regularly and go to their doctor with anything out of the ordinary, not doing so might as well be considered a deliberately slow suicide... I sympathise with her friends, family and husband, but that's about as far as it goes.

Cyberwulf

Following last night's strange outage, here are a couple of images of my basically-finished Sabrewulf repaint of Cybertron Snarl. I'm particularly pleased with the dark metallic brown over the bulk of the model... It was a random mixture of two enamel paints, and it turned out looking great. I actually managed to match the second batch pretty well, considering the first batch was just a few drips of each paint.

The rest of the colourscheme was an attempt to ensure it wasn't all brown and plain. There's copper, silver, touches of gold and a few red highlights dotted about. Of course, I wanted to recolour his translucent yellow missile, but don't really have anything suitable. Translucent red would be ideal...

With so much of the metallic brown, I felt it was important to highlight a few details on his wolf head, hence the gold around the mouth and the black and non-metallic brown emphasising the bags under his red eyes. The gold also extends through the narrow bands leading to his ears, and in the ears themselves.


Robot mode maintains the use of silver to break up the browns, also adding gold to the strip across his chest, the plate at his groin, and his face. There's also a lighter brown used on some of his chest/torso panels. Any kind of paintwork would improve this model dramatically - the plastic used on the basic model doesn't show up any of the molded detail - but the metallics really make the detail leap out.

This is easily the most extensive repaint I've done so far, and I'm really please with the way it turned out.

Foiled!

Having forgotten all about this, I've just tried posting a few pictures of the almost-finished Cybertron Sabrewulf repaint I've been working on, only to find that I can't currently post photos.

I'll give it a go tomorrow...

I keep telling myself that I take my holiday during this particular press week because the magazine is of a manageable size, and generally isn't too problematic... I now realise that's completely untrue.

The Sales Manager is still pretty inept, his team are insane (actually, one isn't that bad... he's just a bit loud and brash. The other one has no filtration between brain and mouth, so she ends up letting an entire stream of consciousness spill out of her gob without ever considering what she's saying or how it sounds. Seriously, one conversation I had with her some time ago went from comic book superheroes to accusations of sexual deviance when I humphed in response to one of her dumb comments), and the editor is bizarre. On the one hand, she's enthusiastic and cares about her content... on the other, she spends more time larking about with 'her' designer (ahem... I think you'll find that's my designer) than any other editor, and that occasionally gets in the way of her designing of ads and suchlike. That which pays the bills. The current theory is that the (bisexual) editor fancies 'her' designer. I don't doubt it.

Sounds like I'm in for a rum old time when I go back next Monday... the editor of my next magazine has been causing trouble and getting angry over very silly things.

Much like the rest of them, then.

I've managed to make a few waves in the office without even being there, by spying on the progress of today's magazine... and catching a mistake. Bizarrely, none of the monkeys I work with seem to have twigged that an internet-based file delivery system can be accessed from anywhere that has internet access... like my home.

Like, duh.

Today's writing went well... it's all very piecemeal. I can't seem to write any narrative from start to finish these days. It's always "beginning, end, middle, bits towards the end, bits around the middle, bits towards the beginning, more bits around the middle..." However it happens, as long as it works, it works and that's all that matters... it's only ever troublesome when the beginning, middle and end don't quite match up where they're supposed to.

Anyway. Tired now... Want to do some reading before I turn in...

Midweek

I know what you're thinking.

"You're on holiday... Not in the office for the whole week... why aren't you blogging every half hour or something?"

Well, I do have other things to do.

Not that I've been doing them, by and large. I had planned to more actively look into property, and the purchase thereof, but a quick chat with one of the salesmen at work last week put me right off that idea. The market, it is said, has reached the point where so many 'buy to let' schemes are failing, banks are no longer mortgaging them, and there's likely to be a huge flood of such properties returning to the market. Prices could plummet, and buying now may mean losing a fair chunk of the value of the property before I'd even moved in. Better to wait till the new year...

Not ideal news, to be honest. Yeah, great, there's a chance I'll get something better at a lower price, but that doesn't do anything about the fact that I'm still living with my parents. On the other hand, while discussing all this with them, it was said that, should one of my grandparents die anytime soon, I wouldn't have to worry about a mortgage...

But I know roughly the areas I'm interested in, and that's a start. It means I won't be quite so blindly fumbling around the property market once I'm properly looking to buy.

In the time I might otherwise have spent doing important things, I've been reading (returning to the first Thomas Covenant trilogy having finished both Wintersmith and Thud! recently), working on a TransFormers repaint that's rather more 'all-over' than my little movie figure touch-ups (pictures to be posted later!), attending to some of my oft-neglected writing, and watching the remainder of Captain Scarlet series 2.

And what an amazing series it is. I know I've said this before, but the storytelling really is leaps and bounds ahead of series 1. The models look slightly more real, landscapes and cityscapes are more complex and used more impressively, movement is better... there's even something approaching lip-synch most of the time (which puts Hypermarionation even further ahead of Supermarionation). Of course, there are a few duff episodes... But my biggest concern about the package is that (a) the synopsis for the final episode in the sleeve is wrong (presumably based on the episode that was rewritten dozens of times before finally being abandoned because it was considered 'too scary for children'), (b) the penultimate episode really should have been the final episode and, (c) the actual final episode would have worked far better at any other point in this series, or as an opener for series 3.

Returning to point (b), it occurred to me some time after I'd seen the whole of series 2 that, if one were to re-edit and splice together the series 1 pilot episodes "Instrument of Destruction (parts 1 & 2)" and series 2 episode 12 "Dominion", one would have a rather fine "New Captain Scarlet - The Movie".

I hope they do at least one more series of this... The story isn't over by any stretch of the imagination, and they've opened so many doors for possible future plots and events... But it seems that this experiment into computer generated Hypermarionation may have come to a premature end.

Familiar Faces

Over the weekend, I popped into Harrow to get a replacement for my factory-ruined TF Movie Strongarm, and browse for a new winter coat. On the former, I was successful. On the latter, I was not.

I have sometimes noticed that however grumpy shop staff look when I get to them, I've normally got a smile out of them before I leave... Strange, that. Also weird is that certain shops have a policy whereby, if they cannot determine the price of the item you wish to purchase, they will make a price up. Because of this, I ended up paying an extra £3 for the replacement Strongarm, as it's meant to be £7.99, but I was originally only charged a random £4.99 because the barcode wasn't recognised by the reader. Oh well. This new one works, and doesn't have a glue spillage in one knee.

Of coats, there were plenty... just none in my size. It's amazing that Small is such a popular size, really... I could make do with a Medium but, frankly, if I'm paying £80+ for a winter jacket, I'd like it to fit, please.

As I left Harrow, I glimpsed a familiar face out of the corner of my eye... One of the Salesmen I worked with years ago, back when I first started in my current job. Either that, or someone startlingly like him. I must admit, the guy I saw in Harrow seemed shorter than the Salesman I remember... but it's been so long, I couldn't be sure. Same smile... definitely same nose.

It is perhaps because of this that I did something very silly before I went to bed last night... Seeing one familiar face possibly stirred the need to see some more... Whatever.

Let's get one thing very straight: I loathe Facebook. I don't see the point of it, beyond the adolescent need to create a sense of community for oneself by having dozens of people you don't know add you to their list of friends because you're a friend of a friend of a friend... of a friend. I also loathe it because so many people at work seem to spend their entire lives either down the pub, or in Facebook.

Get lives, people.

Anyway... Adding to the "What possessed me?" file of utter stupidity, curiosity got the better of me and I popped over to Facebook late last night and tapped in a few names.

Really, they were names I should never want to utter ever again... Names I'd do well to forget... And yet they are names I can't seem to rid myself of.

And because I found a couple of them (the others probably wouldn't use their own names) and because they're looking happy (God forbid), I found myself flustered and unable to sleep.

They're still out there... and, I guess, I still need closure.

I am very angry with myself right now.

REALLY Giant F'ing Robots Are Here (for a limited time only)

Forgot to mention yesterday that I'd been to see TransFormers at IMAX. Gotta say, fourth time, I'm still liking it. Obviously the sound was crystal clear this time, so there was no difficulty in understanding any of the robot dialogue. Even Frenzy's bizarre mutterings became clear (particularly when he beheads himself with one of his own razor discs and - quite obviously - says "Oh, shit..."). The robots looked awesome and, while I'd disagree that the fight scenes were blurry on the massive IMAX screen, that format in general is a very convincing argument against the juddery camerawork that has become de rigeur in Hollywood.

Did the extra 2 minutes add anything to the movie? Not really... Just another couple of gags and a few redundant scenes. Nothing that will be missed on the DVD release.

Did IMAX presentation add anything to the movie? Well... Yes and no. It's the same movie, warts and all... but the giant robots really were giant, and the detail on them was phenomenal. Seeing Bonecrusher's highway transformation on such a large screen was worth the entrance fee alone. I would urge anyone who liked the movie to catch its limited engagement in IMAX

First week, close

And so we begin again in our new office in a new location in west London. True to my predictions, I don't miss the old place, and I'm not remotely troubled by the differences between offices old and new. The layout kinda works, the air conditioning works (the leak turned out to be unrelated to the aircon, something on the roof was leaking and, supposedly, has now been fixed), the computers work, the network is there, the internet is there (albeit slower, because IS didn't think we needed the faster connection in the new office), and we continue to function almost seamlessly.

No-one has mentioned missing the old place, so I can only assume that they don't. The 'bistro bar' is actually pretty darned good, with quite a variety of food, so it doesn't seem as important that we can't pop out of the office to the dozens of different restaurants or food shops that Notting Hill had to offer. Transport is easier for some, and more difficult for others... My journey, in terms of travel time, is much the same... But I can get away with being later before I arrive at the office late.

My magazine going to press on Monday could be healthier... The brand new designer somehow got the idea she had till next Friday to finish, so there are ten bits of editorial untouched. Neither she nor the Editor saw fit to voice any concerns to me (y'know, being Production Manager and all), so I had no idea. On Monday, I'll be redistributing the work between team members so we can get it all done. Not the most auspicious of beginnings for a new member of staff.

Worse still, the ads are in a terrible state. In the morning, 23 ads were not properly booked onto the system, and there were 13 pages filled with free ads. Somehow the Sales team had convinced the Commercial Manager that they had record takings, and so were being encouraged to keep the 13 pages to see how well they could really do.

My counterpart's team has been having an interesting time. With one designer on holiday, our Junior has been filling in... and the Editor he worked with prefers him. He's easier to work with, doesn't whine constantly and, contrary to many of my expectations, is a far better designer by most standards. It's a shame he had to flunk a chance at promotion before he raised his game.

In other news, I was planning to go back to Kingston today, to return my TF Movie Strongarm for replacement. On the way home last night, by boss offered to drive me if I could put it off till next weekend... I didn't go today but, depending on how I feel, I may yet brave public transport tomorrow. Of course, the idea of spending about an hour and a half travelling for a transaction that will be completed (assuming Strongarm is still in stock) in seconds seems a little daft even to me...

To occupy myself instead, I've been painting like crazy on my TF Cybertron Sabrewulf. Robot mode is all but complete now - just need to let things dry to avoid mucking up what I've already done, then tidy up a bit. Once I'm completely happy, I'll put him back into wolf mode and complete that (mostly details on the forelegs) and see what gets damaged by the moving parts. I was even able to mix an excellent approximation of the darker metallic brown I came up with last time, so it looks nice and even. This is going to be one cool custom paintjob...

On the subject of custom painting of TransFormers, it seems that the UK market for customs isn't quite as big as the US market. On eBay today, I found a bunch of movie customs going for only a couple of quid more than one could buy the plain, box-fresh version in the shops. Compare and contrast to the results of similar auctions on the US site, where certain customs sold for several hundred dollars.

In my slack moments, I watched more of New Captain Scarlet season 2... and I'm mightily impressed. Not only has Ron Thornton's team outdone themselves in terms of the CG work (way beyond even the best of Babylon 5), but the stories are - by and large - grittier and more interesting, with fewer condescensions to the 'kiddie' audience. The opening episode has some moments that are not for the squeamish. There are a couple of episodes that - for no obvious reason - lacked the 'back-and-forth scene cuts with dramatic percussion', which I'm guessing was an oversight at the editing stage. I quite liked season one, but this new season is bloody amazing. Roll on season 3... and more CG re-imaginings of Gerry Anderson's puppet shows.

Divers Alarums

So we're in our nice, shiny, new office. It all looks really great, but we quickly determined that some of the thinking that went into layout was decidedly squiffy, and didn't really take into account the needs of the department or the individual.

And then, three days in, we discover that the air conditioning isn't 'not working', it's 'not been switched on'. Sure, the little boxes on the wall were on (and on the lowest possible temperature setting)... but the power to the actual air conditioning system had not been activated.

Now it has... and our nice, shiny, new ceiling is leaking in Production. So a small section of our nice, shiny, new office is now cordoned off, with a couple of buckets catching the drips.

Amusingly, the site manager for the office build was escorted from the premises by the security guards today. Not quite sure how that happened, but apparently he's quite a big, imposing fellow, so I'm guessing someone from one of the other offices in our building took an instant dislike to him.

In other disastrous news, my next magazine - going to press on Monday - currently has 13 pages unsold, and 23 flatplanned ads not on the system. Sales blame Admin. Admin blames Sales. Bottom line: Accounts will be very pissed off when I put together the Stop List tomorrow with 13 pages worth of fillers and 23 free ads. I was assured this afternoon that there are good prospects for the remainder of the magazine... but prospects don't mean a thing. Prospects don't pay the bills and, by the end of the day, none of those prospects had turned into a sold advertisement.

This magazine, despite being one of the smallest, never quite manages to run smoothly... but it's been getting worse and worse. Sometimes I feel that I'm being a bit hard on this team, pointing out exactly how bad a state their magazine is in not only to their Commercial Manager, but to the Management Accountant as well... It's not something I've ever done to another team.

But then, I realise, no other team is quite this bad. No other team has presented me with this many unsold pages two days before press. No other team manages to have this many ads 'booked' but not properly entered into the booking system. I'm only feeling bad because I quite like them as people... but they're Salespeople, and I am acutely aware that me liking them just gives them an easier time manipulating me into doing things the way they want, and that has to stop.

I got badly stung a few months ago when, in good faith, I put together their flatplan based on their own, and most of it turned out to be little more than a fabrication. Did I get a grilling for that? Oh yes. Did I give them hell in return? You'd better believe it.

Since then, when I do the first draft, I'll take the Editorial content from the flatplan they draw up, but only place ads that are properly booked in, and warn them that I've done so. The second version of the flatplan will incorporate any ads that have made it onto the system since the first draft, ignoring any updates I've received that do not tally with the bookings. Again, I will warn them that this is so. By this time, invariably, we're getting closer to press day, and my Copy Controller needs to know what he should be chasing that's not yet properly booked, so the third version will incorporate ads that are not on the system, marked as such... And that's where it's just got silly this month.

I need to have a meeting with the Editor and the Sales Manager, because something just isn't working here.