Age creeps up on me and I get to a point I'm feeling old and geriatric. My memory is going, I don't know where but it is definitely not what it used to be. I forget things and quite often am not bothered I forget them, but I should. It could be there are too many things to remember, then because there are so many I forget the little and the large things.
Being older doesn't mean wiser either. I've met loads of old people who are to put it in a plane word "stupid" and have felt they certainly do not deserve my respect. So when the adage of respecting the old pops up, so do my heckles. Because someone is old does not mean they should demand respect, they may have a viewpoint but virtue of age doesn't mean this viewpoint is more important than any other person's. So in a paradoxical fashion because I am old and grumpy does not mean my own views are any more important either.
Discussion in age is somewhat tedious for me. I like to chat about things I find important and sometimes find it beyond irritation when people chit chatting about the soaps on TV. The soaps become their life, they become a surrogate through which all else is lived. They are a step into the bowels of an intellectual sewer which stinks through all of society. They make no demands on their thoughts of individuals or furthering of their education. Why people become non thinking laboratory rat's to Soap TV is beyond me. Unfortunately this means a common ground I could have to communicate with other's has evaporated. I feed on ideas, controversy, politics, I enjoy independence of thought and the Goats of society. Get thee behind me oh Lambs, your fleece is as soft as your brains.
Justifiably I dislike the bigoted, who do not give others time to air the point of view. Those who have to talk over every word you say, as though they are better than yourself. What they know is better, and they are closed to discussion and debate. They are like children who want attention and have not grown up. All they want is to act like human loud speakers whose vibrations are those of disgruntled individuals who need to grow up and learn to listen.
Think I'll go to bed now. Sometimes a rant is so good to get of your chest, oh thank heaven's for freedom of thought.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
A card in a bath
While doing a bit of unpacking this morning I came across a card which had been surreptitiously planted inside. It was from Sparkling. I read the words which were so apt, and could not hold back a tear. Then had to rush off to the Fish Factory to earn a crust. It was a beautiful card and I sit here knowing how much we both mean to each other, only warmth and love. Until it is I get reprimanded for inadvertently doing something I shouldn't, like cut the flowers when I should of cut the lawn. Well it's an easy mistake to make, but I did leave some daisys behind so there was some consideration, and unlike last time when I burned a lot of the lawn through over feeding it this time it is just a little trimmed. I must of been forgiven otherwise Sparkling would not of put such a beautiful card in my bag.
In a conversation with someone who knows about installing bathrooms I learnt a lot. Not as much as when I helped to install a bath, but a lot. In fact there is so much you can learn by talking to someone who knows what they are doing because they have done it. Unfortunately it's best to do it before the job rather than after. So next time L & B man comes up with a bright idea, if I have time I'll do some research first.
In a conversation with someone who knows about installing bathrooms I learnt a lot. Not as much as when I helped to install a bath, but a lot. In fact there is so much you can learn by talking to someone who knows what they are doing because they have done it. Unfortunately it's best to do it before the job rather than after. So next time L & B man comes up with a bright idea, if I have time I'll do some research first.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Installing a bath
The last week or so I have been helping L & B Man install a new bath for Sparkling. In fact I spent so much time with him it seemed Sparkling was put on the cooler for a while. We did manage to meet up somewhere in the middle and any other spare time was spent in each other's company. Rock Chick was also around, except for the time she wasn't around and was spending with Dangerous Sports Boy. Unfortunately he has to hop off every now and again for work which is based some distance away. But he likes his job and each day off you can guarantee he'll be in Rock Chicks vicinity.
The danger with spending too much time with L & B man is losing my sloth like way. It's a lot different sitting at computer and typing as composed to installing a bath. For a start there is the frequent trips down to a very large DIY store. I was in there so many time I think they began to recognise me and I'm sure on one occasion they were about to make me a cup of tea. L & B man is a dab hand at doing DIY things, whereas I'm more of a ham fisted hand at doing them, mostly because I just normally don't do them. But the whole experience was a learning one. I learnt about flexi pipes, compression fittings, 22 mm pipes, 10 mm pipes, taps, washers, screws and of course baths. I even got to the point of taking short videos of baths and pictures on my phone. Just to get a real feel for them. In fact L & B man showed me how to measure up a basin in one store when he leaned on it, spoke softly and ran his fingers along the sides. This was to see whether it would fit on a vanity unit. However, it actually looked like something else. Luckily we didn't get spotted on camera so were not asked to leave. As for a broom I had to purchase, I'll not say at all what he did when testing out the bristles. Of all things it was a laugh, I got complained at because I think too much and just seem to sit looking at stuff. Consequently I was told not to think. As I and L & B man got closer he even asked if I wanted to leave Sparkling and move in with him. Personally I took this some kind of brain illness like when divers come up too quickly from a depth and go doo lally. I didn't take him seriously, Sparkling would of killed me. It was a good time though and with being around tools, and plumbing stuff it had the effect of making me feel more like a man should feel. Macho, needless to say, until for some reason Sparkling or Rock Chick were making fun of me.
Oh, memo to self, don't tell Rock Chick she ever looks like something the cat dragged in, even if she has been out till after 3 a.m. in the morning. Comments like this can lead to headaches.
So the bath is now in, it works and so has cured the leaks. L & B man still has a basin to install but unfortunately I wasn't available for a few more to days to help with it. Sparkling will have to make the old one do for now. It has been a very tiring few days, and I think I've added an inch or two to my waist line. Now if only I could come up with a way to stop eating too much. Perhaps have a washer installed, or maybe an olive.
The danger with spending too much time with L & B man is losing my sloth like way. It's a lot different sitting at computer and typing as composed to installing a bath. For a start there is the frequent trips down to a very large DIY store. I was in there so many time I think they began to recognise me and I'm sure on one occasion they were about to make me a cup of tea. L & B man is a dab hand at doing DIY things, whereas I'm more of a ham fisted hand at doing them, mostly because I just normally don't do them. But the whole experience was a learning one. I learnt about flexi pipes, compression fittings, 22 mm pipes, 10 mm pipes, taps, washers, screws and of course baths. I even got to the point of taking short videos of baths and pictures on my phone. Just to get a real feel for them. In fact L & B man showed me how to measure up a basin in one store when he leaned on it, spoke softly and ran his fingers along the sides. This was to see whether it would fit on a vanity unit. However, it actually looked like something else. Luckily we didn't get spotted on camera so were not asked to leave. As for a broom I had to purchase, I'll not say at all what he did when testing out the bristles. Of all things it was a laugh, I got complained at because I think too much and just seem to sit looking at stuff. Consequently I was told not to think. As I and L & B man got closer he even asked if I wanted to leave Sparkling and move in with him. Personally I took this some kind of brain illness like when divers come up too quickly from a depth and go doo lally. I didn't take him seriously, Sparkling would of killed me. It was a good time though and with being around tools, and plumbing stuff it had the effect of making me feel more like a man should feel. Macho, needless to say, until for some reason Sparkling or Rock Chick were making fun of me.
Oh, memo to self, don't tell Rock Chick she ever looks like something the cat dragged in, even if she has been out till after 3 a.m. in the morning. Comments like this can lead to headaches.
So the bath is now in, it works and so has cured the leaks. L & B man still has a basin to install but unfortunately I wasn't available for a few more to days to help with it. Sparkling will have to make the old one do for now. It has been a very tiring few days, and I think I've added an inch or two to my waist line. Now if only I could come up with a way to stop eating too much. Perhaps have a washer installed, or maybe an olive.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Earth Quakes in my head
I was watching TV this afternoon, it was about earth quakes all over the world. Then it went on to describe a place where earth quakes are known to go on for up to an hour. It however was not earth. It was the moon. Unlike the earth the moon is a rock, because of it's solid nature when there is tension inside it, caused by the gravity of Earth, the moon begins to have quakes. The nature of the earth is it is mostly liquid and this acts like a sponge when a quake occurs so reducing the time. I checked out the scene of the moon, so beautiful and shining white above the earth. The camera showed astronauts having a walk, bouncing about like white two legged bunny rabbits. Then for some unknown reason I began to feel queasy. Sitting on a chair, at ground level I was having a vertigo attack. How on earth can such a thing happen?
Perhaps it's to do with an incessant headache. I woke up with the thing, couldn't shake it off. Spent four hours in the Fish Factory, and then decided I had to go home. At any moment I actually had the notion I was going to fall over. Both temples were being pierced by automatic drills. A pressure was building up in my head. Later on I managed to find a single paracetamol pill. Out of desperation I took it. Now some 15 hours later it has almost subsided in full. The vertigo was fine, the headache debilitating. I kept wondering at the time if there was anything I could of done to diminish the effects. There are multiple causes of headaches, dehydration, not enough sleep, even chocolate can bring them on. Or maybe I'm just having headache earth quakes of epic proportion, coinciding with blue moons and tidal pulls.
It must be a shame if the very thing you like causes the problem. Especially if you love chocolate. Maybe next time I'll just drink, and drink lots of alcohol. Because, if I'm going to have a headache you might as well have a good reason for it, rather than none at all. Yep, perhaps the cure is alcoholism. Nah, maybe not, maybe I'd just better get a supply of pills. Happy pills would be good. But certainly not watching a TV program about the moon which doesn't provide much escapism, that's for sure.
Perhaps it's to do with an incessant headache. I woke up with the thing, couldn't shake it off. Spent four hours in the Fish Factory, and then decided I had to go home. At any moment I actually had the notion I was going to fall over. Both temples were being pierced by automatic drills. A pressure was building up in my head. Later on I managed to find a single paracetamol pill. Out of desperation I took it. Now some 15 hours later it has almost subsided in full. The vertigo was fine, the headache debilitating. I kept wondering at the time if there was anything I could of done to diminish the effects. There are multiple causes of headaches, dehydration, not enough sleep, even chocolate can bring them on. Or maybe I'm just having headache earth quakes of epic proportion, coinciding with blue moons and tidal pulls.
It must be a shame if the very thing you like causes the problem. Especially if you love chocolate. Maybe next time I'll just drink, and drink lots of alcohol. Because, if I'm going to have a headache you might as well have a good reason for it, rather than none at all. Yep, perhaps the cure is alcoholism. Nah, maybe not, maybe I'd just better get a supply of pills. Happy pills would be good. But certainly not watching a TV program about the moon which doesn't provide much escapism, that's for sure.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Mirror, Mirror
Do I look fat in this mirror? I thought as I stood there and wondered if attending gym actually works. A colleague of mine who was a little sympathetic said the mirrors at the gym are made like fair ground mirrors. You look fatter in them because they want you to go to the gym more often was the reasoning behind this. But I thought, surely not all mirrors are lying? Surely there has to be some mirrors who are not tainted by this conspiracy. An outlier. One who stands at the edge of the crowd and refuses to follow the sheep, one who speaks the truth, although quietly because the other mirrors are always on the look out for a rogue reflector. I need to find this one. I sure hope they are not all singing from the same hymn sheet.
How to not strip a window
Yesterday I spent 5 hours stripping a window. I could of got the window stripped and painted fully in a day. But it was not the case because of an unforeseen trap. It is from experience these traps are constant things to be aware of and factor into any task. It happens when it's necessary to do a task but there are other persons involved who may have acted in some way on the object of the task. Like throwing away a window key. So it's easy enough to go to the shops, buy paint, brushes, white spirit, gloves, sandpaper and at the very moment you decide to get all these wonderful new goodies out to begin work, that's when you find the key to the window lock has gone. Just completely missing. The next 3 hours are spent looking in every conceivable place the key might have been placed and each time you find a new place you are confronted with new disappointment. Then although you have prepared 90% of your work the one thing you need to pass Go and get away from Jail you find has evaporated as though aliens have abducted it. Yes. Aliens abducted the window key. Nostrils flare, blood pressure rises and those pesky Aliens are running about free abducting Americans, because they are nearly always American abductees and one, yes, one single window lock key. It's amazing. I mean really amazing. So I get to thinking how come there are so many abductees? Simple the bloody aliens have knicked my window lock key.
Another three hours later and three miles of walking, because I needed the exercise I have purchased one window lock key. So an entire day has been practically lost in preparation work because of Aliens.
So the problem is in making an assumption. Assuming if a window lock key is left by the window it opens and there is only one other person in the house it will not disappear. Assuming they are sensible enough to understand the key is there for a reason.
Well we all know what assume means, because when you assume you make an "ass" out of "u" and "me" (ass-u-me). Damn those pesky aliens.
Another three hours later and three miles of walking, because I needed the exercise I have purchased one window lock key. So an entire day has been practically lost in preparation work because of Aliens.
So the problem is in making an assumption. Assuming if a window lock key is left by the window it opens and there is only one other person in the house it will not disappear. Assuming they are sensible enough to understand the key is there for a reason.
Well we all know what assume means, because when you assume you make an "ass" out of "u" and "me" (ass-u-me). Damn those pesky aliens.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Schooling fish
One pint of Guinness and I felt drunk. It is amazing how low my tolerance can be to alcohol, but it's fine, I don't mind. I'm a cheap date. Probably too cheap. Which means I'd better be careful who I sit next to next time in the pub.
Today rather than think about my belly, which usually takes up a small part I was scheduled into a schooling session at the Fish Factory. It was a matter of learning the legal requirements in dealing with certain extra large smelly fishes. However, there was really only one word which came to mind during the whole event. It was "arbitrary" because there were so many different things to consider, the size of the fins, whether the fish was poisonous, teeth, who was most likely to be doing last weeks sharpening of the knives and would they have done a good enough job, it ended up like a session of how to swim in a quagmire. Which can take a little practice, seeing as there are many quagmires at the fish factory I think I got some idea on what to do. So the entire schooling was really quite a bit of a no brainer and the Fish Trader who stood up at the front sounded quite like they had never actually got their hands dirty, so the truth being, I just didn't feel I had much confidence or respect in the delivery. I threw in a wobbly and mentioned a couple of Latin words I think the Trader had no idea of what they meant, when if they were worth their salt certainly should of. I'm not actually conversant at Latin, it's just a matter of knowing the odd word. Or two. On occasion. Especially when they are relevant. So all persons present except for the Trader finished the day knowing they had been taught very little and some little fish do have a pretty nasty bite. But I'll not go into piranhas right at this moment because a few of them I'm quite friendly with.
The other thing is, when these high falluting Fish sort earn a higher proportion of sprats than yourself. It's then you wonder how on earth they got into the fish business when they don't really show the acumen worthy of their sprats. So it is always nice to make them feel uncomfortable, to do something about it by then asking awkward questions or stating things they hadn't even thought about. Sometimes I think they suffer from Hubris syndrome, or is it peanut brain disease, well I get confused it's one or the other. But at the end of the day, they will carry on with their full catch of sprats regardless of their proficiency. Sometimes you just have to give up and say OK folks you got the sprats, but my world is in a different ocean from yours'.
So it's no wonder I had a pint in the pub today. My name was written on it. It went down so nicely, just like a fish to water.
Today rather than think about my belly, which usually takes up a small part I was scheduled into a schooling session at the Fish Factory. It was a matter of learning the legal requirements in dealing with certain extra large smelly fishes. However, there was really only one word which came to mind during the whole event. It was "arbitrary" because there were so many different things to consider, the size of the fins, whether the fish was poisonous, teeth, who was most likely to be doing last weeks sharpening of the knives and would they have done a good enough job, it ended up like a session of how to swim in a quagmire. Which can take a little practice, seeing as there are many quagmires at the fish factory I think I got some idea on what to do. So the entire schooling was really quite a bit of a no brainer and the Fish Trader who stood up at the front sounded quite like they had never actually got their hands dirty, so the truth being, I just didn't feel I had much confidence or respect in the delivery. I threw in a wobbly and mentioned a couple of Latin words I think the Trader had no idea of what they meant, when if they were worth their salt certainly should of. I'm not actually conversant at Latin, it's just a matter of knowing the odd word. Or two. On occasion. Especially when they are relevant. So all persons present except for the Trader finished the day knowing they had been taught very little and some little fish do have a pretty nasty bite. But I'll not go into piranhas right at this moment because a few of them I'm quite friendly with.
The other thing is, when these high falluting Fish sort earn a higher proportion of sprats than yourself. It's then you wonder how on earth they got into the fish business when they don't really show the acumen worthy of their sprats. So it is always nice to make them feel uncomfortable, to do something about it by then asking awkward questions or stating things they hadn't even thought about. Sometimes I think they suffer from Hubris syndrome, or is it peanut brain disease, well I get confused it's one or the other. But at the end of the day, they will carry on with their full catch of sprats regardless of their proficiency. Sometimes you just have to give up and say OK folks you got the sprats, but my world is in a different ocean from yours'.
So it's no wonder I had a pint in the pub today. My name was written on it. It went down so nicely, just like a fish to water.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Go to bed laughing
I been catching up the past few evenings with a comedy program. Watching a few episodes each time before going to bed. This has resulted in a happy feeling, with all the nasty thoughts of life and it's existence or non existence temporarily evaporating. But of all things, there is nothing like having a good laugh before bed. Even though on one night I watched a horror movie, but think probably the other nights of humour had inoculated me from being attacked by zombies as I slept. Unless of course zombies were busy in somebody else's dream. If this is the case I got a good TV series they could catch up on as well.
Shortly I will be going to see Sparkling. Which may be another reason for feeling happy. Well it might be if I get the back rub promised. I'm sure I will, I'll evoke the law of reciprocal return. The one which goes along the lines of you scratch my back I'll scratch yours. If it doesn't work I'll just have to learn to whistle, and hope I'm not put in front of a horror movie, just because it's time to put me in my place. OUCH. No maybe I will not ask for the back rub. The thought will let me go to bed with a smile rather than hiding from a Chinese ghost man standing in a lift behind me.
Shortly I will be going to see Sparkling. Which may be another reason for feeling happy. Well it might be if I get the back rub promised. I'm sure I will, I'll evoke the law of reciprocal return. The one which goes along the lines of you scratch my back I'll scratch yours. If it doesn't work I'll just have to learn to whistle, and hope I'm not put in front of a horror movie, just because it's time to put me in my place. OUCH. No maybe I will not ask for the back rub. The thought will let me go to bed with a smile rather than hiding from a Chinese ghost man standing in a lift behind me.
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