The Beginning of the End (Of the Year)
Posted: Fri 30 August, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Cynicism, Festering Season, Television 1 Comment »It’s only August, but we’re already building up towards the end of the year.
This weekend, it’s the return of evil Saturday-night ITV drivel ‘contest’ The X-Factor. Knowing that the target for this is (as always) the Christmas Number One single, you know it’s only [x] weeks ’til the Festering Season is upon us once more.
Next weekend, BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing is back on. In the same way, that’s now part of the run-up to the Festering Season.
I won’t be watching either of them, but it’s still a signpost that that fat old bearded bastard is on the way, red suit, reindeer and all.
Bah Fucking Humbug.
Replacement Card
Posted: Thu 29 August, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Customer Services, Cynicism, Domestic, Finances Leave a comment »On Bank Holiday Monday, I went out and about, and used my debit card to get some cash out of a cashpoint (ATM, Hole-in-the-Wall, whatever) at a branch of my bank. The card slot looked a bit odd, but both machines looked the same, and I know Barclays love to piss about with how their machines work. So I thought nothing of it.
However, about twenty minutes later I walked past a different Barclays cashpoint (why they’ve got them in multiple places in the town I don’t know, but such is life – this one was in the wall of a WHSmiths) and its card slot was different, and didn’t have the bits that I’d wondered about on the ones at the branch.
As a result, I called my bank, and cancelled the card. Bit of a pain in the bits, but far less inconvenient than the potential for losing money to dirtbags and having to find it. I was expecting it to be a week before getting the replacement card – that’s about normal, and didn’t cause me any real problems – but just a pain in the bum.
Anyway, I’ve got to say I’m impressed. The card arrived yesterday morning. Two days for production, printing, whatever, and sending. I know it’s how things should work, and it’s still pretty sad to be impressed by something that’s just being done correctly, but in this one, well, all fairness to Barclays, they’ve got something right.
Lack of Service
Posted: Sun 25 August, 2013 Filed under: Customer Services, Domestic, Public Transport, Travel Leave a comment »While out in the car today, I heard the weekend’s local travel news.
Among other things, it appears that there are no trains at all running between Milton Keynes and London all weekend, due to “Planned Maintenance”. On a Bank Holiday weekend, with things like Notting Hill Carnival, Leeds and Reading festivals, and many other things. So yeah, let’s cancel (or at least disrupt) all the public transport to get there.
Even London Underground is prone to it…
I know that the thinking on this is all that the long weekend means that work can be done without needing to think about the penalties and reimbursements that need to be made to season-ticket holders (which is why none of the planned work takes place on weekdays) but it still sucks balls for those of us who want to visit London (or even just go through it) on a weekend.
Bitten to Shit
Posted: Wed 21 August, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Health Leave a comment »Over the last two days, I don’t know what the hell kind of flying bug has been attacking me, but it’s had a noticeable effect.
I suspect it’s a horsefly (again) – I’ve had similar reactions before, but in this case I’ve been bitten four times on one shoulder, which is driving me crazy. There’s a couple of other similar ones elsewhere (one on my elbow, one on my leg) and all six have swollen up with an allergic reaction (I assume) which has left me with hard lumps around the bites. My sodding shoulder looks like it could be a bit-part on Hunchback of Notre Dame
I’ve dosed myself up with anti-histamines, and taken some of the annoyance away with an aloe vera gel, but all the same, chuff me it’s annoying.
Replacement Glass
Posted: Wed 21 August, 2013 Filed under: Customer Services, Domestic, Driving, Insurance 8 Comments »Last week, when I was driving over for the interview in Cambridge, the windscreen got hit by a stone thrown up by the car in front. It chipped the windscreen pretty seriously, although it didn’t crack or break. It’s been annoying me since – it was right in my viewline – but I didn’t have a chance to get it repaired ’til today, due to doing lots more driving and commuting to office etc.
Getting hit by a stone like that is quite a sobering experience – or at least it is if you think about it a bit. You realise just how piss-poor your reaction time truly is. OK, it’s a closing speed of 140mph-ish (stone coming towards me propelled (I assume) at 70mph-ish from a vehicle travelling at that speed, towards a car travelling towards it at 70mph) but still, you see a blink of something coming towards you – indeed, in this case directly at you – and then the impact. You haven’t even had time to flinch. I assume that when it’s bigger items (you know, a car coming towards you, for example) you’ve had a bit more warning, a bit more time to prepare, but I don’t know. Honestly, I hope I never find out.
Anyway, this glass repair had to be organised through the insurance company this time, rather than the age-old technique of finding a company doing it in supermarket carparks. (It turns out that this used to be fine, but then became a nightmare of companies doing the same, invoicing insurance companies, and generally just all going to cock. Now the industry has entered the world of approved/preferred suppliers, organised through third parties etc. etc.) So all arranged for today.
They’ve tried to just repair the chip, but that hasn’t taken, for whatever reason. (Personally I think Saab glass has some weird coating on it that doesn’t like rubber suction cups. I know my SatNav has always had problems sticking to the glass, and on this occasion the equipment in use with suction cups was also failing to stick.)
So now I’m getting a full replacement windscreen. Bit of a pain in the tits, but at the same time I know there were other (far smaller) chips, so at least with a new screen it’s clean of issues and damage. I suspect it’ll be weird for a couple of days, having a completely clean screen. It won’t last…
Year One
Posted: Fri 9 August, 2013 Filed under: 2012/13, Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances, Thoughts 1 Comment »As of today, I’m no longer technically in bankruptcy. (Which is a weird word to type, but that’s something else entirely)
I declared myself bankrupt a year ago today, and that discharges automatically after one year, other than in exceptional circumstances. Basically, if the court decides you’ve been obstructive, or untruthful – or you’ve continued to build debt while in bankruptcy, or done anything else seriously stupid – they can extend the period of bankruptcy, but I’ve not done any of that, so it expires today.
There’s still a long way to go before it’s completely expunged from the record – another five years, in fact – but regardless, this is a milestone. (Rather than the millstone that the debts themselves were)
I’m still paying what I can afford for the next two years too. Once that’s done, it’s about rebuilding properly – for one thing, the amount I’m currently paying through the court system can go into a savings account. I haven’t missed the money, so I might as well keep paying it, but for my benefit rather than anyone else’s.
Bankruptcy isn’t an easy process, it’s not one I’d wish on anyone else. But it’s also not the great stigma on one’s character that it used to be, and while it’s not The Answer, it most certainly is An Answer.
For my own life, I’m glad I made the decision to go down this route – not that there were many other options, to be honest – because it’s allowing me to start again, to build up from those solid foundations that the last year has let me build.
11
Posted: Fri 9 August, 2013 Filed under: 2012/13, 2013/14, Change, D4D™, Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Old(er), Getting Organised, Thoughts Leave a comment »Somehow, D4D™ has now made it to its eleventh birthday. I never expected it to do so, but I can’t deny, I’m actually fairly proud that it has.
Events over the last eighteen months have meant that the writing here has slowed down, and lost its frequency (and in some ways I feel it’s also lost its way a bit) but I’m going to see how we do over the next year, and wait ’til this time next year to see what happens. I might close it down, I might just keep it with irregular updates. Right now, I just don’t know.
The last couple of years have been – interesting, I think it’s fair to say. D4D’s been through that time with me (well, obviously) and will continue to do so, I think. There’s still a long way on this old journey, and I think/hope the next year (or two) is going to be instrumental in whatever comes next.
Driving Through
Posted: Wed 7 August, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Driving, People, Thoughts, Weirdness 2 Comments »My local supermarket is on a small(ish) retail estate, and there’s also a McDonalds in the area, with a full “drivethrough” (sorry, “drivethru” *spitting noise*) option. Every time I go past it, there’s something that boggles my brain.
I don’t understand the drive-through option. Well, that’s not true – there’s one particular aspect of drivethrough behaviour that I really don’t understand. I get the whole “grab food while driving, and continue going” concept, that’s fine. For now we’ll gloss over the whole road-safety aspect – after all, if it’s dangerous to use a mobile phone while driving, surely it’s equally dangerous to be eating a messy burger – but I get the concept.
What I don’t get though, are the people who use the drive-through, and then park up to eat their ‘food’. What’s the reasoning? If you’re going to do that, surely it’s just as easy to take a proper break, go inside, sit at a table, eat, and then leave to go back on the road.
What’s the logical process for getting food, and then sitting right outside the premises (I refuse to call it a restaurant, sorry) to eat them?
Yet every time I drive past, there they are – people doing exactly that. They’ve bought at a drive-through, and now they’re sat in the car park to eat it. It truly makes my brain bleed.
Ikea-bound
Posted: Fri 2 August, 2013 Filed under: General Leave a comment »Yesterday, I went – for the first time in years – to an Ikea store. (This time, the one in Milton Keynes, which I’ve never been to before) Now bear in mind, I hate Ikea stores in general, although to be fair I’ve only ever seemed to end up in them when they’re ridiculously busy.
There’s a couple of things I’ve been thinking about getting, and basically I wanted to check those things out, and ask some questions. As a result, this one was more a research trip than a buying trip, which was fine with me.
This time – despite it being school holidays – it was pretty empty. Most people apparently had better things to do than look at furniture. Can’t say as I blame them, but it worked pretty well for me.
Mind you, even then there still seem to be a much larger proportion of brain-dead drifters in the store than in most shopping environments. I don’t know why, but even when virtually empty the idiots are still there, drifting across the walkways, stopping dead, and generally having no clue.
In short, I’ll buy the things I want there – but shopping there still makes my knuckles itch with the desire to punch some people in the back of the head.
Body-Image and Vanity
Posted: Thu 1 August, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, Health, People, Television, Thoughts, Weight Loss 1 Comment »On Channel4 this week there was a really good documentary(ish) with Alex Brooker about male body image, called “My Perfect Body”
It’s interesting to see how the perception of men’s bodies has changed over the last few years, and particularly a lot of men’s self-perception of their bodies, and particularly the assertions that a man isn’t ‘successful’ if they’re overweight, don’t have a six-pack stomach, etc. etc. In a lot of ways I think the programme was right, that a lot of men do ‘value’ themselves by way of their bodies, and that this is (at least to a degree) related to advertising/marketing, and those images of male perfection.
The other interesting side to it was about male vanity, and the surge in male grooming, ‘metrosexuality’, and even how male groups react to each others bodies; the basic answer being that men are (in many ways) bitchier to their friends than women are to their friends.
Personally, the whole vanity thing isn’t something I’ve ever been prone to. Yes, I currently want to lose some weight – but that’s more for health reasons and the like, rather than wanting to be thin/’successful’/’desireable’ and all that pap. Realistically, I’ll never be some 14-stone super-fitty, and honestly I don’t want to be.
I find it fascinating how the whole ‘group think’ perception seems to work, but I’m pretty immune to it. I wonder sometimes if that’s because I’ve never really had a whole group of male mates, and never been inculcated into that type of setup. I don’t know.
I’m not going to worry about it – part of my whole self-image/self-perception is probably more easily described as “This is me. Like it, don’t like it. Your choice”. In general, I’ve always found that seems to be a fairly healthy self-image, and it certainly causes me a lot less stress than a lot of people in the documentary…
Transport
Posted: Mon 29 July, 2013 Filed under: Driving, Media, Public Transport, Travel, Weirdness 1 Comment »What on earth is going on with public transport in Europe this week?
In the last week we’ve had…
- Two trains colliding head-on at Granges-pres-Marnand in Switzerland, injuring at least 40.
- A coach plunging off the road in Avellino in Italy, killing 38 people.
- and of course the train derailment in Spain at Santiago de Compostela, killing 78 people.
There’ve been other things too – the bus in Manchester ripping it’s roof off going under a bridge, for example – but it just seems like public transport is having a really bad time of it at the moment.
Children and Racism
Posted: Thu 25 July, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Charm School, People Leave a comment »This video is really interesting…
Basically, Cheerios released an advert in America that featured a multi-racial relationship, and – unsurprisingly – a lot of people complained about it. The video below shows the ads, and then the reactions of some young children to it, and to the ‘controversy’.
If nothing else, it gives us some hope for the future, where America will possibly become less racist.
Pulling Out
Posted: Tue 23 July, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Commuting, Driving, People, Stupidity 2 Comments »On my route to work – in particular, although I’ve noticed this phenomenon in many road/junction situations – there are a couple of junctions from which people can pull out onto the main roads, which are (of course) much faster.
I’ve noticed of late that there seem to be a significant number of drivers who either don’t look before pulling out, or look but who are incapable of actually judging the speed of oncoming vehicles. To whit, my oncoming vehicle.
I’ve actually lost count of the number of times this year where I’ve been hacking down the main road at 60, and these ball-bags just pull out in front of me, necessitating my needing to significantly slow down.
Even worse, they pull out and then just pootle along at 20 or 30 mph. I know it takes time to get up to speed – but seriously, so should they. And if you’re going to do a manoeuvre like that, you damn well make sure that you’re going to be speeding up in pretty fucking short order. (Well, I do!)
I don’t understand the logic (or lack thereof) in doing this, of pulling out in front of someone who’s already on the main road. All I can assume is that it’s either a) some innate need to be ‘first’, even if that means running the risk of being killed, b) they’re wanting an accident which would be “not their fault” in order to claim and replace their vehicle, c) an arrogance that their driving will force the other driver to slow down, d) they’re just fuckwit bastards, or e) all of the above.
Regardless, it just pisses me off.
All Change
Posted: Mon 22 July, 2013 Filed under: General 2 Comments »Here Chez Lyle it’s been an interesting week, and one that should be a gateway into whatever’s next.
The basic thing is that this week, my employer made me redundant. There’s a lot I can’t say legally, but that’s the crux of it. There’s a lot more underlying it, but that’s the basic headline. Redundant, with effect from Friday.
There was no real warning, just a ‘chat’ on Tuesday that turned out to be The Big Event, and then getting things organised, handed over, and finished off. In that time I’ve also taken legal advice, which answered quite a few questions in my own head and showed that perhaps I’m not quite the paranoid lunatic I was beginning to feel like I might be.
I’ve done OK out of the process, and it means I’m also immediately available for new contracts. I think I might take a week out – particularly considering the glorious weather – before I really start applying myself, but things will kick up a gear from today anyway.
All told, I’ve been surprised by the speed with which it’s all happened – and to some degree that it’s happened at all – but I truly don’t feel anything other than positive about the entire thing. That may change if I haven’t got anything new to go to by the start of September or so, but I don’t currently feel like that’s likely to be the case. I’ve spoken to some agencies already, and things are generally pretty positive.
Shit happens, and having happened, moves on. (Or something along those lines)
Heatwave
Posted: Wed 17 July, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, People, Weather Leave a comment »I know it’s been said by many, many people over the last few days, but fucking hell, it’s warm.
I don’t mind heat when there’s some breeze to cool it down – which is probably why I like the coast, lakes and the like. But at the moment it just seems to be so still, so stale, so humid.
Still, at least it’s warm and sunny, and that’s a good thing after what has felt like a very long winter.
Reaping What’s Been Sown
Posted: Sun 14 July, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Charm School, Cynicism, Domestic, Driving, Parking, People Leave a comment »Tonight, I’m enjoying a dose of schadenfreude (“enjoying the misfortune of others”, if you didn’t know)
Yesterday morning, an idiot parked up in a big-ass Mercedes in the pub car park opposite where I live. And left their parking light on. I don’t know where they’re staying – the pub doesn’t have rooms, so really they’re just taking the piss anyway. So the parking light has stayed on while they’ve been staying wherever.
Now they’ve come back to the car – parked up for 36 hours in a commercial(ish) car park, parking light on – to discover that a) they have a parking ticket, and b) their battery is flat, the car won’t start, and they’ve had to call the AA. (I don’t know for sure, but I assume that the AA will charge as well, as it’s down to driver idiocy.) Of course, because their car is safe, off the road, and not in any feasible danger, it’s right at the bottom of the priority list.
All told, I’m finding it very hard to be sympathetic to their plight, and may in fact be chuckling quite a lot.
And yes – I know I’m going to reap something on this myself, so by the end of the week expect me to be saying something about a broken car.
Lone vs. Lonely
Posted: Sat 13 July, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Introspective, Thoughts 3 Comments »The other day I was talking to a friend about relationships and the like, and part of the conversation was about being single versus being in a relationship. The follow-on question was “But aren’t you lonely?”
For me, I’m actually quite happy being single, and getting on with things. I know some people need to be with someone, and some are even shit-scared of being on their own – I currently work with a couple of people like that, in utterly crap relationships but won’t split up because it’s still ‘better than being single’, which drives me berserk – but I’m simply not one of them.
Sometimes I feel I’m actually better at being single than I am at being in a relationship. In general I’m too independent for my own good, but sometimes in relationships I’m also too easy-going, happier to go with doing what the other person wants than necessarily what I want to do. The stupid thing is that I know I’m doing it, and sometimes it annoys me that I’m not doing my own stuff – but it annoys me even more that I’m getting annoyed about it. Which isn’t particularly sane, smart or healthy.
I also know people who don’t like going out and doing things on their own, primarily because of how they think other people will perceive them. As regular readers (what few there are) of D4D™ know, I don’t give much of a stuff about what other people think of me. I’m absolutely happy to go off to the cinema on my own, to go out to places, even to take a holiday on my own. (Although I’m spectacularly bad at holidays anyway, and really should change that aspect of myself more than most others!) Probably the only thing I’m less good about when single is going out for meals, or drinking. Even those aren’t truly about other people’s perceptions of me, but more that if I go out for food, I like that to be a shared experience, a meal enjoyed rather than for fuel. And drinking on my own is just a slope I don’t want to get onto.
All told, I’m content being single and living my own life. A lot of it is solo, but I never really feel lonely. I know I have good friends across the country, and that – for me – is what matters. I don’t need (or want) to be in their pockets/lives all the time, and I find that makes the times when we are together all the more valuable. Additionally, I have a wide range of contacts and friends through Facebook and Twitter, and I tend to stay in contact through those mediums (media?) on a regular basis anyway. I perceive those conversations and contacts as being the same as (or at least similar to) a phone conversation, an email, or even a face-to-face chat, so a lot of the time I don’t even feel like I am alone. (And in truth I’m not alone, because of those friends and conversations. We’re just not physically close, but in every other aspect of friendship and contact, we are)
As per the title, I feel/find that I’m more Lone than Lonely, and that’s fine with me.
Not What They Meant
Posted: Thu 11 July, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, Media, Pedantry, People, Writing Leave a comment »Today in the EDP (well, on their website at least) there’s this headline
Murdered Wisbech pensioner’s niece makes emotional appeal six months after she was brutally stabbed to death and set on fire
Now, you know they mean “Niece makes emotional appeal six months after her pensioner aunt was brutally stabbed and set on fire“, but that’s not what it actually says.
So instead I’m going to be impressed at the moral strength of someone so distraught that she can make an appeal about a pensioner six months after being brutally stabbed and set on fire.
Yes, yes, I’m a bad person.
Independence Today
Posted: Thu 4 July, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Charm School, Cynicism, Thoughts 2 Comments »It’s July 4th, which means America is celebrating Independence Day.
Personally, I’ve never understood why the UK never celebrates Independence Day too, as “The day we got rid of that pestilential colony”.
Mind you, I’ve also always thought we should make more of the voyage of the Mayflower, and celebrate that initial migration of Puritans to their new land of hope and glory.
Tour de France 100
Posted: Tue 2 July, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Health, Television Leave a comment »Once again, it’s Tour de France time, and this one is the 100th race.
I’ve written about TdF before, but as always I’m just in awe of the people riding in it. Just taking part is a mind-boggling endeavour, let alone the achievement of winning the damn thing.
As always, it’s the final bits of each stage that I find truly gobsmacking – that these cyclists have already been cycling for three or four hours, up mountains etc., and still finish the stage with a sprint finish. I find that just awesome, and I can’t honestly think of another sport – or even really any other cycling event – where that happens. It’s not just endurance, it’s that mental and physical strength, the determination, and the pure physicality of that final surge, I think it’s amazing.
Six Weeks Remaining
Posted: Fri 28 June, 2013 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances Leave a comment »Six weeks from today, it’ll be the start of the next phase. Not that I’m counting or anything…
Even better, it all happens automatically, so I don’t need to do any extra paperwork, fill in forms, visit courts, or any of that crap. It just clears.
Advertising Morphosis – Friendly Money
Posted: Thu 27 June, 2013 Filed under: Advertising, Change, Creativity Leave a comment »Yesterday I wrote a bit about the changes in advertising for insurance comparison websites. The other main group that seem to be changing adverts at the moment are the Payday Lending industry.
Having worked in that industry, I’m probably a wee bit more attuned to those adverts than others. Part and parcel of being a geeky swine, I suppose.
Anyway, the two main companies whose advertising I’ve noticed changing are Amigo Loans and QuickQuid / Pounds to Pocket. Both have ended up with new agencies, I’m sure – the new advertising is worlds apart from the previous stuff. I’m not going to add links to their videos, I’m just interested in the way their portrayal has changed.
Amigo have gone from the Mexico-based advertising linked to their name to a newer one that appears to be more like Morph In Debt.
The other main one is QuickQuid / Pounds to Pocket – they’re the same company, so it’s really no surprise that they’ve gone down the same route with advertising, and the same agency. Interestingly they’ve gone away from the “realistic scenario” type of advert and are now using a theme of aliens and scientists. Why, I don’t know – I’m not an advertising wonk, so the whole concept is a bit beyond me.
All the same, it’s interesting to see how these things are changing, as these once ‘on the edge’ industries appear to be becoming more mainstream, more accepted, and (I assume) making use of larger agencies, with bigger budgets.
Advertising Morphosis – Comparing Confusion
Posted: Wed 26 June, 2013 Filed under: Advertising, Change, Creativity, Thoughts Leave a comment »Over the last few months, it’s been interesting to see the adverts on TV that have changed radically – and as it happens, there are two main industries who appear to have changed their advertising massively in that time. The first is insurance comparison websites, the second is payday lenders.
In both areas, I suspect the reasons for change are the same – of all the adverts on TV, those two sectors had the adverts that were the most annoying. Insurance Comparison sites advertising was pretty much universally loathed – I know that their ‘recognise the brand’ methods worked, but backfired in that I remembered the brands so I could be sure to never ever give them any money.
GoCompare was the biggest culprit on this, with their poxy opera-‘singer’ character.
He’s still around, but they’re fading the character out. (And not a moment too soon, in my opinion)
They’re interesting, because in a lot of ways they now seem to be acknowledging that the character is/was ridiculously fucking annoying, and they’re now working on keeping the character while hopefully reducing the annoyance factor significantly.
The next biggest one was Confused.com, who’ve got rid of their super-annoying animated and musical adverts…
And replaced it with a weird Wall-E-esque robot instead…
It’s all definitely an improvement, and on the rareish occasions I watch adverts (more often caused by forgetting I’m watching something recorded, and still watching the ads) I no longer feel the need to poke my eyes out and block my ears.
Ongoing Reductions
Posted: Mon 24 June, 2013 Filed under: 2012/13, Diet Coke, Domestic, Getting Organised, Health Leave a comment »Since last November I’ve been cutting down on my intake of Diet Coke, and doing OK on it. I’ve written about before, and will no doubt write about it again in the future.
We’re now six full months into 2013, and I’ve kept the intake down. It’s not zero – I don’t want it to be – but in general it’s about a quarter to a third of what it used to be, if not less. I’m still quite proud of that reduction, and of keeping the reduction going. My water intake has increased significantly as a result too, which is also supposedly a good thing – it’s certainly doing its thing to keep my kidneys in working order!
I still have good days and bad days – but less bad days than I used to – but overall I think it’s fair to say that the reduction might just be here to stay. Time will tell of course, but I think this is the longest sustained cut-down I’ve had in years.
Power Play
Posted: Sun 23 June, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Cinema, People, Thoughts Leave a comment »Sat in the cinema, waiting for the film to start, another couple come in. They start to discuss where to sit. She wants to be near the front. He – it’s safe to say – doesn’t.
Her : “I want to sit here, it’ll be fine”
Him : “let’s go to the back. There’ll be less people” (wrong, but hey ho)
Her : “I want to sit here”
Him : “fine babe, you pick where you want to sit”
She does.
Him : “well I’m not sitting there” and walks off, expecting her to follow.
She doesn’t.
Five minutes later, he comes back, and sits next to her.
Funny as hell, to the observer. 🙂
Coming close
Posted: Sat 22 June, 2013 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Change, Domestic, Finances Leave a comment »This month is probably the tightest I’ve had (now there’s a search phrase that’ll come up trumps) in the last year, when it comes to finances. The fact that it’s still manageable is – in my opinion – worthy of some note.
It’s been tight primarily due to the need to replace two techie items – as written about previously, both Laptop and Kindle have needed replacing – but I knew I could get through it. That on its own is a revelation, compared to how things were this time last year.
And sure, I could have waited to replace the Kindle – although I’m also aware of other stuff coming up next month, so such is life – but it was the decision I made, and as always I knew the consequences and what the month would be like.
I’m still ok – just – and I know there’s an extra dollop of money hitting my account on Tuesday, so it’s all pretty safe really, but it’s still made things interesting.
The development and progress from this time last year is interesting though. I’ve been able to do this without too much stress or juggling, and that shows me how things can – and will – be in future. I can do this, so long as I’m not stupid. (Well, not too stupid) The light at the end of the tunnel finally appears to be a light, rather than another train coming the other way.
Data Migration – Kindle
Posted: Mon 10 June, 2013 Filed under: Charm School, Customer Services, Domestic, Finances, Geeky, Getting Organised, Technology, Thoughts Leave a comment »By contrast to the ease of migrating data to the new laptop, resyncing a new Kindle is an absolutely shite experience.
The actual purchase/delivery of it is great – ordered on Friday, arrived today. But synchronising it is crap.
Rather than a simple “download everything” option – or even having a “download everything on this page” – you have to choose to download each eBook individually. Even on the website, it’s a list with individual controls. Not even a checkbox against each item and a ‘download all’.
Why? I’ve no idea. But it means that what should be a simple “connect this device to my Amazon account” to download everything becomes a nightmare of (in my case) roughly 1,000 mouse-clicks. That’s no exaggeration. I’ve got 260 books on my Kindle. For each one you’ve got to click on “Actions”, then “Download”, then Select the device (there’s only one device – at least fucking auto-select it!) . For each book.
It’s a truly painful and shit experience, and there’s an email going to Amazon to explain that.
All in One – or Not
Posted: Sun 9 June, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Cynicism 2 Comments »Currently, Persil have some adverts running on TV about their new “All in One” washing capsules. (There’s no youtube version of it so far that I could find.)
Except, if you read the “terms and conditions” text (also known as “the bit where we need to be a bit more honest”)…
“Capsules do not contain fabric softener”
So – not really ‘All in One” at all then?
Lying fuckstick bastard advertisers.
More Broken
Posted: Fri 7 June, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Domestic, Finances, Geeky, Stupidity, Technology, Thoughts Leave a comment »It’s obviously the month for tech stuff to break.
Following on from the laptop, the iPhone battery pack, and the iPhone cable, the Kindle’s just died. (I know, I know, “That doesn’t happen with books”, blah blah) My own fault, out with friends last night, had the Kindle (in a case) in my pocket all night, and somewhere along the line it’s got squished, and the screen has cracked in the way eInk ones do, so it’s no damn use to anyone.
I *should* have left it in the car, but forgot. That’s the way of things sometimes. No idea exactly when it happened, although it was probably when five of us crammed into a taxi, which was fairly tight.
Ah well, live and learn.
Impetus
Posted: Wed 5 June, 2013 Filed under: D4D™, Domestic, Geeky, Technology, Writing Leave a comment »One interesting side-effect (currently) of the new laptop is that it seems to have caused a resurgence in writing, or at least the desire to write.
I don’t know why though – although I guess some of it is down to having a nice new clean (and reliable) keyboard that makes things a bit easier.
I’ve also installed a couple of bits of writing software – Scrivener, and my old fallback, CeltX – as well as the LibreOffice package. (an open-source version of Microsoft Office, and much better in my opinion)
We’ll see how things go with a potential writing resurgence, but at least it’s starting off pretty well.
Data Migration
Posted: Tue 4 June, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Getting Organised, Technology, Thoughts 3 Comments »Every time I get a new computer – laptop, PC, work machine, whatever – and/or change jobs, one of the biggest challenges is always taking existing data and moving/copying it to the new device. And it’s not just the data, it’s also the applications – the programs that make use of the data.
But it’s also always getting easier. The process this time was the smoothest to date, and a lot of that is down to ‘cloud’ services. I store a lot of my stuff now with Dropbox, although there’s also plenty of other services. I store my data in an encrypted fashion, so it’s also secure – while I like the ease of storage on Cloud-based services, I don’t trust them with my information – but it means that once I’d installed Dropbox on the new laptop, then my key files were all being synced and downloaded.
The other thing I like about using Dropbox and it’s ilk is that if you save your files there immediately, it’s not just a saved file, it’s automatically backed up. The risks of my losing important documents is pretty much gone, because I save everything to the folder on my machine that links to a cloud-based service. All my work stuff (which is also backed up with Subversion Version Control) goes to one service, all my personal work, writing etc. goes to a different one. But the key thing is that everything’s safe, and I don’t even need to remember to do a backup.
For larger stuff, it’s still a case of “copy onto portable hard drive” – I prefer the speed of that to doing it via wi-fi – but even that is easier now with the much larger sizes of portable drives. At some point, I could add a NAS (Network Attached Storage) box, so all the data is in one central location, and the machine(s) just access it off that box/server. But for now that investment isn’t worth the time, energy or money.
All told, getting New Laptop sorted out has probably taken the best part of a working day – but that includes learning the idiosyncracies of a new Operating System and downloading/installing the apps, odds and sods that I want/need, as well as getting the data over. It’s been a pretty easy process, I have to say.
Equipment Longevity
Posted: Mon 3 June, 2013 Filed under: D4D™, Domestic, Geeky, Technology, Thoughts Leave a comment »As part of yesterday’s post about equipment failures, I realised just how long I’d actually had the previous laptop, which was quite surprising.
Looking back, I should have realised it was quite a while, thinking back to where I was and so on at the time I got it.
I’m pretty tough on technology, so it’s actually quite impressive that the Dell laptop lasted just under four years. I do a lot of travelling (as has been written about too many times to mention) and the laptop will always just get shoved in my backpack, rather than using a ‘proper’ laptop bag. (Mainly because I’ve seen too many idiots carrying laptop bags over one shoulder, seen how easy it is for people to steal them, and how much it makes you a target, a sign of visible wealth/gadgetry)
I dread to imagine how many hours of use the Dell laptop has had, but I’m pretty sure that it’s more than paid for itself over the four years.
Equipment Failure
Posted: Sun 2 June, 2013 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Change, Domestic, Finances, Geeky, Getting Old(er), Getting Organised, iPhone, Shopping, Technology, Thoughts, Weirdness 1 Comment »Don’t worry, this isn’t another post about the joys and pitfalls of getting older…
No, instead it’s about technology, and why the bastard stuff all ends up failing at the same time.
First of all, this post is being written on a new laptop – which I really could’ve done without having to get, but needs must when the devil drives (and/or you’re a web techie and wannabe-writer). The old Dell laptop – which it turns out I bought back in September 2009, so I shouldn’t whine so much, I guess – had been getting flakier over the last six months, but I’ve been eking out the life of it since then, suffering the occasional (and then more regular) hard-drive crash, and the ropy keyboard with some keys that only worked intermittently.
This week though it’s been crashing every time it was in use, and was obviously getting to the point where I needed to a) pull all the relevant data off it like NOW, and b) replace it with something else. And with a trip up to Manchester this week where I’m *really* going to need a reliable laptop, this was the weekend for it.
So I’ve bitten the bullet somewhat, and the new one is a (dirt-cheap) Asus thing, running the already-much-disliked Windows 8. To be fair to Windows 8, the old laptop was on the much-loathed Vista, which I never really found all that annoying. Eight annoys me more so far, but I’ll get used to it.
The other two equipment failures are both iPhone related, allbeit power-related rather than device-related. (Although I did think one of them might’ve been the phone being fucked, which was a real worry) First the Mophie battery case has failed. Again. (More accurately, the cable/charger for it, which will no longer charge) I love the Mophie cases, but they do seem to be somewhat crap, and only last about a year. And then the normal iPhone charge/sync cable also went kerfut and wouldn’t charge the phone. So I’ve had to get a new cable for that as well – considerably less expensive than the laptop purchase, but still, why all at the same time?
Oh yeah, and the fridge in the house also played up this week, with one day where it didn’t appear to be working all that well. Fortunately it’s now back up and running.
But why the hell would four things, two fairly major, all decide to kiff out within the same week? Weird things, I tell thee, weird things.
Commuting in Half-Term
Posted: Wed 29 May, 2013 Filed under: Commuting, Driving, M1, People, Thoughts Leave a comment »Currently, the schools around where I live and work are on a break for half-term , and the effect this has had on my commute is just ridiculous.
During term-time, a “good” commute is 35-45 minutes door-to-door in the morning, and a “bad” one can be an hour plus. The difference in departure time to change from a good to a bad one can be less than ten minutes.
Today, my door-to-door morning run – even with still fairly heavy traffic on the M1 – was 22 minutes. That’s nearly half the time it takes during term-time.
I know more parents drive their kids to school “these days” (and yes, I also know what an old fart that makes me sound like) but the difference in traffic-flow really is surprising, even with that knowledge.
Where Are They Now
Posted: Wed 29 May, 2013 Filed under: D4D™ Leave a comment »Over on the newly revitalised Uborka – now there’s a blast from the past – they’re doing a series of “Where are they now?” articles/interviews with Old Skool Bloggers, and this week it’s Yours Truly.
So hop on over, and have a look!
Roy Lichtenstein, Tate Modern
Posted: Mon 27 May, 2013 Filed under: Creativity, Domestic, Getting Organised, London, Reviews(ish), Thoughts, Travel Leave a comment »Over the weekend, I took a trip down to That There London, primarily to see the Roy Lichtenstein retrospective at the Tate Modern. It’s been on for a while, and I’d meant to see it earlier, but then checked last week to realise yesterday was the final day. And so, the plan was born to get down and see it.
I’ve loved a lot of Lichtenstein’s work for many years now, and the exhibition had the originals of a couple of my all time favourites (Particularly “Whaaam!”) so it was definitely a good reason to go and see it.
But what I hadn’t realised was that this sort of stuff was only a small part of his work – although the style remains the same, there’s a lot more that I’d never known about.
My own particular favourites (in no particular order) were the Lichtenstein versions of other classic artists (including Mondrian and Picasso) and also his versions of classical Chinese landscape portraiture, which are just excellent.
I was really pleased that I’d got down to see the exhibition – although I do find that most of the stuff in Tate Modern is unconscionable piss, every so often they throw out a gem.
Ageing
Posted: Sat 25 May, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Getting Old(er), People, Thoughts 2 Comments »Most of the time, I forget I’m 41. Hell, most of the time I have to work it out when someone asks how old I am. No-one ever believes I’m the age I am, and most people seem to estimate it as mid-30s (or less than 12, depending on my behaviour at the time) which is fine with me. Fact is, people have been estimating my age as mid-30s since I was early 20s, so I suppose I’m aging fairly well in general – although I must’ve been fuck-rough at 20.
My hair’s been going grey since mid-20s, and that doesn’t really bother me. My mum went grey early on – less charitable souls could observe that might be related to having me – so it’s always been expected.
Recently though, there’ve been other signs of ageing, and I can’t deny, my own sense of vanity (small though it is) rebels against them.
Firstly it’s been the hair growing on my ears – what the hell is that about? For some reason I now get long hairs growing on the top of my ears, and rounds the edges. I don’t see the point of it, but there we go. It’s annoying- to me – but I’m sure no-one else cares.
And now the grey hairs are appearing elsewhere. Eyebrows first – and man do they show up! And now today, I discovered the latest ignominy – I’m even getting grey chest-hairs. Obviously they’re less publicly visible, but all the same, it’s just a bit depressing, all these combining signs that I truly am getting older…
Carnage – or Gift of “Love” part 2
Posted: Mon 20 May, 2013 Filed under: Animals, Domestic 2 Comments »Following on from my post the other day regarding being greeted on my return home by a pile of feathers, this morning I came downstairs to this…
Three bird corpses on a doormat
Yeah, thanks for that, cats.
The thing that pisses me off the most with this is related to the great lie about “Only humans kill things for fun”. It’s so blatantly untrue. In this case, the cats aren’t hungry, they just wanted to kill things. There was plenty of meat etc. remaining. Foxes do the same – they don’t kill one chicken because they’re hungry – they kill all of them, because it’s fun.
I know, they’re cats. Blah blah blah. But still, a totally pointless piece of killing.
Fuckers.
Naming Conventions
Posted: Mon 20 May, 2013 Filed under: Animals, Domestic, Introspective, Weirdness 1 Comment »This weekend I realised something really odd, which is this…
Even though all three cats have names , I never call them by those names – and I don’t know why. Even when talking about them to others, I usually identify them by breed rather than name.
I really can’t explain why I do it, it’s certainly not been a conscious decision.
All very odd. But it’s going to be a nightmare if I ever do lose one of them, because there’s little to no chance they’ll respond to their name…
A Gift of “Love”
Posted: Sun 19 May, 2013 Filed under: Animals, Domestic Leave a comment »Last night, I’d been out at the cinema, and came home to what can only be described as a load of feathers in the front room.
I’m not sure which cat had brought in the bird. From the state of the feathers, it was only a young one, so I’m assuming it had fallen out of a nest somewhere and been brought home.
Far, far more worrying is that I can’t find any sign of the remains. I’ve checked through the living room (including behind the sofa, under book cases etc.) and the rest of the house, but there’s nothing. Not even the “beak and feet” option, which I’ve seen with other cats in the past.
So it’s either a) escaped, b) been wholly eaten or c) the remains are very well hidden. B currently seems far more likely, and I’ll only find out about c if/when it starts to smell…
Paying Attention
Posted: Sun 5 May, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Driving, Thoughts, Weirdness Leave a comment »A few months back when I got the Saab, I thought they weren’t all that common. I’ve always liked them through the years, so I usually noticed them when they were around. (This might also have something to do with the absolutely vile colour-schemes a lot of them tend to possess) All the same, I didn’t see them that often – and I was doing a lot of miles at the time. Of course, I’m still doing a fair amount of mileage, but no more than I was doing before.
Anyway, now I own the Saab, I can’t take a damn journey without seeing at least a couple. Not necessarily the same 95 model as mine (although even that’s not uncommon) but definitely the 93 in its various guises.
I know the whole theory of familiarity, that you notice things more because you’re also doing them – hence seeing the same type of car as your own, or how everyone’s having kids if you are, etc. etc. – and I’m sure that’s what’s happening, but all the same, it feels very odd indeed.
One Year
Posted: Sun 5 May, 2013 Filed under: 2011/12, 2012/13, Change, Domestic, Getting Old(er), Getting Organised Leave a comment »Exactly one year ago today – date-wise, rather than weekday-wise – I moved to the new place.
It’s been one hell of a year, and eventful in many ways. Looking back, in some ways it’s raced past and feels like only a few weeks. Indeed it’s only when I look back and list the amount of stuff I’ve actually done in that time, check out all the changes and occurences in that time, that I realise how much has been done, and then it seems amazing how I’ve fitted it all into such a short span.
There’s still a lot to do, many changes to be made, many things to be tried and worked on. Some I’ll do, some I won’t. But this last year has been a good building block, and it’s laid the foundations for a lot of the upcoming stuff that should be really quite interesting.
100 Remaining
Posted: Wed 1 May, 2013 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances Leave a comment »From today, I have 100 days left of the official bankruptcy period. I’m two-thirds of the way through it already, which is pretty amazing.
I don’t know yet what the plans are once I’m done with it – rebuilding things slowly but surely, I guess – but from here on in I think I can at least start to figure out what comes next.
Bastardry
Posted: Mon 15 April, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Charm School, Commuting, Domestic, Driving, People, Stupidity, Travel Leave a comment »Over the last year, one particular section of my daily commute has made me realise two things
- People are really fucking stupid
- I’m a complete bastard, and still get amused by watching stupid people screw things up
The road section is this one – Junction 13 of the M1. The particularly bad section is at the top – I come off the Motorway at the bottom right of the photo, have to go all the way round the first roundabout, over the motorway bridge, and straight over the second one to head towards home.
Junction 13 of the M1
However, rule #1 above says that people are really fucking stupid. This means that
- At least once a week, I see people on the first roundabout wanting to turn right (i.e. the same way I go), get confused, and drive back on to the M1, instead of taking the next turn off.
- Pretty much every day I see people in the wrong lanes on the first roundabout, being in the left-hand lane to turn right, right-hand lane to turn left or go straight-on, cutting lanes across the roundabout, etc. etc.
- Probably three times out of five, I’ll see people come off the other roundabout, and be totally confused about where to go next. That turn-off has two lanes – the left one to go straight on, the right one to – yes! – turn right. The number of people I follow who are in the wrong lane, and completely bemused by the junction is just unreal.
Of course, with option two there is also the – very minor – justification that it’s a confusing or badly designed junction (and in my opinion it is a bit shit) but it actually isn’t that bad. Slightly obscure, but not bad – so long as drivers read the signs and the roads. Which is, of course, the underlying problem.
And rule #2 is that I’m still a bastard. I can’t help but laugh at the fuck-knuckles who drive back onto the M1, and also (to a lesser degree) to the ones who fuck up the second roundabout.
I’m not perfect when it comes to driving – and I’d never claim to be – but at least I can read the road and don’t screw up the simple things.
Sweary Hypocrisy
Posted: Sun 14 April, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Charm School, Cinema, Cynicism, Hypocrisy, Offensive Repetition, People, Reviews(ish), Seeing Films, Sweary, Thoughts, Weirdness Leave a comment »I’ve found a new source of amusement – the “Parental Guides” for films on IMDB.
A perfect example is here, for the new Tom Cruise film “Oblivion”
Why is it so amusing? For wondrous things like this…
bitch used 2 times bastard 1 time ass 4 times shit 6 times 1 use of fuck. Son-of-a-b***h is used once.
It’s the hypocrisy of it all – coupled with the tweeness. In the example above, it’s OK to write bitch, bastard and fuck, but son-of-a-bitch gets asterisked out? Fuck me.
Increased Security
Posted: Sat 13 April, 2013 Filed under: D4D™, Geeky, Getting Organised, People, Security, WordPress 1 Comment »At the moment, there is a huge attack going on against blogs using WordPress.
It’s primarily attacking the blogs who’ve kept a lot of the default settings – particularly keeping the primary user as “admin” with weak/known passwords – but still, it’s better to make sure that things are secure.
D4D™ has always been on an altered install of WordPress – mainly because I’m really bad at leaving things alone – so I’m less concerned about it, but all the same, I’ve added in a couple of security plugins just to reinforce things. I’m also making use of Cloudflare to add another level of security.
It’s going to make things interesting for a lot of Blog Owners on the WordPress platform, though. Basically, if you’re on WP you need to :
- Make sure you’re not relying on the “admin” user
- Add a new user to WP , give it admin rights (and a strong password)
- Set “admin” to have the lowest possible permissions (contributor), or delete it completely.
- If possible, make sure your database isn’t using the wp_ prefix for all wordpress tables.
- Use Cloudflare or similar
- Install the Limit Logins plugin
- If you know what you’re doing, also install the Extend WP Security plugin
- Take backups!
There’s other stuff along the way, but those really are the key points.
Photo Resurrection
Posted: Thu 28 March, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Getting Old(er), Getting Organised, Photography 2 Comments »One area where I’ve really slacked over the last few months has been on the photography front – I just haven’t been in the right mindset, and haven’t really had any locations where I’ve wanted to take photos at all.
Last weekend, Lori held her “Rarely Wears Lipstick Awards“, a celebration of the ten years of blogging, and a whole bundle of other reasons. I was going already, but it turned out the person who was meant to be taking photos couldn’t make it, so I volunteered to do so.
I can’t deny, it felt good to be doing it again. I really enjoyed the night, but I loved taking the pics as well, seeing the people and the scenes, and grabbing the images. It was also a joy (as always) to be using my f2 portait lens, which is so excellent in low-light, and lets me grab photos without needing flash.
All the photos on the resulting blog article are mine, but there’s a lot of others as well- obviously – some of which I’m really pleased with. Some less so, but more through issues with the lighting and focussing, rather than the shots themselves. I might add some more up here, I don’t know.
Hopefully, though, it’ll be the kick to get things going again on the photography score, though.
Giving In
Posted: Sun 24 March, 2013 Filed under: Animals, Domestic, Introspective Leave a comment »A while back – mid-October, to be exact – I adopted a new cat, Cleo, the Egyptian Mau.
In general, she’s settled in to the house well, and handled getting spayed etc. just fine. But I’m coming to the point where I have to admit that I simply can’t give her the life she wants/needs. I hate it, and it’s the first time I’ve ever had to admit defeat with an animal. Even with Psycho Cat (and the Bengal) I’ve been able to sort them out.
But at the end of the day, yeah, I can’t give her the time and space she needs. She needs fields and gardens to roam, which I don’t have. I think she needs someone ideally who’s at home all the time, and can feed and fuss her on her timescales. Additionally, she’s a stomach-on-legs – I’ve never seen a cat that eats so much, and I know it’s not worms as she’s been checked for that.
I’m researching options, talking to people I know in the cat-rehoming world, and finding out what’s going to be best.
I don’t like giving up on things like this, but sometimes you have to acknowledge that whatever you’re doing just isn’t right, isn’t good enough. I think this might just be one of those times.
Stalker TV Ad
Posted: Sun 17 March, 2013 Filed under: Advertising, Cynicism, Marketing, People, Television, Thoughts, Weirdness 1 Comment »At the moment, Santander have a set of adverts ‘starring’ Jensen Button, Jessica Ennis and Rory McIlroy. Suffice it to say, they’re pretty creepy…
Seriously, what crack-headed advertising exec ever thought this would be a good idea? To have sporting ‘celebrities’ effectively invading the homes and lives of everyday people, and stalking them? I can’t even understand how it’s going to portray bankers and banking in a positive light.
Indeed for me all it does is serve to make me actively not want to use Santander for anything. Ever.
(Although, on a more cynical note, it does amuse me that Santander are also paying to have the logos for Nike and Adidas all over their ad)
Foggy
Posted: Fri 8 March, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, BMW Drivers, Cynicism, Domestic, Driving, Fog, M1, People, Stupidity, Travel Leave a comment »Last night and this morning, my drive from/to work was extremely foggy. This morning was worse, but even last night was pretty entertaining.
What always gets me though is the way people handle foggy conditions when they’re driving – particularly with regard to one of the banes of my life, foglights.
At night, it’s exceptionally rare to need foglights – they’re only for times where visibility is exceptionally low, and you’ve no chance of seeing the vehicle in front of you without the additional lights. The good old Highway Code says
Rule 236 : You MUST NOT use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced (see Rule 226)
Rule 226 : “You MUST use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves.”
With lights on at night, it’s exceptionally rare to not be able to see the car 100 metres ahead of you.Yet most of the fuckknuckle cunts are there, belting along with their foglights on.
And yet this morning, when it was actually really bad visibility, most people didn’t put their lights on at all, let alone the foglights.
I truly do not understand people.
Phone Security
Posted: Tue 5 March, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, Geeky, Technology, Thoughts Leave a comment »Yesterday there was a load of stuff on radio news with police warning about people who don’t secure their phones with a PIN code.
Supposedly it makes them more valuable (to thieves) if they’re unlocked, and also means all your personal information is available – which is obviously usable for nefarious purposes.
Personally, I’ve always had a PIN-lock on my phones, and don’t really get why most people don’t – yet apparently only 20% of people use a PIN-lock at all.
I do understand the concerns of some people – that, for example, they may be in an accident and emergency services would need contact numbers – but at the same time I’ve always got that elsewhere in my wallet etc.
As it is, I’d rather keep my primary information safe.
Reporting Potholes
Posted: Mon 4 March, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Customer Services, Driving, Getting Organised, Pedantry Leave a comment »One thing I’ve become a bit of an arse about over the last few months has been reporting potholes and road damage to the local council(s).
I’m not the only one doing it, I’m sure – but particularly with Bedfordshire it’s interesting to see the speed of response from when I’ve reported stuff to when it gets fixed.
I’m drawing the conclusion that it’s down to me because in some cases I’ve left the report for a month or more, with nothing happening. When I report it, it gets checked and fixed quite shortly afterwards. Now sure, it could be that my report is the one that breaks the limit on reporting – but not every time, I’m sure.
I know that councils are reducing their road repairs as part of all this austerity and cost-saving bollocks, but it’s a false economy. The costs/claims for damage are a big factor – and particularly claims are more likely to be paid up when the pothole has been reported (but not repaired) because that shows more of a disregard for maintenance.
I’m not interested in that side particularly. I am interested in getting decent road quality without dangerous potholes causing issues – both to myself and others.
Marching On
Posted: Sun 3 March, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Thoughts Leave a comment »It’s hard to believe we’re already in March – I can’t really believe how quickly the year has gone so far.
By the end of this month, the clocks will have gone forward into British Summer Time, and it’ll be Easter.
Time marches on…
Moving Mondeo
Posted: Sat 2 March, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Driving, Finances Leave a comment »With luck, this weekend the Mondeo will finally go.
It was supposed to go last week, had sold on eBay and all good. However, the buyer didn’t turn up (and was, I think, slightly delusional as they were expecting a broken “Spares/Repair” car to get back to Leicester) so it had to get relisted. As always, a pain in the ass.
Anyway, it’s sold again, and this time the buyer is local so I’m a bit more optimistic.
It’s made a good price – better than I expected – both times, which is reassuring.
Still, it’s another of those “end of an era” kind of things/feelings.
[UPDATED 03/03/13] : It got collected today, money paid, all great. An era comes to a close, 2,179 days (just under six years) and 130,500 miles after buying it, Mondeo is no more.
Congestion Lane (Again)
Posted: Thu 28 February, 2013 Filed under: Commuting, Driving, M1, People, Travel Leave a comment »Last night, I finally saw the M1 Congestion Scheme in full effect – vehicles in all four lanes, using the whole thing properly.
The only problem?
All the signs were saying “Hard shoulder for emergency use only”, so the scheme wasn’t *actually* active at the time.
Some days I really despair.
Metered
Posted: Tue 26 February, 2013 Filed under: Customer Services, Domestic Leave a comment »Well, that’s done.
I’m intrigued by how a twenty-minute job needs a slot of “12-6pm” to be booked in, but there we go, at least it’s done now.
Now, about that refund…
Water Works
Posted: Tue 26 February, 2013 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Customer Services, Domestic, Finances, Getting Organised Leave a comment »Today I’m working from home, waiting for Anglian Water to come and fix things.
It’s nothing major – well, it is, but it’s not like a water leak or anything. Basically, whoever installed the little grey boxes to ‘read’ the water meters (for whatever reason, this house has two) fucked it up – or the boxes are faulty – and have been reporting roughly three times the actual water use. Which, of course, I was getting billed for.
The last bill came in, and I queried the figures. Anglian had screwed up something else as well, just for chuckles, so the entire thing was nearly four times what the corrected bill is. Which is, needless to say, impressive.
Anyway, today they’re replacing both readers, and providing Anglian with correct ‘start-up’ figures, so hopefully from here things will be a lot more stable.
Needless to say, I’ll be keeping a close eye for a while on both the readers and the meters, making sure they match. And waiting for a significant refund.
Getting Home – Idiot
Posted: Fri 22 February, 2013 Filed under: Animals, Domestic, Stupidity Leave a comment »Getting home from the travels of the last couple of days, I discovered I’m an idiot.
Well that’s not strictly true. I’ve always known I’m an idiot. It’s a hard thing to miss, to be honest.
Anyway, the evidence in this case was as follows :
- Because I’d left at Ungodly O’Clock, I’d left one of the main lights on in the living room. Oops.
- Somehow I’d also left the kitchen window slightly unlatched
- Because of 2., the cats had shoved the window open, and had been in and out all the time I was away.
So all told, it’s been OK, and the cats have slept all evening.
But still yeah, I’m an idiot.
Annual Non-Imaginative Day
Posted: Thu 14 February, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Cynicism, Valentine's Day Leave a comment »So yes, Valentine’s Day. Again.
It’s the day where unimaginative couples everywhere buy cards, flowers, chocolates and/or food to say something they should be doing on every day except this one.
Enjoy. Or, you know, say it with roses…
Rose with a skull in it
Driving Day
Posted: Tue 12 February, 2013 Filed under: General Leave a comment »Today is the real ‘shake-down’ run for the new Saab, one of my classic “Devon and back in a day” jobs.
Only time will tell how well the run goes, but well, it’ll be interesting, regardless.
The Value of Romance
Posted: Mon 11 February, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Cynicism, Domestic, Food, Marketing, People, Thoughts, Valentine's Day Leave a comment »While out over the weekend, I went past a Wetherspoons pub, and they’ve got a stunning offer for Valentine’s Day.
2 for twenty quid – feel valued yet?
Yup – take your beloved out and show her how much you love and value them by making it a Meal for Two for £20. What could possibly be more romantic than that ?
And the sad thing is, I bet they’ll be bloody packed.
Under Attack
Posted: Sun 10 February, 2013 Filed under: D4D™, Technology Leave a comment »Over the last few weeks, D4D has been getting a really heavy load of spam hitting it, and I don’t really know why. Akismet is installed for antispam, and reports itself as working, but the load is getting ever higher. It’s been two to three hundred a day, and while none of them get to show on D4D itself, they’re still a pain in the tits from my side.
As it turned out, a lot of it was coming from a small collection of IP addresses, so I spent a little bit of time today blocking everything from those IPs – and lo, the spam has fallen massively.
It may be that with time they’ll change IPs again, but if I see it happening, I’ll just add those IPs to the blocked list too.
Photos of Building Sites
Posted: Sat 9 February, 2013 Filed under: London, News, Photography Leave a comment »I don’t quite know why, but I find this set of photos on the BBC really interesting.
Basically, as the title says, it’s about photos of building sites in London, but the views just make it interesting.
Bye Mondeo, Hello Saab
Posted: Wed 6 February, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Driving, Finances, Travel 2 Comments »So, today was the day I picked up the new (to me) car.
It’s a Saab 9-5, big beast of a thing, with just under 75,000 miles on the clock. It’s just had an MOT as part of the price, so that’s clear ’til January 2014 without any advisories, so that’s good news. It’s also cost me a lot less than the Mondeo did, which is also (for now) a good thing.
It’s now all taxed and insured, so I’m completely legitimate – I always am, and the insurance was in place before I picked the car up. The tax couldn’t be, as I didn’t have the V5 and so on, but it’s all done now.
So yeah, time to play with a new vehicle. I’ve got a Devon run next week, which will shake it down nicely. (That seems to be almost becoming a tradition, having done the same thing with Mondeo in its first week)
Hopefully this will last a good couple of years, get me through everything else without causing me issues. Time will tell, but that’s currently the hope.
January Progress
Posted: Mon 4 February, 2013 Filed under: 2012/13, D4D™, Diet Coke, Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Health, Weigh Less, Weight Loss, Write More, Writing Leave a comment »Back at the end of 2012, I said I’d got two main plans for this year,
- Weigh less
- Write more
So, one month in, where do we stand?
On Point One, I’ve lost half a stone. Obviously that’s not insignificant, but there’s a long way to go still.
As part of it, I’ve been keeping a food diary for the last month, which has been interesting. It’s allowed me to keep track of what I’m eating and illustrate any bad foods (or even bad days) although it’s shown more that the intake side is lower than it should be. (I’m averaging about 1600 a day, from current evidence)
As I’ve written before, I’ve also had the health MOT this month : blood pressure, cholesterol, thyroid, blood sugar, the lot. It’s all come through OK, so that’s another thing.
And, of course, I’ve cut down my intake of Diet Coke significantly. It’s still got a small way to go if I’m to cut it out completely, but it’s still massively reduced from where it was.
Now it’s a case of upping the exercise levels as part of that project point.
For Point Two, I’ve managed to do some writing, although not as much as I’d hoped. I’ve got a short story mostly done, which I want to get completed in the next few days. I’ve also been writing a new idea, and that’s currently about a fifth of the way through it. Again, it’s something I’m working on, and it’s already better than it was last year, but there’s a long way to go.
Still though, it’s been a good start to the year.
Death of a Mondeo
Posted: Sun 3 February, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Driving, Getting Organised 1 Comment »Just under six years ago, I bought my first car, the Mondeo estate. (It’s actually annoying in an OCD way that it’s so close to six years – it’s five years, ten months, two weeks)
Two weeks ago, it crapped itself on the M1, diagnostics pointing to a fault on the Fuel Injection pump – which it turned out had pretty much exploded. That’s pretty serious, lots of money, and probably more than the car’s worth.
I’ve had to hire a replacement car in the meantime, which is a Renault Megane, and a more gutless piece of shit you couldn’t hope to find. In my opinion it’s actually dangerously underpowered, making overtaking manoeuvres into a really un-fun situation. I hate it, it’s a bucket of crap.
Anyway, I’ve now put the Mondeo onto eBay (as spares/repair – it’s been a good car up til now, but the costs outweigh keeping it) and I’ve started the process for buying a new car. Well, new to me – definitely not new!
On that one, more when I collect it (Wednesday) and know that everything’s good.
The Mondeo’s done me well for the last six years, during which I’ve put 130,000 miles on it. I hope the new one serves as well.
Weird Marketing
Posted: Fri 1 February, 2013 Filed under: Advertising, Cynicism, Marketing, People, Valentine's Day, Weirdness 2 Comments »The other day, I got the strangest marketing email in a long while.
It’s from Apple, which probably explains a lot, but still, you’ve got to wonder when it comes to a subject/tag-line like this…
iPad or iPad mini. The perfect choice for Valentine’s Day.
I just can’t compute how that even works .
The additional image didn’t help explain, either.
What. The. Fuck?
Infamy, Infamy, they’ve all got it infamy
Posted: Mon 28 January, 2013 Filed under: Charm School, Customer Services, Cynicism, D4D™, Legal, Marketing, Privacy, Thoughts Leave a comment »Eighteen months ago, I had to issue a retraction of comments I’d made about the professionalism of a marketing manager and his company, due to some seriously heavy-handed legal threats from over the water.
As a quick “I wonder”, I did a Google search today on the name of the marketing manager and his company. And yes, D4D still comes up as the first result on Google for that search.
When you think about it, that’s really funny. (And is also what I warned them would happen when the legal people insisted I use his name as part of the apology on the title)
After all, this is a marketing manager of a major company – a company whose products also use the name D4D on some of them. He’s also always had the right of reply, I’ve never closed the comments on any of those posts. Nary an acknowledgement, not a rebuttal or apology for damaging the privacy policy of his own company, not even a “thanks for the apology”. Which, I suppose, shows the quality of the man.
And still, there I am, at the top of the search results.
It amused me, anyway.
Dodgy Taxi
Posted: Sat 26 January, 2013 Filed under: Customer Services, Domestic, Driving Leave a comment »On Wednesday, for reasons I haven’t yet written about, I had to get a taxi into Bedford in order to sort some stuff out. (I’ll write more about all that at some point soon)
The taxi was – to be blunt – fucked. It was a minibus-type, based on a Ford Transit. The engine management light was on the whole time, it vibrated worryingly when we went above 50mph (on a dual carriageway), and when it came to braking, there were some *very* nasty noises coming from the brakes – the sort of noises that usually mean “no pads”.
And then there, on the windscreen, was a little notice saying “If you’ve got any concerns about this taxi, email us”, and the email address of the local council’s licensing office.
And so, when I got into work, that’s exactly what I did. I’d taken the registration plate, just to make life easier, and emailed them. Since then, this is what’s happened:
- Within the hour, I’d had a response back from the council, saying they’d look into it. (Pretty much as expected)
- By the end of the day, they’d told me the taxi in question had been booked in for a full vehicle check on the Friday
- By the end of Friday, I got a confirmation that they’d checked the vehicle, it’d failed spectacularly, had it’s plate pulled, and couldn’t go back to being used as a taxi until it had a full signoff from their inspection team. Oh, and the taxi company in question was also being checked now, along with all the maintenance records for all their vehicles.
I’ve got to say, I’m impressed. Considering the same council has taken a month to inspect/repair a couple of very dangerous potholes in one of the roads I commute on – and that’s a month since I reported it – it’s been a real surprise to see how quickly they’ve handled this complaint about a taxi.
Insured (At Last)
Posted: Thu 24 January, 2013 Filed under: Animals, Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances Leave a comment »It’s taken a long time, but I’ve now finally got the cats insured.
It’s been a worry for a while, knowing that I live by a busy road, and that they can all be little arseholes who would run across in front of a car or whatever. With my current financial situation, something like heavy vet’s bills would absolutely cripple me, so the insurance is a good plan.
I’ve ended up using PetPlan, who offered a good deal, plus multi-animal discount, and a further discount due to having the latest one microchipped and registered.
We’ll see how it goes – and lord knows, I hope I never have to use it. But I’m happier with it in place, just in case I do need it sometime.
Cheese, the Tunnel Blocker
Posted: Wed 23 January, 2013 Filed under: News, Weirdness Leave a comment »Among the more surreal stories yesterday, there’s this one from Norway…
Yes, a truckload of burning goat’s cheese has blocked and seriously damaged a road tunnel. That’s pretty impressive by anyone’s levels.
Holiday Results
Posted: Tue 22 January, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Cynicism, Weirdness Leave a comment »Sometimes I swear my brain works differently to everyone elses. (Or at least differently to the people who work in advertising agencies) I’ve just seen an advert saying
“Book your holiday with [company] before January 31st, and your first child comes free!”
And my first thought was “Well, I suppose if it’s conceived there…”
Snow Shopping
Posted: Sat 19 January, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Getting Organised, People, Shopping, Thoughts, Weather 4 Comments »Where I am now, the snow hasn’t been too bad so far. Some of the roads on the way to work are entertaining (the village where work is based is at the top of a hill, so all routes in/out involve some fun slopes) and the lane to the office is deeply dodgy, but where I live has been OK. Snow, but nothing epic.
Compared to the Norfolk and Suffolk places, it’s been a doddle. It helps that all the roads around here are major – M1, and A421 are the two main ones – which means they’re part of the gritting plan and so on.
Anyway, I hadn’t worried about the snow, but did need to do a small amount of shopping today, just basics of veg, bread and the like – but having seen the media reports of people panic-buying, of empty shelves in supermarkets and the like. (And to be fair, the village shop has/had no bread etc. today)
So I girded my loins, and prepared for a shopping trip into chaos, with the supermarket full of idiots. But it didn’t happen. The roads were virtually empty, which boded well. When I got to the local(ish) Te$co, it was virtually empty. Spaces throughout the car park, and virtually no-one around at all.
Inside the store was the same- really quiet, no problems with stock, and very few idiots. (There’s always some, but well, nothing’s perfect) It was probably the best shopping experience I’ve had in that particular store – certainly the one with the fewest people. I got everything I needed, and only wanted to beat one gormless muppet to a pulp with a tin of beans.
So from my side, it just meant that for all the purported problems with snow, it actually made my life easier, better, and less stressy than usual. Which is kind of odd, when you think about it.
Acid Attacks
Posted: Sat 19 January, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Charm School, People, Television, Thoughts, Weirdness 1 Comment »Yesterday I watched the Channel 4 documentary “Saving Face” about Dr Mohammad Jawad, a renowned plastic surgeon who provides pro bono work rebuilding the faces of Indian women who have been the victims of acid attacks by their husbands.
Yeah, attacks with acid – usually sulphuric – being thrown in their faces. Seriously, what the absolute fuck?
I know women in India aren’t treated with the same accord as in the UK and other countries – but seriously, what kind of mindset is there that makes it OK, indeed ‘the done thing’, to disfigure your partner ? What the shit?
It’s just totally beyond me, I simply don’t understand the process that makes this kind of thing OK.
(And yes, I do know – but don’t understand – the philosophy that one’s woman/partner is just a possession, an object you can choose to keep, throw away, or burn to fuck with acid. I know the philosophy, but still, it’s just wrong. )
Diet Coke – Progress
Posted: Fri 18 January, 2013 Filed under: 2012/13, Diet Coke, Domestic, Getting Organised, Health, Weigh Less, Weight Loss 1 Comment »A while back, I started cutting down on my intake of Diet Coke, and I have to say, so far it’s going pretty well. It’s been a bit turbulent, and while I halved it when I started back in November, by mid-December it was back to normal. I properly dropped it again once I was on leave over Christmas, and it’s been kept down for near on a month now.
I’d decided that I wasn’t going to cut it all the way out – or at least not immediately – and opted instead for a phased withdrawal. It’s a drink I like drinking, so I don’t know that I’ll cut it all the way out.
Anyway, so far I’ve done pretty well. I’m down to about one-third of what I was drinking, and I’ve replaced the majority of the intake with water, which is supposed to be a better alternative. (I’m not yet convinced – I don’t feel masses better for it, it’s – frankly – fucking boring, and it makes me piss like a horse)
I’m pleased with how I’m doing – I have good days with even less intake, and I have shit days where I have more, but most importantly, even on the shit days I’m drinking no more than half the Diet Coke I was doing.
It’s not been part of the weight loss plan – the calorific intake wasn’t that high, even when the intake was high – but it’s part of the general plan for this year, regardless.
There’s still a way to go – but I’m happy with where things stand for now.
Embarassing Fat Bodies
Posted: Wed 16 January, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, 2012/13, Cynicism, Food, Health, People, Thoughts, Weigh Less, Weight Loss Leave a comment »Channel 4’s got a new series of “Embarassing Fat Bodies” at the moment, and it’s really annoying me. Not just because of my own ongoing issues with weight-loss, but just because of the people.
I know I’ve a long way to go, that’s a foregone conclusion. As such I’ve probably not got much room to talk, currently. You know what? I really don’t care.
You see, the difference with me is that I’m doing something about it. I’m taking the hints from my body, and I’m doing something about it.
The people on Embarassing Fat Bodies just don’t – or at least haven’t – and it’s like they’re waiting for some bloody wizard to come along and wave a wand at them to fix the problem.
One of the people on this week’s programme had a hernia the size of a basketball, a lipoma the size of two footballs, is housebound, and has a BMI of 79. Yes, seventy-fucking-nine! But still she eats – and admits to eating – meals for three or four people.
Another one, 35 stone, BMI of 66 waddled in, having done a food diary, talking about “a bag of crisps”. It turned out that what she meant by that was the huge family-bag size bag of crisps. This is someone who can’t stand, and has brought an office-chair into her kitchen so she can scoot around the kitchen rather than walking around it. But still, a diet of crisps, chocolate, full-fat fizzy drinks.
How long does it take to pick up the hints? If you’re that size, at least cut down what you’re eating, or go for the healthier alternatives!
Again, I’m not perfect, I know. Some of my diet isn’t grand – but my intake is on the low side, not the excesses listed by some of the people on this programme.
GP Results – Thoughts
Posted: Tue 15 January, 2013 Filed under: 2012/13, Cynicism, Domestic, Food, Getting Organised, Health, Weigh Less, Weight Loss Leave a comment »In some ways I’m quite happy about the GP results – they were a lot better than they had any right to be. In another, I’m almost annoyed, because I can’t deny, I kind of hoped there would be some kind of medical explanation for why I don’t lose weight.
I’ve done the food diary – admittedly only for a week, although I’m going to continue doing it for a while more – and my intake averaged out at 1750 calories, give or take. That’s *low*, my basic maintenance should be around the 2,500 – 3,000 mark, so I should be losing weight quickly and easily. But I’m not. It’s much the same as it has been for ten years, with the exception of losing a stone through Slimming World three or four years back. (Even that was fucked- the time I went with their exact plan, I gained weight)
And now there’s no visible medical reason for it either.
I know I need more exercise, and that’s part of the plan for this year.
But basically, right now, there’s no sodding reason for me to be the size/weight I am. And that pisses me off.
GP Results
Posted: Mon 14 January, 2013 Filed under: 2012/13, Cynicism, Domestic, Food, Getting Organised, Health, Weigh Less, Weight Loss Leave a comment »So, having (finally) seen the GP this time – only half an hour late, that’s almost early compared to usual – I’ve got the final figures…
- Blood Pressure : 120/80
- Heart rate : 75
- Cholesterol : 5.7
- Thyroid : Normal
- Blood Tests : Normal
Being a pissbag, the GP wouldn’t give me exact figures for the thyroid results etc. – I remain cynical about “normal” until I can check – and refused to give me a referral to the dietician service. Instead I’ve got to see the diabetes nurses next week for diet advice. Because, of course, they’re the ones who know.
Luckily I’m also getting the diet advice from someone else I trust, so it’s not hyper-relevant to get the referral, but I do want the request on my NHS record. I asked for the same thing in Norfolk, and Suffolk, and nothing happened at all. So I’m more serious about it this time round.
Anyway, all told I’m bordering on healthy – with the exception of my BMI and weight, which I still want to work on. Considering the BMI and weight, there’s no way the rest of the figures should be as good as they are. So all told I feel quite positive about things, for once.
I’ve still got bits to work on, obviously – I do want to reduce my weight, and work from there, but knowing that the basics are OK is a big thing too.
GP Follow-up
Posted: Mon 14 January, 2013 Filed under: 2012/13, Domestic, Health, Weigh Less Leave a comment »This afternoon, I’m back at the GPs, finding out the results of blood tests, and getting the blood-pressure taken. Well, that’s the plan, anyway.
I’ve also asked for a couple of specific tests, as they’re issues that run in the family.
- Blood-sugar (Well, fasting blood sugar) levels for Diabetes
- Thyroid levels – there’s been thyroid issues for at least two prior generations of my family
- Cholesterol – I figured I might as well get this while I’m at it.
I’ve no idea what the results will be, so it’s going to be interesting to see what they are.
The Hotel, Channel 4
Posted: Sun 13 January, 2013 Filed under: Charm School, Customer Services, Cynicism, People, Television, Thoughts 2 Comments »On Channel 4, they’re currently showing a new series of “The Hotel”, about the Grosvenor Hotel in Torquay.
In many ways it’s absolute road-crash TV, the sort that makes you think “What were they thinking when they agreed to this?” . All the people portrayed are just horrendous, total idiots. Indeed, it’s so bad that you wonder if it’s not completely staged, one of these ‘scripted reality’ shows like “Only way is Essex” etc. Indeed, I’m not yet fully convinced that it’s not.
There are a couple of reasons I’m more given to believe that it’s just stupid people with no clue and no insight into how they appear. They are :
- I’ve worked with several people who have exactly those levels of self-delusion and stupidity. (Funnily enough, all in that same industry)
- The media coverage that the hotel did end up getting sold to new owners
All told, it’s another of Channel 4’s excursions into excruciating people and teeth-grinding situations.
Taxi to the Kerb
Posted: Wed 9 January, 2013 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, Domestic, Driving, Parking Leave a comment »When I got home last night, I was greeted by this exceptional piece of parking, that really did need to be credited.
Couldn’t be much further out
From another viewpoint…
And from another viewpoint
You really couldn’t make it up.
Food Diary
Posted: Mon 7 January, 2013 Filed under: 2012/13, Domestic, Food, Health, Weigh Less Leave a comment »In the run-up to the start of 2013, I wrote a little bit about the goals (well, they’re more like guidelines) I’ve got for the year. I’m keeping it pretty simple, although there’s lots of other stuff under those main points. For the moment I don’t plan to share the sub-points, because they’re not actually of much use to anyone except me.
Anyway, as part of the “Weigh Less” goal, I’m starting to write a food diary from today. Obviously that’s not all of the plan, but it’s a good starting point for establishing what I’m doing, and what needs to change.
I’ve been lucky enough to be able to do this with the help of Dragon, and to be able to help him with his training for being a PT by doing the initial food diary, analysis and plans with him.
I’m going to see how it all goes, and I’ll write more about it as time goes on.
Along the way, as well as getting results from the GP (including that missing blood-pressure test) over the next couple of weeks, I’ve also invested in some proper weighing scales, including body-fat. Much as I like the idea of them, I didn’t go for one of the Withings or FitBit ones in the end – £100 for scales is a bit much, and while I like the idea of keeping those records and graphs online, I can do the same thing by myself, either locally or on RunKeeper etc. Besides, seeing those updates from other people on Facebook and Twitter pisses me off in the end, so I don’t want to do the same to other people.
Instead, and on a recommendation, I’ve gone for these scales from from Omron, which do everything I want them to.
So – progress is being made. I’ll be interested (and probably depressed) to see the initial figures, but I’m thinking/hoping that they’ll provide me with more impetus for going ahead with the weight loss.
Health Check (Kind of)
Posted: Fri 4 January, 2013 Filed under: Domestic, Health, People | Tags: GP, health 4 Comments »So – how the hell does a GP surgery manage to be no less than 40 minutes late for appointments by 9.40 in the morning? I’d be impressed, if it weren’t for – well – being 40 minutes late.
Even then the full check hasn’t been done – I’ve had the bloods taken to check for Diabetes, Thyroid Levels and Cholesterol, but no blood-pressure test or anything. Supposedly “the receptionist should’ve booked you for a double slot so I could do all that, I don’t have the time to do it all in one slot“.
Of course, that just pissed me off. Other things can cause delays of 40 minutes, but you’re going to just ditch me off because you haven’t got the time? Perhaps it would be easier if you were slightly more organised, and didn’t take half the time I was in there to faff about trying to find things?
So far though, all OK.
I’m now due back in two weeks’ time to find out the results of the blood tests and so on, and at the same time they’ll do my blood-pressure. (Mind you, it’ll likely still be low-normal, which always befuddles the GPs who look at my height/size, and then retake it twice more)
Season Change
Posted: Wed 2 January, 2013 Filed under: Advertising, Cynicism, Festering Season, People, Thoughts 2 Comments »Now that we’re over and done with on the Festering Season, it’s a season change in the advertising world.
Away go all the ads for perfume, shitty music compilations, and Christmas stuff in general.
Instead, for the start of the new year we get adverts for
- Dating sites – eHarmony, Match.com, etc.
- Weight-loss programmes – WeightWatchers, DietChef and Slimming World
- Holidays (and airlines)
- Banks
One advert is missing from the list though – I think this is the first time in about a decade that I haven’t seen an advert for stopping smoking . I assume they think everyone who’s going to quit has done so by now. Or maybe it’s an extension of all the other laws/rules about not advertising cigarettes – they now also can’t advertise stopping smoking?
Anyway, it’s all interesting, in that it shows how much advertisers expect people to be ‘normal’, to do certain things at certain times of the year. I find that fascinating.
2013
Posted: Tue 1 January, 2013 Filed under: 2012/13, D4D™, Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Old(er), Health, Weigh Less 3 Comments »And so – a new year. (Again)
As per many years previously, I don’t really do New Year Resolutions, they’re not my thing.
So my plan for 2013 (as written about very briefly back in November) is pretty simple. It’s not resolutions, just a bit of a plan, and that plan can be summed up thus…
- Weigh less
- Write more.
And that’s it. There’s other stuff along the way, but that’s the two key points, really.
Anyway- have a good one. I certainly hope to do so.
Closing Out The Year
Posted: Mon 31 December, 2012 Filed under: 2012/13, D4D™, Domestic Leave a comment »Today proved to be a day for getting things done that I hadn’t got round to doing for a while. The full list is ineffably dull (as these things usually are) so I won’t bother with the full thing. Suffice it to say, it’s been a pretty productive day.
The real key thing though is that I’m now registered with the local GP – I don’t need to be, per se, but well, I figure it’s better to be registered than not.
As longer-term readers of D4D™ know, I bloody hate GPs in general, but still, it’s better to be with a local one, rather than the one in Suffolk I was registered at.
Anyway, all told it’s a decent way to close off 2012, getting a few things off the list of stuff that needed doing.
Cinematics
Posted: Sun 30 December, 2012 Filed under: Cinema, Domestic, Finances, Seeing Films Leave a comment »Looking back at the list I’ve kept it looks like I’ve seen 26 films this year, since May. Yeah, yeah, I kept a list – mainly because I wanted to make sure I was getting value for money from the Cineworld Unlimited ticket, but also because well, I’m a geek.
There’s probably a couple I saw pre-May, but all the same, 26 isn’t bad going. It’s been eight months since I joined Cineworld, at £15 a month, adding up to £120. 26 films would’ve cost me in the region of £260, which makes it pretty worthwhile.
In the course of 2012, I even had a couple of months where I didn’t go to see films – primarily July / August, when it was all really dire shite (in my opinion) with nothing I really fancied. So that total probably means that I really should get out more, just not to the cinema.
I won’t bore anyone with the list of films – I know I’ve got dire taste in films, but I like escapism.
2013’s going to be a year for more of the same, I’m sure. The ticket is worthwhile – it would’ve taken only 12 films to pay for itself, and I doubled that – so it makes sense to keep on with it. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Apostrophes
Posted: Wed 26 December, 2012 Filed under: Charm School, D4D™, Education, Literacy, Writing 1 Comment »One of the better explanations I’ve seen for using apostrophes and abbreviations. (And I didn’t write this originally, honest)
Maybe if it were taught like this in schools, people would remember it better.
Christmas
Posted: Tue 25 December, 2012 Filed under: D4D™, Festering Season Leave a comment »Happy Christmas, and all that.
Failing Technology
Posted: Mon 24 December, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Technology Leave a comment »Over the last couple of days, I’ve had two bits of tech fail – one through my own actions, one through general wear and tear.
The one that wasn’t my own fault was – as usual – the printer. Piece of shite. I suspect it’s just had enough, having moved three or four times, being used as a sleeping podium by cats, and then (probably) not used as much as it should be. So when it came time to print out some stuff today – thankfully, nothing essential to the season, and nothing that can’t wait a while – it’s kippered. I’ll get a new one in the new year at some point, but it can wait.
Slightly more important is my landline phone, which is also well and truly dying. That one’s my fault for being clumsy, I spilled orange juice on the base station, which means all the buttons are – well – sticky. It’s not good. In fairness, it’s also lasted pretty well, a similar number of moves (if not more – I can’t now recall exactly when I purchased the poxy thing) and so on, and it’s taken a clumsy git to kill it.
Again, it’s nothing hyper-urgent, I’ll sort a replacement in the new year. It doesn’t affect the broadband, and the phone itself works (although it’s getting worse) so things are OK for the moment.
Anyway, just two failures, nothing major, just annoying. All part of life’s rich tapestry.
What a Year
Posted: Mon 24 December, 2012 Filed under: 2011/12, D4D™, Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Thoughts Leave a comment »It really has been quite a year.
In the last twelve months, I’ve…
- Moved house. Twice.
- Changed jobs. Twice. (And also gone from Contractor to Permanent Employee)
- Declared Bankruptcy
- Started rebuilding everything
There’s been a fair amount of other stuff going on as well – not least, a constantly increasing workload – but they’ve been the main events.
This time last year, I had eased off D4D a lot – there was only one post in December, for example – but that’s slowly coming back. It’s not back to the old glories yet – maybe in 2013, who knows – but things are definitely on the way back up.
Hobbit
Posted: Fri 21 December, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Reviews(ish) Leave a comment »Today I took my dad to see The Hobbit at their local cinema.
Regular readers will know we did similar with all three of the Lord of the Rings films, so it’s becoming a kind of tradition (and will do for the next couple of years, too)
I had my reservations before the film, knowing that they’ve taken the 400-page book and made it into three three-hour films. That’s quite some padding – although I know they’ve also taken in parts of “Silmarillion” and “Unfinished Tales” to make it into a much larger production.
Having now seen it though, I found those reservations to be well put to bed, it all gels well, and I really enjoyed it.
There’s a couple of bits I don’t like, or that jarred a bit, but all told I’d say 98% of it is pretty damn good.
Hell, it’s almost worth looking forward to Christmas 2013 and 2014 to see the rest of the films.
Weird Dreaming – again
Posted: Tue 18 December, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Dreaming, Weirdness 3 Comments »While there’s no decent answer with regard to whether the cat puked or I dreamt it, last night’s one was pretty strange too.
So – for all you dream analysts out there – what does it mean when you dream that you’re in Homebase, have been overcharged, and you’re getting ignored by all the staff? (I know, that’s just about par for the course with Homebase, but still – this was even more so than usual) Even weirder, I got really annoyed by this in the dream (which is understandable) but then woke up and was equally furious.
Took me ages to go back to sleep, too.
I suspect this may be my brain saying “Hurry up Thursday, I want to be done for the year“.
The Festering Season, 2012
Posted: Tue 18 December, 2012 Filed under: Advertising, Festering Season, Introspective, Shopping, Thoughts 1 Comment »For whatever reason, 2012’s Festering Season hasn’t really had as much of an impact on me as usual.
Maybe I’m mellowing. Maybe I’ve just given up on it as an unwinnable fight. I don’t know.
I still get annoyed by the bullshit commerciality of the entire enterprise – things like
- seeing Christmas cards in the shops before Hallowe’en
- Hearing Christmas Carols in November
- Mince Pies with a ‘best before’ in November
- All the insane consumer-driven shopfests in December – particularly in supermarkets
But for whatever reason, I can’t really find it in me at the moment to rant about it. Maybe I’m feeling pretty chilled at the moment, maybe it’s just (as I said before) because it’s pretty much an unwinnable fight. Maybe I’m just a bit tired of being ranty.
Whatever the reason, it just hasn’t annoyed me as much as usual.
Weird Dreamage
Posted: Mon 17 December, 2012 Filed under: Animals, Domestic, Sleep - or lack thereof, Thoughts 4 Comments »Last night, I woke up to the sound of one of the cats puking. It’s a distinctive sound, to say the least.
Weirdly, this morning I could find no sign of it happening – which is worrying.
It means either
- The cat puked, and then it’s been eaten (either by the same cat, or one of the others) or…
- I dreamed it. (Dreamed? Dreamt? Not sure)
If it’s Option One, that’s pretty gross, and doesn’t usually happen.
If it’s Option Two then then I think I really need to worry about my brain, because I dread to imagine what any dream analyst would come up with as a reason to dream about a cat puking.
Forward Thinking
Posted: Fri 14 December, 2012 Filed under: Commuting, Driving, People, Thoughts Leave a comment »Last night, my drive home (less than twenty miles, all on motorway) took nearly two hours. The cause? A truck with a blown tyre, needing to get it replaced. Because it was an offside wheel, Health and Safety now apparently means that the inside lane needs to be coned off and closed as well, ensuring a safe (or at least comparatively so) workspace for the people replacing the tyre. And I’ve got to be honest, that’s one job I wouldn’t fancy.
I understand that need though, and it doesn’t annoy me. It’s one of those things – it’s not like the trucker planned it to happen, it’s just a facet of the number of miles trucks do. Shit happens.
But while that was the cause of the delays, it wasn’t the reason for the delays. The reason is something that does piss me off – shitty drivers (and particularly the so-called ‘professional drivers’ of trucks, coaches etc.) who don’t move out of the closed lane ’til the last possible second.
In this case, the ‘lane closed’ warnings were in place for eight or nine miles beforehand – and the delays went all that way back. And all of that distance, people were sticking into that lane that they knew was closed – that the signs were reporting as closed. I kept on seeing ‘professional drivers’ bombing down the hard shoulder as well, trying to avoid the stuck traffic. I truly hope those cunts got hauled in by the police and/or Highways Agency, but I’m willing to bet they didn’t.
The only time these (primarily truck-driving) fuck-knuckles moved out of ‘their’ lanes was once the cones were pushing them out, so they had to come in to the next lane, and squeeze in at the last second. It buggers things up, because the people already in that lane then have to move out, or brake and pause to let the fuck-knuckles in, and every time that happens, the jam behind gets worse.
If people moved out in plenty of time, paid heed to the road signs, and worked with the flow of traffic, the entire thing wouldn’t be anywhere near the hassle it proved to be last night.
Oh, who am I trying to kid? It’s never going to happen.
All the 12s
Posted: Wed 12 December, 2012 Filed under: D4D™ Leave a comment »This has been posted at 12:12 and 12 seconds on the 12th December 2012.
Yep, 12:12:12 on 12/12/12
I am *so* infantile.
Life of Pi
Posted: Tue 11 December, 2012 Filed under: Cinema, Domestic, Reviews(ish) | Tags: #lifeofpi 2 Comments »Last night, I went to see the new film of Life of Pi. I’ve not read the book – when it comes to films, sometimes I find it’s better to not be locked on ‘it’s not the same as the book’ – so I went with an open mind to see what it was like.
All told, it’s an impressive film – and for the first time, one where I would actually suggest seeing the 3D version, as that added a visual layer which I imagine the 2D version lacks. Certain shots – of Pi watching the ship sink, for example – had an real ‘depth’ to them.
Visually it’s beautiful. There are some stunning scenes, and the vision of the film is exceptional.
Technically, it’s stunning – the CGI for the animals is some of the best I’ve seen, and you do believe that the tiger is there in the boat.
But – ah, there’s always a but. For a film so much about belief, miracle, and wonder, it feels (or felt, to me) soul-less. I’ve had this issue with Ang Lee‘s films before – they’re beautiful, excellent films. It’s just that they have no heart, no passion. Other people’s perspectives vary, obviously, but for me, I just come out feeling somewhat dissatisfied.
All told, it’s worth seeing, and it’s a good film. It’s just not a great film. (Again, in my view)
But I will have to go and read the book now, and see if that adds more to the film…
Greying
Posted: Tue 11 December, 2012 Filed under: D4D™, Domestic, Getting Old(er), Thoughts, Weirdness 2 Comments »One (of many) questions about aging that keeps occurring to me :
What the hell is it with hairs growing on ears? It never used to happen – why has it started to as I get older?
Settled Cats
Posted: Mon 10 December, 2012 Filed under: Animals, Domestic Leave a comment »One thing that has been a surprise this year is how well the cats have settled in to the new house. It’s taken a bit of time to complete the process, but really they were OK with it from Week One.
The Bengal’s been hardest work – she really is surprisingly anti-change, and it takes her a while to get used to things. Bringing Cleo into the mix kind of helped, bizarrely, but also provided more change than she was happy with for a few days. Looking back, I can understand why she’s a bit twitchy, having had four houses in two years, but at least this one is a much longer-term proposition, and she’s settling with realising there’s not going to be any changes for a while.
Even better, we’ve not had any of her legendary protest actions, such as the fabled shit-in-the-bed. That’s definitely a very good thing indeed.
FatCat, the British Shorthair, has been the easiest to settle. She’s really just happy to be wherever I am. She can be a bit demanding when she wants a fuss, but for the most part she’s just quite a contented cat. So long as she gets her affection when she wants it, that’s fine.
And Cleo, well, she’s never known any different. She’s settled in, doing fine after her surgery, and generally back to normal.
Cat Recovery
Posted: Sat 8 December, 2012 Filed under: Animals, Domestic Leave a comment »Cleo, the Egyptian Mau, came back from the vets fine. She handled it all really well – far better than the Bengal did a couple of years back. Indeed, I’m not bleeding at all, which is a major improvement.
As it was, she went into the cat carrier on the first go (I’d left it out for the last couple of days, so they were used to seeing it, and it wasn’t New Thing) without a struggle, and went to the vets fine. Gobby, but fine.
The same applied on her return – no real problems, just gobby while being driven. She’d been given one of the Collars of Shame, which the other cats (and I) found hilarious, but she really couldn’t cope with it at all, so that’s gone for the moment. If she licks the cut too much, the collar will go back on, but so far she’s been OK with it.
Weirdly, the Bengal though has gone back to hating Cleo, and growling at her like the semi-wild animal she is. I assume that it’s because of smelling different, having been to the vets, being handled by different people, and perhaps even her scent has been altered by the drugs used in surgery. I don’t know – she’ll get used to it again, though, and all will be well.
Anyway, it’s all done, so now just the recovery process. The after-care information from the vets is pretty comprehensive, and reckons she should be all sorted within the week. I’ll keep an eye on her during that time, but the initial signs are all positive.
Inside Claridges
Posted: Fri 7 December, 2012 Filed under: Customer Services, Domestic, London, People, Reviews(ish), Thoughts, Travel Leave a comment »On BBC currently there’s a wonderful documentary series called “Inside Claridges”. Obviously it’s a ‘behind the scenes’ look at how Claridge’s Hotel runs – and it’s absolutely fascinating, a true “How the other half live”
The entire thing is quite, quite mad – I understand why and how they do what they do, but it really is potty. For example, taking photos of how a suite is laid out when a guest leaves, so that it can be laid out the same way if/when they return to the hotel in the future. I suppose if you’re paying £5,500 per night it’s the kind of invisible thing you expect – and yes, I think paying £5,500 per night is utterly obscene – but to me, it’s also potty.
All told, it’s a really sweet little series, well worth catching on repeats, iPlayer or whatever. It’s what BBC documentaries should be (in my opinion) about – things that the general viewer will never see, the way other people live, even if those lives are completely antithetical to our own.
Getting Done
Posted: Fri 7 December, 2012 Filed under: Animals, Domestic Leave a comment »To top things off after the long drive yesterday, today I’m up early in order to get Cleo (AKA “Newest Cat”) to the vets, as it’s time for her to get spayed/neutered. (I can never remember which is which – I think it’s spaying)
The worst bit is, of course, not being able to feed them for 12 hours before going to the vets. Cleo is – to be nice – a stomach on legs at the moment, so nothing for 12 hours means she’s been yelling like a towncrier since about four this morning.
She’ll be back late today, and then we’ll see where we go from there.
Parked Up
Posted: Mon 3 December, 2012 Filed under: General 3 Comments »In many ways, my most recent neighbours on one side are a bit of a mystery to me. Not only socially (I don’t know their names, they don’t know mine) but also behaviourally.
I don’t mind (too much) that they go out on various evenings, leaving their yappy fuckpot pooch to howl, whine and scrape on the stairgate they use to keep it in the kitchen while out. It’s annoying when you’re having a quiet evening, but well, that’s life.
The one that does really annoy me though, and leaves me utterly bemused, is what happens when the bloke next door comes home. Every night, every damn night, he parks up outside, and then stays in his car, engine running, for at least quarter of an hour – and usually 20-30 minutes. I don’t know why, I’ve not yet – yet! – got pissed off enough to stomp outside and ask him what the shit he’s playing at.
It does leave me bemused though – I just don’t get what on earth would make someone sit in their car, engine running, outside their own home every damn night for half an hour. Weird.
Sightseers
Posted: Sun 2 December, 2012 Filed under: Cinema, Domestic, Reviews(ish) Leave a comment »Over this weekend, I went to see Sightseers, a new British film. It is very dark, basically about two dysfunctional people who form a relationship, and go away on a week’s caravan trip. Strange – and very British – tourist places merge with a tale of murder, serial killing, and general black humour.
An example line “He wasn’t human, he was a Daily Mail reader”.
I really enjoyed it – it’s not your run of the mill Hollywood offering, which is always a good thing – but I suspect it’s probably an acquired taste. If you like oddball British films, it’ll be right up your street.
Rapid Construction
Posted: Fri 30 November, 2012 Filed under: Change, Domestic, Driving, Thoughts Leave a comment »(I was going to call this “Swift Erection”, but thought better of it)
Over the last couple of months, a new warehouse has been being built on the Gazeley G-Park on the run in to Milton Keynes. It’s actually a new bottling plant for Barr’s (Irn Bru, Tizer etc.) which will come online in February 2013.
What’s been really surprising and interesting is the sheer speed that this building has gone up. Three months ago, there was nothing there. Then the scaffolding framework went up in a couple of weeks, and the cladding is now complete. All told, I think it’s been about six weeks from start to finish – and that’s impressive by anyone’s standards.
It’s one of those things that’s made me wish I could have set up a time-lapse camera to see it done properly. Ah well.
BT Hallowe’en Advert
Posted: Wed 28 November, 2012 Filed under: Advertising, Cynicism Leave a comment »Amusingly, BT are still showing their Hallowe’en based advert – even a month past the date.
So I wonder, what does this fact tell us about BT ?
- That their attention to detail is shocking
- That they can’t plan properly – otherwise the ad would’ve been in October, and never again
- That they’re getting their money’s worth out of even the worst bag of crap
- All of the above.
Little Things
Posted: Tue 27 November, 2012 Filed under: Commuting, Driving, Thoughts 1 Comment »Yesterday morning, the 20-mile commute to work took nearly two hours. The M1 was absolutely rigid, the residue of earlier accidents – and the other side was stuffed as well due to shitbag idiots rubbernecking at the accidents.
About the only high point was that for the entire time, I was right behind a Mclaren MP4-12C (one of the ugliest car names in Christendom) which is a thing of beauty. It’s the little things that make a day easier.
But it was another example of something that’s always left me a bit bemused – in the UK (and probably most other countries too) just what is the point of a supercar / hypercar like the Mclaren? By the time you get to the UK’s legal limit, you’re lucky if you’re in third gear, and the top speed (205mph) is nearly 3 times the legal limit.
I can see the point of owning things of beauty – but to me, it’s also about using that thing, letting it fulfil its potential.
I guess I understand the concept, I just don’t really get the point.
Counting Down
Posted: Mon 26 November, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Festering Season, Thoughts Leave a comment »Did you realise that one month from today, the Festering Season will be all over and done with for another year?
How time flies…
Peter Gabriel, Next October
Posted: Fri 23 November, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Getting Organised, Gigs, Music Leave a comment »Following on from getting tickets to Cowboy Junkies next January, I found out via Twitter that Peter Gabriel is touring next October, two nights at the O2 in London, one in Manchester at the MEN, and one in Glasgow at the Hydro.
So, following more than a year of no concerts, 2013 now already has two excellent gigs that I’m really looking forward to.
Masterchef Australia
Posted: Fri 23 November, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Television, Thoughts Leave a comment »Over the last few weeks, I’ve really got into Season 4 of Masterchef Australia on Watch. I’ve liked the UK Masterchef series, but the Australian version is very different, and much more enjoyable. (and addictive)
It’s indefinably Australian in feel – while the food is (obviously) of significance, there’s a secondary priority, that of teamwork, of ‘mates’, and I think that’s what makes it as a series.
Indeed, in one particular ‘pressure test’ the two combatants ended up working together, making the entire task work, and that teamwork and friendship was rewarded with the fact that neither person was removed from the competition. (And one of that pair actually goes on to win the competition)
I don’t watch many of the so-called ‘reality’ programmes (Hell, I’m not even sure Masterchef falls into that category – it’s more competition, I suppose) but I can’t deny, I’ve really enjoyed this series of Masterchef Australia.
Seeking Proofreaders
Posted: Thu 22 November, 2012 Filed under: Charm School, Cynicism, Education, People, Thoughts, Weirdness 2 Comments »One of my favourite stories today is that of the Suffolk school that’s now hiring proofreaders to check for mistakes in teachers reports. Yes, really.
From the story…
Northgate High School said the role would include correcting “spelling mistakes, poor or missing punctuation, incorrect capitalisation” and improving “poor grammar”.
The role at the local authority school pays £14 an hour.
Headteacher David Hutton said the work indicates the “high level of professionalism” at the school.
Surely a better mark of the ‘high level of professionalism’ at the school would be to hire teachers who – you know – are capable of spelling correctly and using grammar properly in the first place? After all, if they’re making mistakes on the reports, I’d be pretty damn sure they were making the same mistakes in lessons…
Waiting / Wasting Time
Posted: Wed 21 November, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Shopping, Shopping, Thoughts, Weirdness 2 Comments »One of my regular activities (and of course everyone else’s regular activities) is the domestic shop – it’s not something I enjoy too much, but it’s got to be done. And at the same time I find it fascinating in some ways.
Mainly I love observing people, looking at their motivations, habits, and mindsets. I don’t always understand those mindsets and actions – as with the Reverse Parking thing I commented on a while back.
There’s going to be more of these posts, I think – it’s all making me think a lot about people, their psychology, the mindset for shopping and so on. It’s all just in my head a bit.
Anyway – back to the point of this one. Still in the supermarket carpark, I’m afraid.
So here’s the thing – why do people feel the need to park as close as humanly possible to the actual store? Even to the extent of driving round the nearest loop three or four times, rather than finding a space somewhere else? And particularly to the extent of sitting waiting for someone to load their shopping into the car, return the trolley, and then (eventually) drive off, leaving a queue of people behind, and generally screwing up the entire circuit ?
Me, I park further out, dump straight into a parking slot, and get on with the job. Last weekend I managed to do that, go in, shop, and come back out while at least one twat was still waiting for a parking spot on his circuit.
In short, I really don’t get the concept of ‘saving time’ by parking close to the store, if you have to circle repeatedly and wait for a spot.
Booked In
Posted: Mon 19 November, 2012 Filed under: Animals, Domestic Leave a comment »A couple of months back now, I got a new addition to the cat collection, an Egyptian Mau who I’ve named Cleo. (Obvious, but such is life)
She’s an adoption, is now about seven months old, and has settled in well with the other two monsters. Oh, and utterly gorgeous…
Anyway, it’s coming up to the time when she needs spaying/neutering (can’t remember which it is) so I booked it in today – for the start of December. Get me, Mr Organised.
The bit that isn’t going to be fun is that she can’t eat anything for 12 hours beforehand – and of course if one can’t eat, neither can the others. So that’s going to be one long night of whinging moggies…
King’s Cross – 25 Years
Posted: Sun 18 November, 2012 Filed under: Getting Old(er), Public Transport, Thoughts, Travel Leave a comment »It really doesn’t seem possible that it’s now 25 years since the fire at King’s Cross station in London which killed 31 people.
It’s not (for me at least) one of those events where you always remember where you were when you heard about it, but it was still a major event, and brought about so many changes with train stations, including replacing all the wooden escalators with metal ones, banning smoking in stations (it had already been banned on the trains, but was OK in stations) and secondary influences and improvements for things like fire-fighting services and so on.
But knowing it’s 25 years ago is a real surprise – time flies, and all that jazz.
Critical Reading
Posted: Fri 16 November, 2012 Filed under: Advertising, Creativity, Cynicism, Education, Food, Literacy, Pedantry, Thoughts 6 Comments »As has been observed many times over the years, I can be a really picky/pedantic bastard – particularly when it comes to spelling, punctuation, and literacy in general. And it’s true, I am all of those things.
Today I’ve been proof-reading a menu for the work Christmas Do (of which more at some other point) – and with some of the errors, had to check the original menu.
So – would you still go to a place whose menu has spelling errors? I realise that the typing and publication of the menu won’t have come direct from the chef, and will have been farmed out to someone on reception (or similar) – but really, if chefs / owners are so obsessed about control, wouldn’t that also extend to the menu, and how it represents the establishment ?
In this case, some of the spelling errors are pretty basic – Mascarpone , for example, is mis-spelled. In others, it’s the actual cooking techniques themselves, such as “Ballantine” instead of “Ballotine”. And I just find that a bit worrying – for if there’s that lack of attention to details in the menu, I can’t help but think there might be the same lack of attention when it comes to the food.
Oh Good God
Posted: Fri 16 November, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Charity, Domestic Leave a comment »
Once more, it’s Children in Need day.
This means I’ll be avoiding people like the plague all day. Yes, even more than usual.
Cutting Down
Posted: Tue 13 November, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Food, Health 1 Comment »It’s that time again – the one where I work on cutting down my consumption of Diet Coke.
Yeah, I know, *yawn*.
With me, my intake is cyclical, and depends a lot on what else I’m doing. I’ve noticed this time round that I drink more Diet Coke while working than when I’m at home – which sounds pretty logical during the week, but is particularly true on weekends. But even so, I’m aware my consumption levels were rising again.
So yes, it’s time to drop it back down again. I doubt I’ll get down to zero – I might, but I doubt it. I’ll be happy with a sustained reduction, and that’s already started.
Indeed, I’ve already halved my intake. We’ll see how it goes, but it’s an improvement for sure.
Getting Back
Posted: Mon 12 November, 2012 Filed under: 2012/13, 41 - 42, Domestic, Gigs, Music Leave a comment »In conversations (and D4D posts) last week, I realised it’s now more than a year since I’ve been to a concert. I’ve eased off on them over the last few years, partly through getting a bit pickier following some that were pretty bad, and partly just through a lack of available time and finances along with venues not being as easy to get to.
Manchester was fantastic for getting to/from gigs, and had plenty of good venues as well. Bracknell was less good, and Norfolk/Suffolk were a pain in the bits. From the new place, it’s likely still London (although there’s also other smaller locations which aren’t too bad) and what with one thing and another it’s not been great for booking tickets.
Anyway, I’d thought I’d make some changes, and this weekend has meant that’s started – my first gig in 14 months will be in Janurary, seeing the Cowboy Junkies (yet again) , this time at the Barbican in London.
And I can’t wait.
Signs of the Season
Posted: Sun 11 November, 2012 Filed under: Advertising, Festering Season Leave a comment »TV Adverts for perfume, gadgets, books, furniture sales and so on.
It must be the run-up to the Festering Season.
Quarter Done
Posted: Fri 9 November, 2012 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic 1 Comment »Amazingly, I’m already three months into the first phase of this bankruptcy process already.
It’s not been an easy process at all, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. But – and really I guess this is the thing – it’s definitely having a positive effect on my life.
There’s a long way to go yet – the second phase lasts ’til October 1st 2015, and the final phase completes on August 8th 2018 – but at least the first months are done and dealt with. The rest of the time is more about dealing with the aftermath.
41 to 42
Posted: Mon 5 November, 2012 Filed under: Change, Domestic, Finances, Getting Organised, Thoughts Leave a comment »As usual, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and plans of things I’d like to do in the forthcoming year. So yeah, this is one of those posts. Again.
To be fair, I do get a decent(ish) lump of stuff off the list done when I post and then review a while later, but I do also have a tendency to want to do more than I actually have the time (and, more importantly, the inclination) for. But still, good intentions, and the knowledge of more personal time, we’ll see how this one goes.
Over the next year I would like to…
- Write more
- Weigh less
I might add some others along the way, but for now I think that’s enough to be going on with.
41
Posted: Mon 5 November, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Getting Old(er) Leave a comment »Somehow, I’m now 41. Quite honestly, I’m amazed to be here, and to be saying that. This year there’ve been some very dark times which I haven’t really written much about, although some of it can be implied from where things stand now.
A lot of it has been emphatically Not Fun, although now things are a bit more settled and stable, I can see that they’re improving. More importantly, I’m improving.
I’m not sure what the next year will bring. Hopefully not too much in the way of radical change (that’s the current plan, but well, you know me and plans) other than the plans I’m going to detail in another post later today. There’s still change, but I’m hoping/expecting it to be a steady progression, rather than anything too earth-shattering.
When all’s said and done, though, there’s been a lot of change over the last few months, and there’s still more to come. But at least it’s all in a positive direction.
This Time…
Posted: Sun 4 November, 2012 Filed under: D4D™, Domestic Leave a comment »- six months ago I moved in to the new place
- twelve months ago I was up in Manchester, seeing friends – and seeing Tori Amos in concert
- two years ago I was setting up a new house, having been in it a month. Oh, and having a new Bengal kitten, and attending Pixeldiva‘s wedding.
- five years ago, we were – um – settling in to another house, although we’d been in it a bit longer. And realising just how fucking dark it was out in the country with no streetlights.
- ten years ago, I was seeing Pink in concert, having an interview that didn’t go well (and I can’t recall at all) and visiting Leyland (I assume for the interview)
How time flies. And how patterns emerge…
Hallowe’en
Posted: Wed 31 October, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Charm School, Cynicism, Domestic, Festering Season, Hypocrisy, People, Thoughts, Weirdness 1 Comment »Yes, once again it’s that time of year.
The one where, after telling children all year that they shouldn’t talk to strangers, let along accept sweets etc. from strangers, it’s now acceptable – but only for one night (and the following weekend, of course) – to go knocking on doors and – um – accept sweets from strangers.
What could possibly go wrong?
I feel the same about Santa in the Festering Season – again, don’t talk to strangers, but oh, it’s ok this time because you’re talking to Santa and accepting presents. Hey, good move.
In short, ’tis the season to introduce your children to hypocrisy and double-standards. Enjoy.
Product Placement
Posted: Mon 29 October, 2012 Filed under: Advertising, Cinema, Thoughts Leave a comment »Over the weekend, I went to see the new Bond film, Skyfall. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle about the product placement in the film, Bond drinks Heineken, etc. etc. – so among other things I wanted to see if it actually made one jot of difference to the film.
And of course it doesn’t. The Heineken bottle, for example, is only visible for about ten seconds – and even then you don’t get to see the brand name. Sure, you can recognise the label, but the actual brand isn’t there. Which I thought was interesting.
There’s actually a lot of product placement – but I don’t get the current kerfuffle about it, to be honest. Bond films have *always* been a bonanza of product placement. Why scream about the product placement of a bottle of beer, in comparison to – for example – Aston Martin’s deal? Oh no, sorry, that’s ‘classic’, so somehow it doesn’t count. Bond is a label queen, always has been, always will be.
Take a second, think of all the names/brands that you mentally link to Bond…
- Aston Martin
- Lotus
- Walther PPK
- Martini (I know it’s the name of the cocktail, but all the same)
- Bollinger champagne
And that’s just ten seconds thought.
To me it’s interesting, seeing the things that people *perceive* as product placement, versus what’s there as either ‘classic’ stuff, or simply not realised.
In Skyfall, sure, the Sony Vaio brand is all over the place, and not particularly subtle. But there’s all the old favourites too. Audi cars are used in most scenes, and there’s a couple of references to VW Beetles which I’m quite certain aren’t coincidental.
Personally, I find product placement to be less intrusive than normal advertising. Well, at least when it’s done properly – I can think of a few really bad examples of super-obvious tie-ins that were just painful (I, Robot’s obsession with Converse and Audi, for example, and the Cisco overdose on Transformers films) – but for the most part it’s something my brain can gloss over.
Indeed – and again, from a personal perspective – I found that the pre-film adverts, also 90% Bond-related were far more intrusive, and led me to the point of being pissed off with Bond before the film had even started.
Product-placement and tie-ins I can live with. Related advertising is far worse.
Versions of Stability
Posted: Mon 22 October, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Thoughts Leave a comment »Not only have I been at the house for nearly six months, I’ve been in the same job now for eight months – two-and-a-bit as a contractor, and the rest as a permanent employee. By my standards, that’s pretty long term.
I’ll be there for a while yet, too – there’s plenty of challenges ongoing, and I’m actually enjoying it.
All told, it’s about having some stability for the moment. So much has changed over the last couple of years, and even more so in the first six to eight months of this year. I’m pretty sure that the next year is going to be a lot more stable – Lord, I hope it is, anyway – but with the house and the job pretty much squared away, I feel a lot better about the rest.
I do need to still make some changes – I need to get back to getting out more, for example. I’ve found that I’ve been appreciating having my own time and space, but I know that can be a bit of a trap.
But I’ll get there.
Counterfeits, and Real Refunds
Posted: Wed 17 October, 2012 Filed under: Customer Services, Domestic, iPhone Leave a comment »Back in March when I got the iPhone upgrade, I ordered a new Mophie Juice Pack Plus battery pack – I’d had one for the old iPhone, and really liked it. Plus it has the nice side-effect of doubling the battery life of the phone.
I bought the pack – me being me, the purple one – via Amazon (as I usually do)
Over this weekend, it stopped charging, and is basically broke and fucked. Not impressed. It was past the 90-day period on Amazon, so I contacted Mophie direct to ask what could be done.
I got a reply the next day, asking for the normal sort of thing – receipt, serial number etc., which got supplied.
Then yesterday they sent an email, saying that the battery pack I’ve bought is actually a counterfeit product, so Mophie can’t do anything about it. Understandable, but nightmare.
Anyway, I contacted the seller via Amazon (and left a warning on the product page) last night, just letting them know, but really expecting knack-all.
And today, I got an email, telling me that I’d been completely refunded for the purchase, to not worry about returning it or anything, very sorry, and that they’d actually stopped selling those packs recently following other concerns about their quality.
I’m annoyed about the pack’s death, but very, very impressed with the resultant customer service – both from the seller, and from Mophie themselves.
New Addition
Posted: Tue 16 October, 2012 Filed under: Animals, Domestic Leave a comment »Over the weekend, the household gained a new occupant.
Alongside me, The Bengal, and The British Shorthair, I’ve now adopted an Egyptian Mau as well.
And that’s enough!
Odd Name Choice
Posted: Sun 14 October, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Business, Commuting, Cynicism, Driving, Thoughts Leave a comment »Travelling on the M1 today, I saw a truck for a company called “Fly By Nite” (a courier company)
Now in my mind, “Fly by Night” (regardless of the spelling) is synonymous with something really dodgy – usually smuggling, and the like.
So it seems like an odd choice for a name, but maybe I’m wrong.
Would you use a company where the name was (in your perception) dodgy?
Vivid Dreaming
Posted: Thu 11 October, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Insomnia, Sleep - or lack thereof, Weirdness Leave a comment »One thing I’ve realised more and more over the last few months is that I dream very vividly – to the point that I can’t easily tell dreams from reality. It’s only when I think back and actually analyse things that I work out sometimes whether it’s been dream or real. That’s not helped by the fact that most of my dreams appear to be quite reality-based anyway. I’ve never dreamed about flying naked, or whatever.
Don’t get me wrong, they get very weird – but it’s extrapolations from reality, rather than just starting weird and getting worse.
Recently, I’ve also been vivid-dreaming that I’m awake. Or I think I have – it’s a possibility, anyway.
Either way, I’m either awake and not sleeping, or I’m asleep, dreaming I’m wide awake, and thus – um – dreaming about insomnia.
I honestly don’t know which it is. There are bits where I know I’ve been awake ’til ungodly hours – and have physically moved to pick up the clock and look at the time, for instance. Others, I’m less sure – I’ve felt like I’ve had no sleep, but then I also recall things that were definitely (with analysis) dreams.
It’s all very confusing, and not at all helpful.
Advertising Irritation
Posted: Wed 10 October, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Cinema, Cynicism, Thoughts Leave a comment »A few days back, I whiffed on about awful adverts in the cinema, ones that have a different effect on people than was perhaps expected
This piece of crap – for Coke Zero, as part of the Skyfall marketing behemoth – is a perfect example.
You can just tell that the ad agency- and probably the client- thought it conveyed a sense of humour, something new and fun to be talked about. But in the cinema, it gets no reaction, no laughter, nothing. (Although there is the occasional “Fuck sake”, or similar)
Super-Specific
Posted: Tue 9 October, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Bankruptcy, Cynicism, Thoughts 1 Comment »Another set of thoughts about advertising, I’m afraid. It’s becoming a bit of a theme at the moment – although that probably indicates I’m watching too much TV, or something.
Anyway, in this case the advert in question is for Lloyds TSB Bank, and their Vantage account.
The ad is making a big deal of their 4% AER interest rate. But take a listen, (and/or a look) at the conditions.
- To qualify for that rate, your account must have a minimum balance of £5,000, and the interest rate is payable up to a maximum balance of £6,000
- You have to open an account and have two direct debits set up by the end of October
- Your account must have at least £1,000 paid in each month, and must stay in credit
Indeed, it’s so specific, I wonder whether anyone will actually qualify for this ‘deal’ at all…
Nearly 41
Posted: Mon 8 October, 2012 Filed under: Domestic Leave a comment »Blimey. In four weeks’ time, I’m going to be forty-bloody-one.
Where’s this year gone?
Getting back in the habit
Posted: Sun 7 October, 2012 Filed under: D4D™ Leave a comment »As things go on, I’m trying to get back into the habit of writing – both here, and on other things as the mood takes me.
How much it’ll happen is still up for discussion (or just for ‘wait and see’), as is whatever I opt to write about.
Outside of D4D, I’m whiffing on some other creative ideas, but bouncing on how to formulate them etc.
So, we’ll see how it goes. But well, at least I’m trying. (Again)
Captive Audience – Part Two
Posted: Sat 6 October, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Cinema, Cynicism, Domestic, Legal, Thoughts Leave a comment »While at the cinema, there’s one other piece of ‘advertising’ (Well, I suppose it comes termed as adverts, but really “lectures” is a better term) that annoys me excessively.
Those adverts/lectures are the anti-piracy lectures, and the one that really fucking grates is this one…
Now bear in mind, this is being shown at the cinema. Everyone who is watching this advert has paid to see the bastard film – we’re not the ones that need to be preached to about not pirating films.
For these pieces of shit, we – the cinema-going audience – are a captive audience. We can’t fast-forward, we can’t go and get a cup of tea, we pretty much have to watch the fucking thing. And it’s preaching to the people who are (I suspect) the least likely group to be pirating films.
Even worse, the adverts are actually counter-productive. Because let’s face it, pirate copies don’t have these bloody anti-piracy adverts on them. And that, to me, is a point in favour of pirated films.
Captive Audience – Part One
Posted: Fri 5 October, 2012 Filed under: Advertising, Cinema, Creativity, Domestic, Thoughts Leave a comment »Over the last few months, I’ve been going to the cinema more – the Cineworld Unlimited ticket has it’s uses, and what the hell, I like films. For £15 a month, I’m seeing as many films as I want, and that’s fine. More than one a month, and it’s paying for itself.
The downside of it, though, is the bloody adverts. I don’t know why or how, but cinema advertising is incredibly bad. Trailers are OK (although it all gets a bit samey after a while) but the adverts themselves are just bad.
And it’s interesting too, to see how the audience react to those adverts. I know that agencies do test viewings and so on to gauge reaction, but they really should try going to the cinema and seeing – and to some degree hearing – the reaction there.
Orange currently are one of the biggest culprits. They seem to do one ad per season – Summer’s one was based round the Expendables 2 film, and Autumn’s one is based around The Sweeney. They’re meant to be funny (I think) but they get so dull with repetition, and the Autumn one isn’t getting any reaction at all. (Understandable really, because it’s a) weird and b) shit )
Overall, I think the worst times are where ads try to be funny, and the audience stay stony-faced, not a noise from them. It’s just cringe-worthy.
I don’t know what can be done to fix it – other than lots of viewer research and surveys, and ideally a shitload more creativity – but it’s still interesting about the reactions, or lack thereof.
Not really getting it
Posted: Sat 29 September, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Public Transport, Travel, Weirdness Leave a comment »While looking today at train ticket prices, I came across this…
Now I might be missing something, but if the train will take me 35 minutes, and cost £13(ish), why would I be interested in going by National Express, which would cost me more to travel for three times as long ?
I think someone might’ve missed the point…
Not guilty, yet guilty
Posted: Thu 27 September, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, Hypocrisy, News, Thoughts 13 Comments »[Disclaimer : I know fuck-all about football, and generally couldn’t care less]
I really, truly do not understand the Football Association (FA).
In today’s news, John Terry has been given a four-match suspension, and a £220,000 fine for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand during a match last year. Fair enough, racial abuse is never right (even among footballers), and those doing these things should be punished.
Ah, but. In this case Terry had already been cleared back in July by Westminster Magistrate’s Court of the exact same offence.
So what I don’t understand is why someone can be cleared in a court of law, but punished by a player’s association? Or have I missed something relevant?
Masterchef
Posted: Mon 24 September, 2012 Filed under: Design, Domestic, Food, Media, Television Leave a comment »While I like the UK Masterchef when it’s on, I find I prefer the Australian version. I don’t know exactly why, I just do.
This week, I’ve been watching it, and found a chef who actually does stuff I really want to try – if only for being really inventive and clever.
The chef is Peter Gilmore from the Quay restaurant, and he comes up with some amazing things…
Last year’s challenge was his Snow Egg
And this years was a beautiful chocolate dessert, the eight-texture chocolate cake, which I’d just love to try…
New Appearance
Posted: Sun 23 September, 2012 Filed under: D4D™, Redesign, WordPress Leave a comment »If you look at D4D™ on the site, rather than through an RSS reader, you’ll have already noticed I’ve put a new theme on the site for the time being.
There’s no real reason for it, I just fancied a bit of a change. There’s been a lot of change this year for me, which has also come through onto D4D (for obvious reasons) so it felt like I should change things here visually too. Besides, it’s been the existing theme for a very long time now, so time for a bit of an update.
It may also be the indicator of a new mode for D4D™, I don’t know yet. We’ll see.
Mass Transit
Posted: Sat 22 September, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Driving, Public Transport, Thoughts, Travel Leave a comment »While I’m no hater of public transport in general (with the exception of Virgin Trains, but that’s a different matter) I find that at the moment I’m a bit bemused by the apparent craze in cities for “Guided Busways” at the moment.
When I was in Norfolk/Suffolk and working around Cambridge, they had the Cambridge Guided Busway (also known as “The Busway“) being constructed, and now I’m working near Luton, I see the same construction going on for the Luton-Dunstable Busway.
I do understand the thoughts of getting buses out of the main roadways, freeing them up to run punctually and not affect (or be affected by) other traffic. That makes sense. But as far as I understand it, the perceived negatives far outweigh those positives.
As I see it currently…
- Guided busways reduce the number of available stops, and easy-on/easy-off of ‘normal’ bus routes
- The investment required is massive
- The construction takes a long time, and so
- The disruption involved is equally massive
- In short, it appears to be a total pain in the arse.
I wonder what the real motivations for these things are – I assume there are a whole load of incentives, grants and funding whatevers for this kind of boondoggle.
Revisiting
Posted: Fri 21 September, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Getting Old(er), Thoughts Leave a comment »While I was up in Manchester last weekend, I had a bit of a tour of the places I used to live. Well, I was (fairly) close, so I thought “What the hell”.
Two of the three places were there, and pretty much unchanged.
But the third is – well – no longer there. The entire area, probably three or four hundred houses all told, is gone. It’s all been demolished, and left as green space with just wooden borders on the edges.
The view from where my front door used to be
I don’t know what the plans are for the future development of the area, and I know that the area wasn’t great – but did all the houses really need to be demolished? They were OK houses, and just that one area could’ve been used to sort out all the homeless in the city.
Mileage, Weekends and Location
Posted: Thu 20 September, 2012 Filed under: Domestic, Driving, Thoughts Leave a comment »The last couple of weekends have been (again) pretty high-mileage all told. For once it’s been more about domestic travel and friends than being work-based, although work’s also been in there.
The weekend before last was seeing friends in Middlesbrough, which was a good weekend – even with a vile detour on the way home due to roadworks on the A19. These things are sent to try us, and all that.
Last weekend I went to see other friends in Manchester, and then to a company in Stockport before coming home late on the Monday.
More than anything else, the travelling has reinforced just how central I am in the new place – everywhere’s pretty easy to get to. Indeed, looking at a drive-range of 3 hours, I can cover most of England as well as a fair chunk of Wales.
That 3-hour drive means I can get to our office down in Devon, or up to Middlesbrough. If you look at a map, that’s a huge area.
YPLAC
Posted: Wed 12 September, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Charm School, Driving, Parking | Tags: YPLAC Leave a comment »From the truly mighty You Park Like A Cunt (YPLAC) comes this absolute gem.
Nothing else needs be said
New Accounts
Posted: Mon 3 September, 2012 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances 3 Comments »A big part of the bankruptcy proceedings involves having to change bank accounts, and that took a while.
I’ve moved from the RBS scumfucks (that’s a whole different story) now to Co-Operative bank, which I have to say is a major change for the better.
Changing banks isn’t an easy process at the best of times – obviously there’s a lot of necessary changes, for everything both coming in and going out, and it’s taken time to get it all sorted, but I think it’s now done.
In fairness, the process of getting the account itself sorted out was really easy. It’s just been the moving of everything that’s been a swine – the list included salary, insurances, direct debits, standing orders, bills, payees, and debit card details.
It’s another step though, and I think it’s now all done. There’s probably something I’ve forgotten, which’ll rise up to bite me in the arse, but for now I think I’ve got it sorted. We’ll see…
Fault Lines
Posted: Sun 2 September, 2012 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic, Introspective, Thoughts 1 Comment »This last few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about fault, about responsibility, and about change.
I’m not perfect – thank the Lord, I’ve never claimed to be – and the recent events are a wonderful example of that. I’ve made mistakes, and plenty of them – bad decisions and bad judgement calls. And I take the responsibility for that. Even the bankruptcy isn’t absolving me of that responsibility, I’ll still be paying, except it’s through the Official Receiver.
I’ve made bad decisions, and I’m learning from them. I won’t make the same ones again.
Sure, I’ll make other ones – I’m not perfect. But I do at least try my best to not repeat the same ones.
I’m not trying to lay fault for my actions and choices, I’m not absolving myself. The bankruptcy is ‘just’ a more affordable way of taking that responsibility – one I can actually live with, and manage. It’s made a major change to my life, in a good way, but it doesn’t mean things are easy. Not by a long chalk.
New Beginnings
Posted: Sat 1 September, 2012 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic 7 Comments »Despite the bankruptcy now being (already) nearly a month old, today really is the new start of things.
I got paid yesterday – and a hearty hallelujah on that one – and it’s been a revelation, even “only” not paying off debt and interest, and in not then having to just juggle remaining money for the rest of the month.
There’s still a long way to go, but the beginning is looking good.
30 Things
Posted: Mon 20 August, 2012 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Change, Depression, Domestic, Getting Old(er), Getting Organised, Introspective, People, Thoughts 4 Comments »via Blue Witch , I came across Black Dog Tribe‘s “30 things to stop doing to yourself“. It’s a great list – I think probably most people don’t do all of them, but most do some of them, at least.
I’ve copied it here for posterity, and so I can come back to it when I want/need to. It’s particularly relevant for me at the moment, with all the other stuff that’s going on, so I hope it helps others too.
- Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
- Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. That’s not how we’re made. In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because that’s the whole purpose of living — to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
- Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves.
- Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
- Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you likeeveryone else. Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you. Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.
- Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
- Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
- Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
- Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
- Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else.
- Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
- Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
- Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen — in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
- Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
- Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others are doing better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
- Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. Ask yourself this: ‘What’s something I have that everyone wants?’
- Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you. You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough. But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past. You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation. So smile! Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
- Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate. Forgiveness is not saying, ‘What you did to me is okay’. It is saying, ‘I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.’ Forgiveness is the answer- let go, find peace, liberate yourself! And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too. If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
- Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
- Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway. Just do what you know in your heart is right.
- Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
- Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
- Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.
- Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t take the easy way out. Do something extraordinary.
- Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either — cry if you need to — it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
- Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility — you give others power over that part of your life.
- Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out. But making one person smile CAN change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus.
- Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: ‘Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?’ If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
- Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
- Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.
Enjoy.
Changing Status – The Costs
Posted: Sun 12 August, 2012 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances, Thoughts Leave a comment »Of everything to do with the bankruptcy proceedings, I think I found the worst bit to be the costs involved. Yes, if you didn’t know (and why would you unless you’ve had to do it?) it costs a significant amount of money to declare that – um – you have no money.
It costs £175 for the court fee, to get everything processed. That’s not so bad, and I can pretty much understand that one.
The other costs is a stonking £525 for costs of administrating the bankruptcy. That one I have rather more issue with.
So all told, it’s £700 to pay in order to declare that you’ve got no money.
And yes, if you’re prepared to wait and go through the process of being declared bankrupt, it’ll cost you nothing (I think) but that takes significantly longer, so if you’re fiscally stuffed anyway, you’re just going to keep on juggling for longer.
Changing Status – Getting It Done
Posted: Sat 11 August, 2012 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances, Thoughts Leave a comment »Despite the bad advice from the Insolvency Service, getting the bankruptcy sorted was surprisingly painless – indeed, it was far easier than I’d been expecting it to be.
I had filled in all the paperwork before time, which obviously made life easier as well. The documents are all on the Insolvency Service website and the how-tos and advice are very useful.
Even at the wrong court, the people were really helpful. (We’ll gloss over the person from Bedford court who didn’t know the court’s postcode…) Bedford were also really understanding of the cock-up – one suspects it’s happened before – and did their utmost to get things sorted.
I’ve never actually been in a court building before – never done jury service, never done anything court-worthy (or at least never been caught) – so I was pretty nervous, it’s fair to say.
I was fully expecting to have to see the judge / magistrate, but as it turned out that wasn’t the case. I paid the fees (of which more in another post) and waited. I had to go round to the court waiting room while the usher(?) took the documents to the judge. They came back, with everything signed off – I didn’t even have to go in.
And then it was just the time to get the order typed up and processed, and that was it. Less than two hours, from entering the building to leaving it.
Wild and Free
Posted: Fri 10 August, 2012 Filed under: Animals, Stupidity, Television, Thoughts Leave a comment »Last night, Channel 4 had a documentary on the 2011 Ohio “Exotic Animal Release” called “America’s Animal Hoarder“. It’s not easy viewing, but it’s worth seeing.
It’s an amazing documentary, reflecting an episode I’d actually not heard about. Basically, Terry Thompson, a veteran of Vietnam, had amassed (legally) a collection of wild/exotic animals – Lions, jaguars, tigers, bears and more. On October 18, 2011, Thompson released his animals, and committed suicide. No-one really knows why – he’d been in jail, he was in debt, and (from the sound of the documentary) he had significant – and known – mental health issues.
In Ohio, there’s no law about the keeping of exotic/deadly animals. Thompson had also been a licensed “Class 3” firearms dealer (among other things) which allowed him to sell automatic firearms. He was a known “hoarder” – of vehicles, animals, anything.
It’s a really disturbing documentary, particularly if you happen to be an animal lover, or a fan of (particularly) big cats – and I qualify on both. They had to be shot dead – there was no other alternative, no way to tranquilise 50-60 animals and keep them safely. All the existing pens had been cut open – Thompson had cut the wire fencing, not just opened the doors.
The final toll was
- 8 tigers
- six black bears
- two grizzlies
- two wolves
- one macaque monkey
- one baboon
- three mountain lions
- nine male lions, and
- eight lionesses
You just can’t imagine having to kill that many rare animals – and knowing there’s no choice.
Really really sad – but as much of an indictment of Ohio law (and in some ways American laws in general) as of one individual with such obvious issues. Very, very sad.
Changing Status
Posted: Fri 10 August, 2012 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances, Thoughts | Tags: Finances 4 Comments »So, while D4D™ was celebrating turning ten , my own life was getting changed too.
I spent the morning in county court (technically two county courts, but more on that in a minute) declaring myself bankrupt. It’s a huge decision, but it’s the right decision for me. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of months, figuring out all the options (or lack thereof) and what they meant for me.
It’s been a tough ride, this year. I’ve lost a relationship with someone I really cared about (and still miss), moved house, and changed jobs – including one contract boffing out on me and costing me quite a bit of money, although that change meant I was available for the job I’ve got now, starting with a contract and going permanent. And of course all of those changes just kept on adding kicks to the finances.
I don’t blame anyone else, or put the responsibility for it at any door other than my own. I’ve tried balancing and juggling things all year – probably longer, if I’m honest – but it’s been getting harder and harder.
Anyway, today was the day. I’d checked with the Insolvency Service which court I needed to go to (I live pretty much halfway between the Bucks and Beds county courts) and they’d said Milton Keynes. So I got there, and they said I was in the wrong one, and needed to be in Bedford. Nightmare.
Anyway, Bedford court were really impressive, and it all went really smoothly in the end. I went through the process – scarily, they’ve had over 140 others this year already- and everything was signed and typed up within two hours.
I know there’s a long way to go yet, and this is just the first step. I know it’ll take time to get properly sorted – at least a year – but this is A Good Thing.