...and another month has past.
In all fairness though, it's not like I haven't been doing anything; for a start, I only got back into the UK on Friday and have been fighting severe time-zone difference syndrome (my own name for jet lag...) ever since and today, with a bright and early start at 7:30am, it feels like I've gotten it beat after two days of 3am starts.
This isn't going to be a HK trip report; instead it is going to be about something my friend said while we were in HK:
"I don't think I can work here..... I think I can work here but not live here"
Now for a little context.
Like me, she doesn't really like how people are in HK. They are rude, selfish, greedy, materialistic, shallow, arrogant (unrightly so), no sense of ethics, self righteous (unrightly so). You know how they say that in London, everyone is miserable and busy and rushes around rudely. Well, that is not true. Even on the Underground where everyone has a right to be miserable and rude, you still can't ignore that anyone on that train would still smile and exchange a few words if anyone else made an effort. Anyone rushing around on the busy streets would still do the same if someone were to offer the same. How many times have you been on a tube during rush hour and was being crushed by the rush of people onto your ride but still had a total stranger say a few cheerful words to you? How often have you said a few things to a total stranger at Oxford Circus regarding tourists in the area? How many times have you had total strangers tell you not to buy from a certain shop and to go somewhere else instead? It could be just me but I find that outside of particularly stressful periods i.e rush hour on the tubes, that London People are in general, friendly, warm, helpful and very open to others. The rude ones tend to be people who don't live/work in the area. It could also just easily be me who happens to attract all of the nice people so that I get an unnaturally friendly experience of London.
In HK however, no one is friendly. If you said something to a stranger, you'd be looked upon as a freak. No one would tell you where to shop better or where to get a better milkshake. Are people nice? I'm sure they are but they don;t seem to extend this beyond their own circle of friends. This is the kind of selfishness I'm talking about; their niceness only goes as far as people they know. I know, you can;'t expect people to be be kind and generous to strangers but I'm not talking about giving someone your kidney. It's the small things like opeing a door for someone, giving up a tube seat, letting someone get on a bus first, that sort of thing. In my time(s) in HK i don't recall anyone offering up anything like this to me or anyone else around me. Of course, I know this is a horrible generalisation but that is the feel that I get. It could be because of my peculiar situation of being a British/Chinese person in HK where no one else expects me to need guidance but still, that doesn't explain the general rudeness.
A friend of mine said it best when he described the difference in work ethics (I think I've mentioned this before).
A British businessman would openly try to rip you off, that is the nature of business; I want to get the most out of you for my money. Everyone wants the same. The perfect business exchange is where I get everything that I want and you get everything that you want.
A HK businessman would try to rip you off but pretend to be nice and act as if he isn't getting anything extra.
That's the kind of thing I'm talking about.
The HK workplace is famous for being an environment of two-faces, backstabbing, gossip, lies, cheats, arse-licking, 10+hour days, 6 day weeks and shit pay. There's also the small factor of rediculous competitiveness of all work sectors that only serves to feed those factors in the negative. What you end up with is a horrible fight for yourself and tread down on all others even if it means you end up doing twice the work for half the money because you simply can't afford to lose the work.
It kinda surprised me to hear my friend (I am not playing the pronoun game) say that she can work there beucase in all honesty, I can't see her being able to handle the HK work environment. I understand that already having somewhere to live that doesn't require any upkeep (all paid for and all that) makes life a lot easier means that the low pay won't have that much effect and being at home with family can help with shit work collegues but still. Can she handle the office gossip and shit?
I know I can't.
OK, I concede that not everyone is going to be like that. That is essentially what I said about London. In a crammed tube, there are going to be nice people. I'm not so sure when it comes to HK though; after all, when it is the old women you have to watch out for when boarding a HK tube, you know that something is amiss with the general population. It seems that the percentage of nice (genuine) friendly people in HK is lower than most.
I have said in the past that I can live anywhere and I stand by that. I know that HK is somewhere I can get used to if needs be and most of it comes down to my own comfort zone but that still doesn't change the fact that HK people and their behaviour irks me.
In truth, I could probably live and work there too as it's just a matter of getting on with it so what really is my problem with the place?
Perhaps I should give it a chance?
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Saturday, November 11, 2006
...the few...
I don't get angered by things much these days but a few days ago, I saw an article on BBC news that stirred me.
In short, the UK based Christian and Theological "Think Tank" group Ekklesia (there's no fucking way I'm going to link to their page.... so google it if you must) wants to put forward the production of white poppies as well as the usual red poppy because it supposedly supports the more Christian idea of peace through non-violence means whereas, they say, the red poppy is more symbolic of peace through war.
Bollocks.
Since when was the wearing of a red poppy anything to do with the war itself? As far as I was aware, the poppy was a symbol of rememberance of the sacrifice the people made so that we can be living the lives we do today. How the fuck can these people, supposed intellects that are part of a think tank even suggest that this is about celebrating war?
Remember this?
The charity involved with the Red Poppy Appeal collects for ALL ex-servicemen and their families and in particular they support all of those who have lost vauable members of their family who might otherwise be supporting them. Fathers, Sons and Brothers who have lost their lives to defend their country and in modern times defending other countries and their people, leave behind people who need help and support and this is what the Red Poppies are about.
For a moment, let's forget the rights and wrongs or war; we all know it is wrong. Let's forget about the mess in Iraq because that isn't down to the individuals who fight the war but instead lies on the shoulders of those who tell these men to go into battle. Instead remember the idea behind it all; the idea that these people are fighting to defend the rights of the free man; of you and me and that part of their job is knowing that they might die on our behalf.
The idea that some pompous group out there wants to quibble over the colour of a poppy and what it might mean really pisses me off and smells like nothing more than wanting to get attention for themselves and thereby belittling the actual significance of the Red Poppy.
Ok..... and now for some more reasonable response.
In all fairness, the White Poppy has been around for a long time and was first introduced to symbolise peace; that's fine but why draw attention to it here and now when there is the much greater importance of the charity behind it?
I do see the modern problem here in that at a time when people are required to be religiously invisible, there is a certain belief that the red poppy is a christian symbol when it is not. This is where the white poppy is seen to have a role; that is to be a symbol of the rememberance AND a symbol of Christianity and Peace. Of course, if public speakers are asked to not wear crosses and crucifixes, what's the point of having the White Poppy made more available if it is to represent a Christian stance? According to the BBC news site, the white poppy has also been closely associated with the Anti-War movement which again, by itself is not a bad thing but again, this kind of debate and argument over the colour of a symbol is taking away attention from the important thing here; once again, that of the work of the charity.
I say, leave the Red Poppy Alone.
Give people equal choice between a red or white one?
Ok... but that's assuming that the average Joe out there knows the differences between the two. To the 90 % who don't know, it is literally meaningless and it is just a difference in colour. With this in mind, what's the point of making a point?
You can make an anti war statement 365 days of the year but we only have one day every year where we make a point of remembering the sacrifices of the few so for god's sake, don't take this day away from them.
In short, the UK based Christian and Theological "Think Tank" group Ekklesia (there's no fucking way I'm going to link to their page.... so google it if you must) wants to put forward the production of white poppies as well as the usual red poppy because it supposedly supports the more Christian idea of peace through non-violence means whereas, they say, the red poppy is more symbolic of peace through war.
Bollocks.
Since when was the wearing of a red poppy anything to do with the war itself? As far as I was aware, the poppy was a symbol of rememberance of the sacrifice the people made so that we can be living the lives we do today. How the fuck can these people, supposed intellects that are part of a think tank even suggest that this is about celebrating war?
Remember this?
- The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the World War by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. All hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see with our own eyes day after day…
The charity involved with the Red Poppy Appeal collects for ALL ex-servicemen and their families and in particular they support all of those who have lost vauable members of their family who might otherwise be supporting them. Fathers, Sons and Brothers who have lost their lives to defend their country and in modern times defending other countries and their people, leave behind people who need help and support and this is what the Red Poppies are about.
For a moment, let's forget the rights and wrongs or war; we all know it is wrong. Let's forget about the mess in Iraq because that isn't down to the individuals who fight the war but instead lies on the shoulders of those who tell these men to go into battle. Instead remember the idea behind it all; the idea that these people are fighting to defend the rights of the free man; of you and me and that part of their job is knowing that they might die on our behalf.
The idea that some pompous group out there wants to quibble over the colour of a poppy and what it might mean really pisses me off and smells like nothing more than wanting to get attention for themselves and thereby belittling the actual significance of the Red Poppy.
Ok..... and now for some more reasonable response.
In all fairness, the White Poppy has been around for a long time and was first introduced to symbolise peace; that's fine but why draw attention to it here and now when there is the much greater importance of the charity behind it?
I do see the modern problem here in that at a time when people are required to be religiously invisible, there is a certain belief that the red poppy is a christian symbol when it is not. This is where the white poppy is seen to have a role; that is to be a symbol of the rememberance AND a symbol of Christianity and Peace. Of course, if public speakers are asked to not wear crosses and crucifixes, what's the point of having the White Poppy made more available if it is to represent a Christian stance? According to the BBC news site, the white poppy has also been closely associated with the Anti-War movement which again, by itself is not a bad thing but again, this kind of debate and argument over the colour of a symbol is taking away attention from the important thing here; once again, that of the work of the charity.
I say, leave the Red Poppy Alone.
Give people equal choice between a red or white one?
Ok... but that's assuming that the average Joe out there knows the differences between the two. To the 90 % who don't know, it is literally meaningless and it is just a difference in colour. With this in mind, what's the point of making a point?
You can make an anti war statement 365 days of the year but we only have one day every year where we make a point of remembering the sacrifices of the few so for god's sake, don't take this day away from them.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
.....
.....
Looks like N.Korea wants to continue nuclear testing, assuming that it was a nuclear bomb the last time that is....
Anyway, as expected, this has brought on massive reactions of disapproval and anger from the Usual Suspects.
Only thing is, something about it all doesn't seem right to me.
How come the US and the UK (and a couple of others) have the right to decide who can or who can't have nuclear weapons?
OK, I can see the sense of having to govern and manage the ownership and manufacture of Nuclear Weapons but ignoring this and it being North Korea is question, doesn't it seem a bit well, unfair and a little too much like schoolyard bully tactics?
"i've got a nuclear bomb and you don't, so nah nah nanah nah!"
Looks like N.Korea wants to continue nuclear testing, assuming that it was a nuclear bomb the last time that is....
Anyway, as expected, this has brought on massive reactions of disapproval and anger from the Usual Suspects.
Only thing is, something about it all doesn't seem right to me.
How come the US and the UK (and a couple of others) have the right to decide who can or who can't have nuclear weapons?
OK, I can see the sense of having to govern and manage the ownership and manufacture of Nuclear Weapons but ignoring this and it being North Korea is question, doesn't it seem a bit well, unfair and a little too much like schoolyard bully tactics?
"i've got a nuclear bomb and you don't, so nah nah nanah nah!"
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
misguided money
You must've heard about Madonna's wanting to adopt a new child, yes?
A dear friend of mine pointed out something to me. I have to admit that I hadn't given it much thought because as a rule, I try not to concern myself with the goings on of the rich and famous.
As you know, she is in the process of completing the adoption process of a Malawian boy hat she "found" in an orphanage in the area. On the face of it, this is a noble thing to do; essentially wanting to save the life of a child.
But what about the rest of it?
Firstly, the whole thing might not even be legitimate as there are strict rules that must be followed and conditions that have to be met before a possible parent is granted the permission for the adoption.
Are we supposed to ignore the rules and in some instances LAWS because she is Madonna?
Don't forget that this child isn't without family as his father is still alive.
Ahhhh..... But they say that the child will only be in the Uk with Madonna for a few years and will eventually go home.
Right.
Take a child out of a poor country to live in London (and where-ever else Madonna chooses to live...) for a few years and then at a later age, when the child has grown up to be a healthy individual he can go home back to his family. Can you see that happening?
Now I might be a bit cynical but somehow, I find it hard to believe that a child that is brought up in luxury afforded by Madonna is likely to be willing to go back to Malawi after X number of years.
Is this even the right thing to do?
For a long time, I always wondered why the incredibly rich didn't just give a huge amount of money to the people that need it. When I was older and learned how things work, I realised that them setting up charities and organising events and things that go on beyond themselves is more productive. I mean, spending £200,000 to set up a charity and associated network to run that charity that will go on to continually make money to help is going to be better than simply giving a single cash injection to the cause. Of course, it wouold be better if you also give a huge amount of cash to give it a good start but still, it is long term solutions we should be looking at.
Isn't that what should've happened here?
Instead of adopting a single child, shouldn't Madonna instead seek to rectify the problems faced by ALL of the children at that ophanage?
I mean, as my friend said, wouldn't it even be more preferable to simply give the father the money needed to take care of the child?
A dear friend of mine pointed out something to me. I have to admit that I hadn't given it much thought because as a rule, I try not to concern myself with the goings on of the rich and famous.
As you know, she is in the process of completing the adoption process of a Malawian boy hat she "found" in an orphanage in the area. On the face of it, this is a noble thing to do; essentially wanting to save the life of a child.
But what about the rest of it?
Firstly, the whole thing might not even be legitimate as there are strict rules that must be followed and conditions that have to be met before a possible parent is granted the permission for the adoption.
Are we supposed to ignore the rules and in some instances LAWS because she is Madonna?
Don't forget that this child isn't without family as his father is still alive.
Ahhhh..... But they say that the child will only be in the Uk with Madonna for a few years and will eventually go home.
Right.
Take a child out of a poor country to live in London (and where-ever else Madonna chooses to live...) for a few years and then at a later age, when the child has grown up to be a healthy individual he can go home back to his family. Can you see that happening?
Now I might be a bit cynical but somehow, I find it hard to believe that a child that is brought up in luxury afforded by Madonna is likely to be willing to go back to Malawi after X number of years.
Is this even the right thing to do?
For a long time, I always wondered why the incredibly rich didn't just give a huge amount of money to the people that need it. When I was older and learned how things work, I realised that them setting up charities and organising events and things that go on beyond themselves is more productive. I mean, spending £200,000 to set up a charity and associated network to run that charity that will go on to continually make money to help is going to be better than simply giving a single cash injection to the cause. Of course, it wouold be better if you also give a huge amount of cash to give it a good start but still, it is long term solutions we should be looking at.
Isn't that what should've happened here?
Instead of adopting a single child, shouldn't Madonna instead seek to rectify the problems faced by ALL of the children at that ophanage?
I mean, as my friend said, wouldn't it even be more preferable to simply give the father the money needed to take care of the child?
teach them what...?
You might've missed this but there are plans to give teachers the power to fine children, or more specifically their parents, on the spot for the childs bad behaviour outside of of school.
I am not the only one to think this is one of the most stupid and lazy and responsibilty shirking ideas ever.
Whose resposibilty is it to police the streets? You want the answer? read the question again and what do you see? POLICE OkOk.... smart arses out there will say "actually, no, you don't see police, that's the point" but hold on a minute. Isn't that exactly the point?
Not sure about you but my local area has recently been recruiting more special constables and the presence of real police officers in town has been more noticeable and is in my opinion getting better. I do recognise that the police can't be everywhere but still, should teachers be drafted in to do the work of the police?
Don't teachers have enough responsibilty already?
As it stands, teachers already have a tough job. In schools they are next to powerless to enforce any disciplinary actions and school kids, especially trouble makers just don't have any fear or respect for them. In fact, in a lot of cases, I'm willing to bet my left nut that a lot of teachers are scared of the kids. Knowing this situation, you want to give teachers the added responsiblity of policing and punishing bad behaviour of kids outside of the school?
You have to be a moron not to see that this will only give the children more reason to be disruptive and target teachers with abuse.
And who are you fining anyway?
Slap a £100 fine on a school kid and it is the parents that have to pay. The idea behind this is that it involves the parents in the discpline process and the fine would urge the parents to be more involved in well, "sorting out" their kids.
Unless of course the parents are the same as the kids, in which case you've just made both the parents and children angry at you.
Wonderful.
Great Idea guys.
Keep it up.
I am not the only one to think this is one of the most stupid and lazy and responsibilty shirking ideas ever.
Whose resposibilty is it to police the streets? You want the answer? read the question again and what do you see? POLICE OkOk.... smart arses out there will say "actually, no, you don't see police, that's the point" but hold on a minute. Isn't that exactly the point?
Not sure about you but my local area has recently been recruiting more special constables and the presence of real police officers in town has been more noticeable and is in my opinion getting better. I do recognise that the police can't be everywhere but still, should teachers be drafted in to do the work of the police?
Don't teachers have enough responsibilty already?
As it stands, teachers already have a tough job. In schools they are next to powerless to enforce any disciplinary actions and school kids, especially trouble makers just don't have any fear or respect for them. In fact, in a lot of cases, I'm willing to bet my left nut that a lot of teachers are scared of the kids. Knowing this situation, you want to give teachers the added responsiblity of policing and punishing bad behaviour of kids outside of the school?
You have to be a moron not to see that this will only give the children more reason to be disruptive and target teachers with abuse.
And who are you fining anyway?
Slap a £100 fine on a school kid and it is the parents that have to pay. The idea behind this is that it involves the parents in the discpline process and the fine would urge the parents to be more involved in well, "sorting out" their kids.
Unless of course the parents are the same as the kids, in which case you've just made both the parents and children angry at you.
Wonderful.
Great Idea guys.
Keep it up.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
the trouble with being......... late
who's never been late?
Fact of life is that sometimes, through no fault of your own (except perhaps a bit of naivety on your part) life creates problems that results in you being late for something. But this isn't what I am talking about.
My previous posts touched upon the effects of your timing on other people and this is no different.
Picture the scene:
You arrive at a bar ten minutes early because for once you managed to get on the train you wanted to and before that, the roads were clear so that the bus you were on was left unhindered to go up the high street and around that round-about with no problems. You find a free table and sit down, get comfy and prepare your self to meet and greet your friend. Of course, you were early so you know that you'll have to wait for a moment which is no bother really as you do sort of need to relax after the public transport experience.
5 minutes pass and it is now the meeting time.
Of course, you didn't really expect them to be here on the dot, especially seeing your own early arrival was down to fantastic luck on the travelling so you wait for another 5 minutes.
10 further minutes pass and the bar is getting busier.
Feeling a little guilty you order a drink. After you order, you check your phone and your watch. They might've left a message that you missed or your watch might be wrong. Sitting there taking sips of your drink, you check your phone again. Across the floor of the bar you notice two people who might be looking in your direction. Having finished our first drink, you order a second but was that the best thing to do? Now you look like a person sitting in a bar drinking by themselves.
That couple at the bar are looking at you again.
Is it you they are looking at or is it the table.
Should you get up?
Stay where you are and well, drink by yourself?
It's half an hour now and still nothing.
No message, no phone call, no sign of them.
Is that couple laughing now?
Maybe I should get up and give them the table.
Maybe I should wait outside.
Perhaps they've got the meeting time wrong, or maybe the wrong address.
Check your phone again.
* * *
You think you hear your name and look up.
Finally, it's your friend.
It's over.... everything's ok.
You're not angry because the feeling of relief overtakes eerything else.
As the moment passes you think to yourself, "where the hell were you, why are you late?" but you want to shake off that lonely drinking image as quickly as possible.
It doesn't help that your friend just carries on as if nothing has happened. No apology, no "excuse me", no explantion, they just launch into coversation as if everything's normal.
Was it deliberate?
Was it just bad planning?
Was there an accident during their journey?
How?
Why?
Everything's not OK but you can't exactly bring it up now, can you.
If you do, you've just gone from person drinking by themselves into slightly drunk person shouting at someone. What do you do? Smile and carry on.
What is this person?
Selfish?
Inconsiderate?
Arrogant?
Fact of life is that sometimes, through no fault of your own (except perhaps a bit of naivety on your part) life creates problems that results in you being late for something. But this isn't what I am talking about.
My previous posts touched upon the effects of your timing on other people and this is no different.
Picture the scene:
You arrive at a bar ten minutes early because for once you managed to get on the train you wanted to and before that, the roads were clear so that the bus you were on was left unhindered to go up the high street and around that round-about with no problems. You find a free table and sit down, get comfy and prepare your self to meet and greet your friend. Of course, you were early so you know that you'll have to wait for a moment which is no bother really as you do sort of need to relax after the public transport experience.
5 minutes pass and it is now the meeting time.
Of course, you didn't really expect them to be here on the dot, especially seeing your own early arrival was down to fantastic luck on the travelling so you wait for another 5 minutes.
10 further minutes pass and the bar is getting busier.
Feeling a little guilty you order a drink. After you order, you check your phone and your watch. They might've left a message that you missed or your watch might be wrong. Sitting there taking sips of your drink, you check your phone again. Across the floor of the bar you notice two people who might be looking in your direction. Having finished our first drink, you order a second but was that the best thing to do? Now you look like a person sitting in a bar drinking by themselves.
That couple at the bar are looking at you again.
Is it you they are looking at or is it the table.
Should you get up?
Stay where you are and well, drink by yourself?
It's half an hour now and still nothing.
No message, no phone call, no sign of them.
Is that couple laughing now?
Maybe I should get up and give them the table.
Maybe I should wait outside.
Perhaps they've got the meeting time wrong, or maybe the wrong address.
Check your phone again.
* * *
You think you hear your name and look up.
Finally, it's your friend.
It's over.... everything's ok.
You're not angry because the feeling of relief overtakes eerything else.
As the moment passes you think to yourself, "where the hell were you, why are you late?" but you want to shake off that lonely drinking image as quickly as possible.
It doesn't help that your friend just carries on as if nothing has happened. No apology, no "excuse me", no explantion, they just launch into coversation as if everything's normal.
Was it deliberate?
Was it just bad planning?
Was there an accident during their journey?
How?
Why?
Everything's not OK but you can't exactly bring it up now, can you.
If you do, you've just gone from person drinking by themselves into slightly drunk person shouting at someone. What do you do? Smile and carry on.
What is this person?
Selfish?
Inconsiderate?
Arrogant?
the trouble with being......... on time
you can never really be on time.
it's a fact.
whenever you organise to meet up with someone, you are either going to be early or you are going to be late. The question is on what side of the meeting time you will end up on.
With this in mind, what then is the point of stressing about being early or late?
Isn't this line of thinking then about not inconveniencing the other people instead? After all, usually, if you set a meeting place at a certain time, chances are that place was chosen because it is the most easily accessible to all and not of equal distance/difficulty to get to.
And let's be honest here, being on time is never good enough anyway. Fact is, people would like everyone else to be early so that the evening isn't held up uneccessarily. In that case, why not decide to meet later? Yes sometimes that just isn't possible because of different schedules but in the instances that can be worked around, why not meet with an hour to spare so that
i) those that are not far from meeting point can sit and have a coffee
ii) gives the late people a bigger margin to work in.
that should also remove the occurance of people being late because instead of having a single meeting time, you have a meeting period.
How about the fact that some people will always turn up much earlier than everyone else. Their extra prudence in the time department has meant that they will have to wait much longer than everyone else, especially if there are usually late people. The on-timers of the more sensitive persuasion are now going to be of the mind that they themselves were also late.
Here's where I try and convince you that most of the time I try to be on time. I also have to explain that I am not very good at it. It's not that I don't care if I'm late, it's more that my sense of timing is just crap not to mention that I am seemingly the greatest victim of Sod's Law (see here).
Let's say I have to drive into London. Now I know that the journey takes maybe 45 mins to do casually. Add 15 mins for possible traffic lights and parking issues and an hour is perfectly reasonable in my mind. In fact, I've done the journey in half an hour during rush hour no less so I know an hour is enough time. Sod's Law dictates that when i really need to make a good impression, everything will go out of their way, to get into mine. They decide to close down two of the three lanes of the A13 going into London. They also decide to close one lane of the Blackwall Tunnel to make sure that the tail back from the A12/A14/A406 junction is as long as possible. IT would probably also decide to rain causing more delays and finally, on that day, they'll also want to suspend all of the parking bays in the entire area of where I usually park.
So was I wrong to aim to get there on time?
Should I have allowed extra extra time for, in insurers' terms, "Natural Disasters".
On time doesn't work.
Better aim to be early....
it's a fact.
whenever you organise to meet up with someone, you are either going to be early or you are going to be late. The question is on what side of the meeting time you will end up on.
With this in mind, what then is the point of stressing about being early or late?
Isn't this line of thinking then about not inconveniencing the other people instead? After all, usually, if you set a meeting place at a certain time, chances are that place was chosen because it is the most easily accessible to all and not of equal distance/difficulty to get to.
And let's be honest here, being on time is never good enough anyway. Fact is, people would like everyone else to be early so that the evening isn't held up uneccessarily. In that case, why not decide to meet later? Yes sometimes that just isn't possible because of different schedules but in the instances that can be worked around, why not meet with an hour to spare so that
i) those that are not far from meeting point can sit and have a coffee
ii) gives the late people a bigger margin to work in.
that should also remove the occurance of people being late because instead of having a single meeting time, you have a meeting period.
How about the fact that some people will always turn up much earlier than everyone else. Their extra prudence in the time department has meant that they will have to wait much longer than everyone else, especially if there are usually late people. The on-timers of the more sensitive persuasion are now going to be of the mind that they themselves were also late.
Here's where I try and convince you that most of the time I try to be on time. I also have to explain that I am not very good at it. It's not that I don't care if I'm late, it's more that my sense of timing is just crap not to mention that I am seemingly the greatest victim of Sod's Law (see here).
Let's say I have to drive into London. Now I know that the journey takes maybe 45 mins to do casually. Add 15 mins for possible traffic lights and parking issues and an hour is perfectly reasonable in my mind. In fact, I've done the journey in half an hour during rush hour no less so I know an hour is enough time. Sod's Law dictates that when i really need to make a good impression, everything will go out of their way, to get into mine. They decide to close down two of the three lanes of the A13 going into London. They also decide to close one lane of the Blackwall Tunnel to make sure that the tail back from the A12/A14/A406 junction is as long as possible. IT would probably also decide to rain causing more delays and finally, on that day, they'll also want to suspend all of the parking bays in the entire area of where I usually park.
So was I wrong to aim to get there on time?
Should I have allowed extra extra time for, in insurers' terms, "Natural Disasters".
On time doesn't work.
Better aim to be early....
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
the trouble with being......... early
it is important to be early when you arrange to meet someone; or anyone for that matter. It doesn't matter if it is a causual friend, a work colleague, an informal business meeting or an important interview; early is best.
But how early is early?
If you're going into an interview, the answer is simple especially as usually, they at the office would be the ones who would be expecting you at a certain time. It makes sense for you to be there before this expected time so that you can get physically and mentally comfortable in the strange surroundings and there be more ready for the interview.
But how about when you are meeting a person?
What happens you are meeting a friend at say 7pm at a certain tube stop?
Do you turn up ten minutes beforehand so that you wait for them or do you aim to get there AT 7pm and risk delays and hence, making them wait for you? What if both people decide to turn up 10 minuts earlier? Why not just make the meeting at 6:50 then?
Does 7pm mean 7pm?
Why is 6:50 ok but 7:10 not?
And why go to the bother to be ten minutes earlier? If you turn up early, then you WILL have to wait. What can you do in ten minutes? If you're standing outside a tube station the answer is; not a lot. If you decide to quickly go get a bottle of water you might end up being late despite being early. What if the other party is held up and would be 10 mins late? That 10 minutes has just turned into 20 minutes; that's 1/3 of a hour. What then?
How about if your friend is one who is always on time?
You being early has just made them be "late" compared to you? How would that make them feel? I mean, all through their journey, all was well because they knew they were on time but when they get to the meeting point, there you are already.
If they're in the slightest bit sensitive about these sort of things, you might've just ruined their evening.
Being early isn't all it's cracked up to be.
But how early is early?
If you're going into an interview, the answer is simple especially as usually, they at the office would be the ones who would be expecting you at a certain time. It makes sense for you to be there before this expected time so that you can get physically and mentally comfortable in the strange surroundings and there be more ready for the interview.
But how about when you are meeting a person?
What happens you are meeting a friend at say 7pm at a certain tube stop?
Do you turn up ten minutes beforehand so that you wait for them or do you aim to get there AT 7pm and risk delays and hence, making them wait for you? What if both people decide to turn up 10 minuts earlier? Why not just make the meeting at 6:50 then?
Does 7pm mean 7pm?
Why is 6:50 ok but 7:10 not?
And why go to the bother to be ten minutes earlier? If you turn up early, then you WILL have to wait. What can you do in ten minutes? If you're standing outside a tube station the answer is; not a lot. If you decide to quickly go get a bottle of water you might end up being late despite being early. What if the other party is held up and would be 10 mins late? That 10 minutes has just turned into 20 minutes; that's 1/3 of a hour. What then?
How about if your friend is one who is always on time?
You being early has just made them be "late" compared to you? How would that make them feel? I mean, all through their journey, all was well because they knew they were on time but when they get to the meeting point, there you are already.
If they're in the slightest bit sensitive about these sort of things, you might've just ruined their evening.
Being early isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
joining the Dark Side.....
.....does not involve dressing in black or making heavy breathing noises whilst trying to strangle people with the Force. Nor does it mean that I start to paint my finger nails black, listen to dodgy music and start to write terrible excuses for poetry.
What it does mean, is that I have bought myself a new phone.....
The perp?
Samsung E900
As usual mu main and probably only real concern is how big the phone was going to be. I walked into the usual shop (name omitted to prevent flagging) wanting to have a look at the D900 (also from Samsung) because the promised thin factor of the new phones seemed promising. Alas, what they fail to tell you that while the phone is quite thin (12.9mm according to Samsung) they fail to tell you about how big the "face" of the phone is. As you can see above, the E900 has a smaller face than the 6230. Although it is a little wider, it is also thinner and has a smaller "pocket-profile" than the 6230. The D900 on the other hand, has a face almost as big as my metal tin does (probably smaller...). On first impressions, it srikes me as being pretty much the same sized when closed, as the Motorola RZR phone so while it is thin, it would still take up valuable pocket space in terms of width.
Anyway, the E900 looks better than the D900 which is probably what counts for more....
After buying this thing, I had a quick look at what other people have said about the phone. What strikes me is that nearly everyone who bought one and didn't like it, complained about the touch sensitive buttons and how doing certain things like sending an sms is maybe one or two button presses more than what they were used to.
No offence to these guys but if you wanted a phone that worked in exactly the same way as your previous phone, then you might as well go and buy another phone from them (no prizes for guessing who this probably is). Why bother complaining about it? Sure, the phone (and every other phone for that matter) is never going to be as simple to use as a Nokia and depending on the model, probably isn't going to be as stable either (Esp. Sony Ericsson) but that's the price of buying something that is slightly different. Of course, in an ideal world, everything is done easily and without problems but in a world where each brand has to be slightly different and where one brand has a near perfect user interface, it's hard to be as easy without being the same.
i have no problem using the phone and c'mon, the differences usually only relate to which button you press. If you can't be bothered to learn to press a different button, then you're better keeping your old phone and donating the money you were going to spend to charity.
I have to say though, two things do kinda bug me about the phone....
Firstly, that lovely and shiney front facia, like the ipods that inspired it is going to be a bith to keep grease and smudge free. I can already image a religiously regular cleaning and polishing going on.
Secondly, the stupidly annoying animations and screen images when you access certain features. If you know about cars, then you'll know that on the new-ish Aston Martin V8 Vantage, when you have turned the ignition and have just pressed the starter button, once the engine turns over, the display screen shows a little bit of an animation and three words come up:
"power... beauty.... soul...."
Ugh.... cheeso supremo
and that is exactly how these animations and images make me feel.
Samsungfun? (ok.. it's the name of that users/owners club...)
No thanks.
For the record, if I do wear a lot of black and make heavy breathing noises, it's not because of the Dark Side...
What it does mean, is that I have bought myself a new phone.....
The perp?
Samsung E900
As usual mu main and probably only real concern is how big the phone was going to be. I walked into the usual shop (name omitted to prevent flagging) wanting to have a look at the D900 (also from Samsung) because the promised thin factor of the new phones seemed promising. Alas, what they fail to tell you that while the phone is quite thin (12.9mm according to Samsung) they fail to tell you about how big the "face" of the phone is. As you can see above, the E900 has a smaller face than the 6230. Although it is a little wider, it is also thinner and has a smaller "pocket-profile" than the 6230. The D900 on the other hand, has a face almost as big as my metal tin does (probably smaller...). On first impressions, it srikes me as being pretty much the same sized when closed, as the Motorola RZR phone so while it is thin, it would still take up valuable pocket space in terms of width.
Anyway, the E900 looks better than the D900 which is probably what counts for more....
After buying this thing, I had a quick look at what other people have said about the phone. What strikes me is that nearly everyone who bought one and didn't like it, complained about the touch sensitive buttons and how doing certain things like sending an sms is maybe one or two button presses more than what they were used to.
No offence to these guys but if you wanted a phone that worked in exactly the same way as your previous phone, then you might as well go and buy another phone from them (no prizes for guessing who this probably is). Why bother complaining about it? Sure, the phone (and every other phone for that matter) is never going to be as simple to use as a Nokia and depending on the model, probably isn't going to be as stable either (Esp. Sony Ericsson) but that's the price of buying something that is slightly different. Of course, in an ideal world, everything is done easily and without problems but in a world where each brand has to be slightly different and where one brand has a near perfect user interface, it's hard to be as easy without being the same.
i have no problem using the phone and c'mon, the differences usually only relate to which button you press. If you can't be bothered to learn to press a different button, then you're better keeping your old phone and donating the money you were going to spend to charity.
I have to say though, two things do kinda bug me about the phone....
Firstly, that lovely and shiney front facia, like the ipods that inspired it is going to be a bith to keep grease and smudge free. I can already image a religiously regular cleaning and polishing going on.
Secondly, the stupidly annoying animations and screen images when you access certain features. If you know about cars, then you'll know that on the new-ish Aston Martin V8 Vantage, when you have turned the ignition and have just pressed the starter button, once the engine turns over, the display screen shows a little bit of an animation and three words come up:
"power... beauty.... soul...."
Ugh.... cheeso supremo
and that is exactly how these animations and images make me feel.
Samsungfun? (ok.. it's the name of that users/owners club...)
No thanks.
For the record, if I do wear a lot of black and make heavy breathing noises, it's not because of the Dark Side...
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
happy birthday to who?
From BBC News
Well now I think I've heard it all....
From the start of the new school term, many schools in the US will be banning the tradition of Birthday cakes.
"What is this horror?", I hear you cry.
I remember when I was in primary school; when it came to a kids birthday, if the school kitchen was informed by your parents, they would prepare a little cake for you that they'd bring to you during your lunch and everyone around you could sing you that song, very much like what they do at TGIs (or Ozer for that matter....).
However, this isn't what happens in the US.
There, the tradition is that on your birthday, you would bring in a sackload (I imagine my hyperbole isn't far off) of cupcakes and what-not to share with your friends. Isn't there a statistic that says that if you put 12 people in a room, at least 2 people will share the same birthdate? That means in an average class of 30-40, there will be around 14-18 birthdays every school year. Allow for the 36 week school year and assume even spread of birthdates and you end up with something like a month, you get a free stuffing of cakes. Sometimes, it might be a double stuffing of cakes.
let's get that clear.
That is, on average, ONCE a MONTH.
And how many cakes do you get when your mate little Willy has his birthday?
2 cakes per person? 3 cakes? 5 cakes?.
"What are you getting at?", I hear you ask.
Well, the reason for this banning is that the schools claim that this is an unhealthy tradition. Of course, this is part of a wider scale banning of junk food, much like what is happening here but still, isn't it a bit misguided? Sure, you have to target all areas of junk food intake but don't you think this one is a bit personal (imagine the therapy involved: "they cancelled my birthday....") and next to pointless when there is no support of the junk food ban outside of the school.
As we have seen in the UK, in the schools where a healthy school dinner meun has been implemented, kids use the journey to and from school as opportunity to stock up on the junk that isn't available in school. Let's not even mention the growing number of parents in the UK who actually consider a trip to the local McD (or whatever fastfood joint) as an acceptable dinner for their children, or the lack of proper cooking at home; things that I gather are common place in the US.
Fact is, banning foods in the school environment isn't going to amount to a hill of beans if nothing changes outside of it. In the case of banning cakes in the US, I really can't see how that would make a change, even when implemented as part of a wider ban of junkfood. The kids still aren't getting enough exercise and are still going to be eating junk outside of school.
Interestingly enough though, is this from a couple of months back. Again, the principles of it are sound; I mean, reduce the outlets, reduces the possiblity of people eating it. Thinking a little deeper though, I can only imagine the emergence of supersized outlets selling super sized portions or worse yet, internet only based places where they only do deliveries, thus reducing their street presense while maintaining a healthy business.
Once again, it is in a way the wrong thing to target when trying to deal with the obesity problem.
Plenty of people have done studies as to why people are getting bigger. In all cases, the simple answer to this is that in general, people are simply eating too much and doing too little. Fat and sugar contents in food is higher than it used to be and in general, our calorie intake is much greater than our calorie burn. Any fools blind monkey can see that the proper way to deal with obesity is to
i) reduce fat and sugars
ii) increase activity
Related studies have shown that you get used to the taste of junk food to the point that everything that isn't saturated in fats and salts and sugars are well, bland. This also has the nasty habit of actually dulling you ability to tase foods properly. What this implies, is that if you can get a child used to a wide and varied diet with little (does not mean no) exposure to junk foods, in the long term, it is unlikely for them to go down that route. What this leads to is that once again, you have to target the real cause of this obesity epidemic: the home.
Another case of people not taking responsiblity?
Absolutely.
It doesn't help that a couple of years back, it was fashionable to target and blame big corporation for the failings of the person. It's Mcdonald's fault for making me fat.
Right.....
My kids are fat because there are too many KFC joints around.
Kiss my skinny ass.
Parents take responsiblity.
Your kids' obesity problems are because of you.
Just you, You and no one else.....
Sunday, September 03, 2006
weak of will
First of all: Sod's Law.
I finally buy myself a new camera to play with two months later, Pentax release a new one with 10MP to it's name.
WTF?
Firstly, I've been taking photos with mine now for pretty much everything and at full resoultion as well, taking advantage of 1GB SD cards. Now, at full resolution, the resulting images are bigger than anything outside of an LCD HD television and even then, you'd have to be looking at the photos in landscape to see the whole thing. I can only guess at how big a full resoultion 10MP image is.
Who on earth needs that in a pocket camera?
Bragging rights?
I mean, lately, I've been taking photos at 6MP resolution and that is enough for daily use. I can't imagine many people needing to take photos of entire buildings like I do that would require an 8MP photo to maximise clarity of image.
What on earth would the average camera user do with 10MP?
Turn it down to 6MP.
Anyway.
My one looks better....
* * * * *
I've been pootering around with my lovely pentax pocket camera for a while now and hve so far taken it on site to take photos for referencing when drawing and as much as I think it is a fantastic pocket camera, I can no longer ignore the fact that it is still not entirely suitable for what I need of it.
I am also aware that I simply can't and shouldn't be spending a whole bundle of cash to buy a full of DSLR.
As as result I've been looking at the intermediate choice that sits between the pocket camera and the full on DSLR.
At the moment, this one has caught my eye
this one has also caught my eye.
The canon is a traditionally styled camera that i know has accesseries for wide angle photos, the thing that I really need. It also has a very useful 12x zoom. On the downside, it is still, while being quite small and compact, a bit too chunky. Of course I know that it comes with the territory.
Which is where the Nikon comes in.
It offers nearly the same spec as the Nikon but in their compact camera shape with the twist open to use form. A friend of mine had an older model of this camera and the best thing I liked about it was the in camera filing system that actually uses folders for you to organise your photos very much as you would on a pc. Very nice. The camera also had wide angle adapters that you fit over the lens but i'm not sure if this newer model has these.
The last time I checked, this camera is also, when closed, pretty much the same size as my old camera which isn't as small as my new one but is still small for you get in it. It loses out to the Canon in the zoom stakes only having a 10x but that's what you get for size.
it also runs on well, not as good hardware internally for the same reasons (bigger case = bigger ccd and all that). With that in mind though, the specs of both are pretty similar in terms of nubmers illustrating performance but obviously, the Canon is ultimately the better camera.
If only camera shops do test drives like they do with cars....
I finally buy myself a new camera to play with two months later, Pentax release a new one with 10MP to it's name.
WTF?
Firstly, I've been taking photos with mine now for pretty much everything and at full resoultion as well, taking advantage of 1GB SD cards. Now, at full resolution, the resulting images are bigger than anything outside of an LCD HD television and even then, you'd have to be looking at the photos in landscape to see the whole thing. I can only guess at how big a full resoultion 10MP image is.
Who on earth needs that in a pocket camera?
Bragging rights?
I mean, lately, I've been taking photos at 6MP resolution and that is enough for daily use. I can't imagine many people needing to take photos of entire buildings like I do that would require an 8MP photo to maximise clarity of image.
What on earth would the average camera user do with 10MP?
Turn it down to 6MP.
Anyway.
My one looks better....
* * * * *
I've been pootering around with my lovely pentax pocket camera for a while now and hve so far taken it on site to take photos for referencing when drawing and as much as I think it is a fantastic pocket camera, I can no longer ignore the fact that it is still not entirely suitable for what I need of it.
I am also aware that I simply can't and shouldn't be spending a whole bundle of cash to buy a full of DSLR.
As as result I've been looking at the intermediate choice that sits between the pocket camera and the full on DSLR.
At the moment, this one has caught my eye
this one has also caught my eye.
The canon is a traditionally styled camera that i know has accesseries for wide angle photos, the thing that I really need. It also has a very useful 12x zoom. On the downside, it is still, while being quite small and compact, a bit too chunky. Of course I know that it comes with the territory.
Which is where the Nikon comes in.
It offers nearly the same spec as the Nikon but in their compact camera shape with the twist open to use form. A friend of mine had an older model of this camera and the best thing I liked about it was the in camera filing system that actually uses folders for you to organise your photos very much as you would on a pc. Very nice. The camera also had wide angle adapters that you fit over the lens but i'm not sure if this newer model has these.
The last time I checked, this camera is also, when closed, pretty much the same size as my old camera which isn't as small as my new one but is still small for you get in it. It loses out to the Canon in the zoom stakes only having a 10x but that's what you get for size.
it also runs on well, not as good hardware internally for the same reasons (bigger case = bigger ccd and all that). With that in mind though, the specs of both are pretty similar in terms of nubmers illustrating performance but obviously, the Canon is ultimately the better camera.
If only camera shops do test drives like they do with cars....
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
in case you missed it.....
....this is looking pretty good.
Not much to see right now but the names involved is making it shine pretty brightly on my radar.
Not much to see right now but the names involved is making it shine pretty brightly on my radar.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
good things come to those who wait...?
...you wake up late on a lazy sunday afternoon.
the sun is drawing a plane of light across your bedroom wall and you lay there watching the specks of glittering dust, dance in the gentle breeze that whistles along with the trees' whispers outside.
time passes and you have had a shower whistling that song that was just playing on the radio. you've brushed your teeth while thinking of that girl you haven't seen for two months. you get downstairs feeling a little bit hungry and so venture to the fridge where upon opening, you spy a nice fresh packet of bacon. turning around you see the familiar baked beans wrapping on the loaf of bread and the thought of a lovely bacon and egg sandwich comes into your mind.
you turn on the cooker and place the brand new frying pan on top of the heat with a little oil. tearing open the packet, you savour the fresh cold smell of raw bacon before gently lifting and placing strip after strip of pink and white onto the now hot frying pan. the sizzle splatters little drops of oil on your hand and you singe a few hairs on your fingers but the smell more than makes up for it.
as the bacon nears being cooked, you prepare a sheet of kitchen towel to dry off the bacon. you reach into the fridge again for an egg which you crack open and drop onto the bacon fat left in the pan.
while the egg is cooking, you take out two slices of bread and apply too much butter for your own good but who cares; it's sunday.
you place the strips of bacon on top on the bread and add the bacon before placing the final piece of bread on top.
finding a nice clean plate you take your lovingly prepared sandwich into the living room. you take a sip from your tea as you switch on the telly. after sitting down you pick up the sandwich and take a nice big bite, relishing the feel of the yolk spilling into your mouth, the rush of saltiness from the bacon as well as the drizzle of melted butter.
after taking the bite you chew, nice big actions, taking care to enjoy every taste and texture in your mouth. when it is done, you swallow, prepare yourself for another bite and pick up the sandwich to look for a suitable secondary atack point.
that's when you see the little trace of green and blue specs in the fold of the crust.....
the sun is drawing a plane of light across your bedroom wall and you lay there watching the specks of glittering dust, dance in the gentle breeze that whistles along with the trees' whispers outside.
time passes and you have had a shower whistling that song that was just playing on the radio. you've brushed your teeth while thinking of that girl you haven't seen for two months. you get downstairs feeling a little bit hungry and so venture to the fridge where upon opening, you spy a nice fresh packet of bacon. turning around you see the familiar baked beans wrapping on the loaf of bread and the thought of a lovely bacon and egg sandwich comes into your mind.
you turn on the cooker and place the brand new frying pan on top of the heat with a little oil. tearing open the packet, you savour the fresh cold smell of raw bacon before gently lifting and placing strip after strip of pink and white onto the now hot frying pan. the sizzle splatters little drops of oil on your hand and you singe a few hairs on your fingers but the smell more than makes up for it.
as the bacon nears being cooked, you prepare a sheet of kitchen towel to dry off the bacon. you reach into the fridge again for an egg which you crack open and drop onto the bacon fat left in the pan.
while the egg is cooking, you take out two slices of bread and apply too much butter for your own good but who cares; it's sunday.
you place the strips of bacon on top on the bread and add the bacon before placing the final piece of bread on top.
finding a nice clean plate you take your lovingly prepared sandwich into the living room. you take a sip from your tea as you switch on the telly. after sitting down you pick up the sandwich and take a nice big bite, relishing the feel of the yolk spilling into your mouth, the rush of saltiness from the bacon as well as the drizzle of melted butter.
after taking the bite you chew, nice big actions, taking care to enjoy every taste and texture in your mouth. when it is done, you swallow, prepare yourself for another bite and pick up the sandwich to look for a suitable secondary atack point.
that's when you see the little trace of green and blue specs in the fold of the crust.....
Thursday, August 24, 2006
what ever happened to......? Part 1
Scampi Fries.
A staple of the old Swimming Pool/Sports Centre vending maching, holder of the sacred position next to the extra crunchy Bacon Fries (the one that was pretending to be a more upmarket Frazzles), Whatever Happend To You?
I used to love these things; small and crispy and full of tangy lemony sour to counter the strange fishy saltiness. The bright yellow/orange simulated breadcrumb exterior was always a little peculiar and in no way resembled a real fried scampi but ahhh.... you were delicious all the same.
As time passed, you stopped appearing my regular newsagents and after a while, even the vending machines were missing your presence. Luckily for us, Sainsbury's had their own brand version that were lighter (not as hard) and in bigger bags so that while they weren't as lemony as you, the larger serving made up for it. Alas, over time, these too disappeared...
A few years pass and my sister alerts me of a sighting of a similar product in Marks and Spencers. My heart began to flutter as I made a special trip just to see for myself. Upon arrival, I was welcomed by a single half shelf full of scampi flavoured fried maize snacks but just like before, these too eventually disappeared from the shelves.
So, have you seen this snack?
I know that chances are, pubs still stock these alongside the Bacon Fries and Pork Scratchings and peanuts but I still miss them from my daily life......
A staple of the old Swimming Pool/Sports Centre vending maching, holder of the sacred position next to the extra crunchy Bacon Fries (the one that was pretending to be a more upmarket Frazzles), Whatever Happend To You?I used to love these things; small and crispy and full of tangy lemony sour to counter the strange fishy saltiness. The bright yellow/orange simulated breadcrumb exterior was always a little peculiar and in no way resembled a real fried scampi but ahhh.... you were delicious all the same.
As time passed, you stopped appearing my regular newsagents and after a while, even the vending machines were missing your presence. Luckily for us, Sainsbury's had their own brand version that were lighter (not as hard) and in bigger bags so that while they weren't as lemony as you, the larger serving made up for it. Alas, over time, these too disappeared...
A few years pass and my sister alerts me of a sighting of a similar product in Marks and Spencers. My heart began to flutter as I made a special trip just to see for myself. Upon arrival, I was welcomed by a single half shelf full of scampi flavoured fried maize snacks but just like before, these too eventually disappeared from the shelves.
So, have you seen this snack?
I know that chances are, pubs still stock these alongside the Bacon Fries and Pork Scratchings and peanuts but I still miss them from my daily life......
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
firsts #1
Do you remember your firsts?
Let's start with the obvious ones.
First girl I had a crush on.
Her name was/is Stephanie Marshall and she was in the same class as me. Ok, that was probably going to be blindingly obvious to you lot. The slightly icky bit is that I should now admit to this being when I was in primary school and probably not much older than maybe 8 years old. I can't really be sure but it can't be older than 8 because she moved from the area a couple of years before I went to secondary school and I did that the last year before 1st year of secondary.
I know.... 8 years old = ewww.
what can I say?
Ok, in all fairness, it was anything really; just one of those things. Admittedly, I do remember grabbing her arse on one occasion whilst going up the stairs but as far as I can remember, that's the only thing that ever happened because of this crush.
Strangely enough, my first "sexual" encounter was also in primary school with a girl whose name I think (I can't remember now...) was/is Rita. We were sitting on the floor at story time (now that's a memory and a half!) and I'm not entirely sure how this all came about but the next thing I knew, she had her hand down my pants. Can't remember much apart from me having my hand down her pants in response. The slightly strange bit is that every now and then I still see her around in the local twon centre.....
Another Primary School First is that of being sick. That is, the earliest memory I have of being physically sick was when I was in Primary School. I can even remember the most likely cause as this leqad to my vomit being wellm distinct; it was bright green. If I was being more precise, it was the bright green that you get from food colouring. How did I get to ingest green food colouring? It was in my sister's home/school made peppermint creme sweets.
The first time I was sick, it was as I was walking into the classroom. Instead of walking in the usual line, I made a detour around the first table but I hadn't made it half way around when all of a sudden, *sloop* writing book on the table was covered in presh P vomit.....
Thinking back now, I don't recall this vomit being green so I might've mistakenly blamed my sister for my ailment.
What I do remember though, is that when i got home again, she gave me one of her peppermint creme sweets which, after having quickly eaten it as kids tend to, lead to me pouring forth that bright green vomit.
Let's start with the obvious ones.
First girl I had a crush on.
Her name was/is Stephanie Marshall and she was in the same class as me. Ok, that was probably going to be blindingly obvious to you lot. The slightly icky bit is that I should now admit to this being when I was in primary school and probably not much older than maybe 8 years old. I can't really be sure but it can't be older than 8 because she moved from the area a couple of years before I went to secondary school and I did that the last year before 1st year of secondary.
I know.... 8 years old = ewww.
what can I say?
Ok, in all fairness, it was anything really; just one of those things. Admittedly, I do remember grabbing her arse on one occasion whilst going up the stairs but as far as I can remember, that's the only thing that ever happened because of this crush.
Strangely enough, my first "sexual" encounter was also in primary school with a girl whose name I think (I can't remember now...) was/is Rita. We were sitting on the floor at story time (now that's a memory and a half!) and I'm not entirely sure how this all came about but the next thing I knew, she had her hand down my pants. Can't remember much apart from me having my hand down her pants in response. The slightly strange bit is that every now and then I still see her around in the local twon centre.....
Another Primary School First is that of being sick. That is, the earliest memory I have of being physically sick was when I was in Primary School. I can even remember the most likely cause as this leqad to my vomit being wellm distinct; it was bright green. If I was being more precise, it was the bright green that you get from food colouring. How did I get to ingest green food colouring? It was in my sister's home/school made peppermint creme sweets.
The first time I was sick, it was as I was walking into the classroom. Instead of walking in the usual line, I made a detour around the first table but I hadn't made it half way around when all of a sudden, *sloop* writing book on the table was covered in presh P vomit.....
Thinking back now, I don't recall this vomit being green so I might've mistakenly blamed my sister for my ailment.
What I do remember though, is that when i got home again, she gave me one of her peppermint creme sweets which, after having quickly eaten it as kids tend to, lead to me pouring forth that bright green vomit.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
reasons to be cheerful......
....or not, as the case may be.
I'm in the process of researching for a new car and have thus far, narrowed it down to five main choices and maybe one or two other not so keen on but reliable options.
First up is one of my favourite cars of the past and one that is now well within my smallish budget:
The Fiat Coupe.
At the moment, prices for this little beauty is hovering at around the £3000 for a decent example going up to £4500 for the best ones around. It seats four properly and has a decent enough boot and is more than fast enough for my needs (0-60 in less than 6.5 secs!) and looks absolutely stunning. Big problem though is the insurance on the bugger. So far quotes have been in the £1000-1500 mark which is more than I would like to pay.... Another big problem is that I am more than aware of the Fiat issue, that being the likelyhood of pieces falling off at regular intervals. I'm also aware that a front wheel drive car with 220ish BHP at the wheels is more than likely to eat up a few tyres in between services and I'm going to ignore the thirst factor of a rev happy turbo engine.
Next up we have my number two Coupe choice:
The Ford Puma.
Another stunning looking coupe but ultimately not as versatile as the bigger Fiat (back seats are just about more useful as those in a TT) but that's clearly offset by the cheaper running, servicing and general maintanence costs. Insurance is a healthy bit cheaper but not by much and still around the £1000 mark for the 1.7. It's also possibly a bit girly for my liking but a sensible choice of colour remedies that to a degree and as much as I don't like it, Black is probably the colour of choice for this (unless I can find someone who specified the performance blue option).
Then we head into the hatchback selection starting with an italian:
Alfa Romeo 147
I have to admit, I know that this is possibly the least sensible option here as it is without doubt the most fragile car, even compared to the Fiat. I'm told by those in the know, that most problems would've sorted themselves out by now so I'm kinda relieved but still slightly skeptical. The model of choice right now would be the 2.0 Lusso. It sounds wonderfully burbly at 4000rpm and while it's not as fast as belive it or not, either of the two above, it looks and feels special enough for me not to care. But alas, insurance is similar to the Fiat and so are annual costs. That's what happens when you go Italian.....
Safe option number 1:
Ford Focus
Not that exciting I know but the one I've been eyeing up is the ST170 model that has a respectable 170ish BHP and usually comes fully loaded with the most useful stuff such as A/C, heated windscreen etc etc so it makes it actually more worth it than the other options. Again, insurance for this sits at around £1000 for me but again, like the Puma, this is offset by cheaper day to day costs. It is also more useful as a car being more spacious inside while being slightly smaller and lighter than the Alfa. It is also faster than the Alfa and most people aren't aware of just how fast it is (0-60 in around 8 secs). Right now though, I'm put off by it's well, being rather common and Naeem has one, altough his is the pleb base 1.4 but still....
Lastly, I am always tempted by something German and something more new.
Audi A3 Sportback
Not that exciting, not that fast, not even that spacious but it's one hell of an expensive car. It's the newest and would probaly clean out my current savings but it's an Audi and more or less brand new so I'd have virtually no worries with it. The other cars I'm looking at are now reacing the 5-6 year old mark and in the case of the Fiat and Alfa, nearing a recommended cam belt change. With the Fiat, it'd also need an engine top end rebuild as well because of the turbo and that's if I'm lucky. The Fords are relatively trouble free but at taht age, things start to loosen up and from my experience, gearbox/cluth problems start to show at this age. Realistically, I'd be betetr off getting an older model A3 (i.e Golf in disguise) or even a Golf V5 but they're pretty lifeless compared to the Alfa and the Fiat.
What to do eh?
I'd love to say sod it to these sort of cars and go for my classic Lotus Elan but I know taht would be a whole new kettle of trouble so transport it has to be for now. Head or heart? Those that know me would know that for the most part I am a head person. Those that know me betetr would also know that I am not one who hasn't ever done anything from the heart.....
If I'm being honest, right now, the Italian cars are the most tempting, followed very closely by the Puma. At the end of the day though, Insurance costs is going to make this decision for me, with versitility being the secondary judge.
Let the hunt begin.
I'm in the process of researching for a new car and have thus far, narrowed it down to five main choices and maybe one or two other not so keen on but reliable options.
First up is one of my favourite cars of the past and one that is now well within my smallish budget:
The Fiat Coupe.
At the moment, prices for this little beauty is hovering at around the £3000 for a decent example going up to £4500 for the best ones around. It seats four properly and has a decent enough boot and is more than fast enough for my needs (0-60 in less than 6.5 secs!) and looks absolutely stunning. Big problem though is the insurance on the bugger. So far quotes have been in the £1000-1500 mark which is more than I would like to pay.... Another big problem is that I am more than aware of the Fiat issue, that being the likelyhood of pieces falling off at regular intervals. I'm also aware that a front wheel drive car with 220ish BHP at the wheels is more than likely to eat up a few tyres in between services and I'm going to ignore the thirst factor of a rev happy turbo engine.Next up we have my number two Coupe choice:
The Ford Puma.
Another stunning looking coupe but ultimately not as versatile as the bigger Fiat (back seats are just about more useful as those in a TT) but that's clearly offset by the cheaper running, servicing and general maintanence costs. Insurance is a healthy bit cheaper but not by much and still around the £1000 mark for the 1.7. It's also possibly a bit girly for my liking but a sensible choice of colour remedies that to a degree and as much as I don't like it, Black is probably the colour of choice for this (unless I can find someone who specified the performance blue option).Then we head into the hatchback selection starting with an italian:
Alfa Romeo 147
I have to admit, I know that this is possibly the least sensible option here as it is without doubt the most fragile car, even compared to the Fiat. I'm told by those in the know, that most problems would've sorted themselves out by now so I'm kinda relieved but still slightly skeptical. The model of choice right now would be the 2.0 Lusso. It sounds wonderfully burbly at 4000rpm and while it's not as fast as belive it or not, either of the two above, it looks and feels special enough for me not to care. But alas, insurance is similar to the Fiat and so are annual costs. That's what happens when you go Italian.....Safe option number 1:
Ford Focus
Not that exciting I know but the one I've been eyeing up is the ST170 model that has a respectable 170ish BHP and usually comes fully loaded with the most useful stuff such as A/C, heated windscreen etc etc so it makes it actually more worth it than the other options. Again, insurance for this sits at around £1000 for me but again, like the Puma, this is offset by cheaper day to day costs. It is also more useful as a car being more spacious inside while being slightly smaller and lighter than the Alfa. It is also faster than the Alfa and most people aren't aware of just how fast it is (0-60 in around 8 secs). Right now though, I'm put off by it's well, being rather common and Naeem has one, altough his is the pleb base 1.4 but still....Lastly, I am always tempted by something German and something more new.
Audi A3 Sportback
Not that exciting, not that fast, not even that spacious but it's one hell of an expensive car. It's the newest and would probaly clean out my current savings but it's an Audi and more or less brand new so I'd have virtually no worries with it. The other cars I'm looking at are now reacing the 5-6 year old mark and in the case of the Fiat and Alfa, nearing a recommended cam belt change. With the Fiat, it'd also need an engine top end rebuild as well because of the turbo and that's if I'm lucky. The Fords are relatively trouble free but at taht age, things start to loosen up and from my experience, gearbox/cluth problems start to show at this age. Realistically, I'd be betetr off getting an older model A3 (i.e Golf in disguise) or even a Golf V5 but they're pretty lifeless compared to the Alfa and the Fiat.What to do eh?
I'd love to say sod it to these sort of cars and go for my classic Lotus Elan but I know taht would be a whole new kettle of trouble so transport it has to be for now. Head or heart? Those that know me would know that for the most part I am a head person. Those that know me betetr would also know that I am not one who hasn't ever done anything from the heart.....
If I'm being honest, right now, the Italian cars are the most tempting, followed very closely by the Puma. At the end of the day though, Insurance costs is going to make this decision for me, with versitility being the secondary judge.
Let the hunt begin.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
profile my what?
...
Seriously now, what's all the fuss about the suggestion that selective profiling might be employed by security at airports? Let's see, so far, the terrorist actions that has thus far been carried out in this country have by and large been perpetrated by people of a particular faith, who also by and large are of a certain ethnic appearance and of a certain age.
Doesn't it make sense that a way to maybe prevent, discourage or at the very least, make it a little harder for them (the people with terrorist intentions) to do their thing is to well, stop and search people that might fit the profile.
God knows that if all of a sudden, a group of little chinese guys decided that it'd be a good idea to blow stuff up or poison people on trains, that the police start to stop and search little chinese people. Heck, I'd even offer myself up for regular strip searches if it happens but that might be down to something else entirely....
OK, I do see the reasoning behind some of the objections that are voiced but it is too simple to simply disregard it as unfair but at the same time, I can see it as being a short-sighted objection.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that every single young muslim male is going to be a terrorist but the fact is, the ones who are doing these things are typically young men, who also happen to be calling themselves muslims (whether or not they are true muslims is a totally different debate).
Going back to my earlier point, doesn't it then make sense it serves a purpose to stop and search potential threats?
Big picture anyone?
Seriously now, what's all the fuss about the suggestion that selective profiling might be employed by security at airports? Let's see, so far, the terrorist actions that has thus far been carried out in this country have by and large been perpetrated by people of a particular faith, who also by and large are of a certain ethnic appearance and of a certain age.
Doesn't it make sense that a way to maybe prevent, discourage or at the very least, make it a little harder for them (the people with terrorist intentions) to do their thing is to well, stop and search people that might fit the profile.
God knows that if all of a sudden, a group of little chinese guys decided that it'd be a good idea to blow stuff up or poison people on trains, that the police start to stop and search little chinese people. Heck, I'd even offer myself up for regular strip searches if it happens but that might be down to something else entirely....
OK, I do see the reasoning behind some of the objections that are voiced but it is too simple to simply disregard it as unfair but at the same time, I can see it as being a short-sighted objection.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that every single young muslim male is going to be a terrorist but the fact is, the ones who are doing these things are typically young men, who also happen to be calling themselves muslims (whether or not they are true muslims is a totally different debate).
Going back to my earlier point, doesn't it then make sense it serves a purpose to stop and search potential threats?
Big picture anyone?
Monday, August 14, 2006
more choices
...
with my impending registering as self-employed, my world of personal computing purchases is opening again. Self-employed status means that I can buy a new pc or laptop for my work purposes and save myself a useful bit of VAT and therein lies the dilema. Would a laptop or a desktop serve my work better?
Occasionally, I need to take my work with me to various places, be it when I'm at my aunt's place or even to the office to work "on-site", having my own machine with my own sample library, CAD blocks, photo references as well as my own entertainment would ultimately be useful. It'd also mean that there would be a free PC at the office for when-ever there is need for the office machines.
Then again, for the price of a laptop that would serve my needs, I can get myself a truly kick-ass desktop.
What makes more sense?
In an ideal world where money really is no problem, I'd get both: a brand spanking new Shuttle PC and a back-up secondary Laptop for all of my computing needs but alas, right now, I should only get one or the other.
Or I could hang on for another few months and get more cash first.....
with my impending registering as self-employed, my world of personal computing purchases is opening again. Self-employed status means that I can buy a new pc or laptop for my work purposes and save myself a useful bit of VAT and therein lies the dilema. Would a laptop or a desktop serve my work better?
Occasionally, I need to take my work with me to various places, be it when I'm at my aunt's place or even to the office to work "on-site", having my own machine with my own sample library, CAD blocks, photo references as well as my own entertainment would ultimately be useful. It'd also mean that there would be a free PC at the office for when-ever there is need for the office machines.
Then again, for the price of a laptop that would serve my needs, I can get myself a truly kick-ass desktop.
What makes more sense?
In an ideal world where money really is no problem, I'd get both: a brand spanking new Shuttle PC and a back-up secondary Laptop for all of my computing needs but alas, right now, I should only get one or the other.
Or I could hang on for another few months and get more cash first.....
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
iam? ithink? imight? iwant?...
...ipod?
after much deliberation and the recent purchase of my lovely new camera
(which has already seen plenty of home made midget porn action)
the next thing on my buy list, apart from a fiat coupe or possible a 1967 lotus elan to play with, is possibly an ipod.
The dilema now is whether i spend £190ish on a 30GB ipod vid or £150ish for a 4GB nano.
50 smackers for 26 extra GB is not to be ignored.
The question is, what do i need more, something small or something big?
who knows?
after much deliberation and the recent purchase of my lovely new camera
(which has already seen plenty of home made midget porn action)
the next thing on my buy list, apart from a fiat coupe or possible a 1967 lotus elan to play with, is possibly an ipod.
The dilema now is whether i spend £190ish on a 30GB ipod vid or £150ish for a 4GB nano.
50 smackers for 26 extra GB is not to be ignored.
The question is, what do i need more, something small or something big?
who knows?
oh me, oh my.....
you might recall me mentionig the Scorsese remark of Infernal Affairs that was scheduled to for release sometime this year. Well, the trailer's out now....
Click Here
I have to say, it seems to be pretty close to the original but of course, with the Buddhist elements removed. Not entirely sure how this will affect the feel of the film as in the original, the Buddhist themes worked to underline the plot and a few select lines of known script described the events perfectly, particulary the things about cycles and reprisals.
Only thing is, without the Buddhist elements, it seems to me that it'll just be another action/thriller and I'm a little wary that the trailer already seems a bit too action packed. Nice casting though but I'm not that convinced either.
DiCaprio is ok I guess and Damon has that whole Subdued psycho thing down pat but Nicholson? I can't see him really being the nice guy (spoiler alert) that the character was in the prequels. It'd be good to see if the master that is Scorsese can match the flair of Andrew Lau. I know that it's going to be different but is it going to be better?
Still, it's nice to see that for a change, it is Hollywood copying/remaking a HK film, instead of the other way around. To be honest, I was a little surprised that no one had a go at trying to remark Andrew Lau's other milestone movie series: Young and Dangerous as I see that making an easier transition.
Anyway.
IF you still haven't seen Infernal Affairs, shame on you....
Click Here
I have to say, it seems to be pretty close to the original but of course, with the Buddhist elements removed. Not entirely sure how this will affect the feel of the film as in the original, the Buddhist themes worked to underline the plot and a few select lines of known script described the events perfectly, particulary the things about cycles and reprisals.
Only thing is, without the Buddhist elements, it seems to me that it'll just be another action/thriller and I'm a little wary that the trailer already seems a bit too action packed. Nice casting though but I'm not that convinced either.
DiCaprio is ok I guess and Damon has that whole Subdued psycho thing down pat but Nicholson? I can't see him really being the nice guy (spoiler alert) that the character was in the prequels. It'd be good to see if the master that is Scorsese can match the flair of Andrew Lau. I know that it's going to be different but is it going to be better?
Still, it's nice to see that for a change, it is Hollywood copying/remaking a HK film, instead of the other way around. To be honest, I was a little surprised that no one had a go at trying to remark Andrew Lau's other milestone movie series: Young and Dangerous as I see that making an easier transition.
Anyway.
IF you still haven't seen Infernal Affairs, shame on you....
Monday, July 17, 2006
.....temptations.....
after my usual indecisions, I've finally gotten myself that new camera I keep mentioning and I have to say, I am impressed!
It is tiny when compared to my previous model and even up against the biscuit thin ultra compact models of today, it is still an impressively small case especially when you consider how much technology it has packed into that case.
It isn't totally without fault though as Pentax still insist on using that rediculously inadequate D-Li8 battery and as usual, while the main body of the camera is a lovely alloy (that get's annoyingly hot when in operation for a long time...) the secondary fittings, spcifically the covers to the battery/SD card slots, the ext/ power port and the pc/usb port covers are the typical flimsy plastic.
Shame really as this is supposed to be their new flagship camera.
I do wonder why they didn't spend that little bit more money to have those covers fshioned out of metal as well.
Performance wise I cannot fault it.
There is a slight issue with the focussing but there's an user upgrade available to deal with that.
At the full 8MB, the images are bigger than 99% of all pc monitors out there and at this size, it is just setting up the camera for failures as at such a large resolution, you'd expect more flaws to show up.... And they do. The lens system, while compact, is still victim of distortion at the extremeties and vignetting is still a problem but heck, I've lived with it before so it doesn't really bother me, especially seeing as nearly all other zoom digital cameras as well as traditional film SLRs suffer from this depending on the lens as well.
Here's a quick pic of a simple line up of my old metal tin/wallet, the camera and an empty tic tac tub.
How's that?
I'd get some better pics when my battery on the old camera is fulling charged.
Until the next time.
Off the record, on the QT and strictly.....
It is tiny when compared to my previous model and even up against the biscuit thin ultra compact models of today, it is still an impressively small case especially when you consider how much technology it has packed into that case.
It isn't totally without fault though as Pentax still insist on using that rediculously inadequate D-Li8 battery and as usual, while the main body of the camera is a lovely alloy (that get's annoyingly hot when in operation for a long time...) the secondary fittings, spcifically the covers to the battery/SD card slots, the ext/ power port and the pc/usb port covers are the typical flimsy plastic.
Shame really as this is supposed to be their new flagship camera.
I do wonder why they didn't spend that little bit more money to have those covers fshioned out of metal as well.
Performance wise I cannot fault it.
There is a slight issue with the focussing but there's an user upgrade available to deal with that.
At the full 8MB, the images are bigger than 99% of all pc monitors out there and at this size, it is just setting up the camera for failures as at such a large resolution, you'd expect more flaws to show up.... And they do. The lens system, while compact, is still victim of distortion at the extremeties and vignetting is still a problem but heck, I've lived with it before so it doesn't really bother me, especially seeing as nearly all other zoom digital cameras as well as traditional film SLRs suffer from this depending on the lens as well.
Here's a quick pic of a simple line up of my old metal tin/wallet, the camera and an empty tic tac tub.
How's that?
I'd get some better pics when my battery on the old camera is fulling charged.
Until the next time.
Off the record, on the QT and strictly.....
Monday, July 10, 2006
fucked up again.....
once again, my indecisions have screwed up any sort of plans I might have had.
some of you might know that I had planned to get myself down to Cardiff for a certain person's Graduation but my dithering around has now left me with no chance to get any ticket to get there.
Coaches are fully booked.
Trains are fully booked.
There's no domestic flight and so it looks like my only option now, is to drive there myself?
according to my maps it's just over 150miles so it shouldn't take more than 3 hours, right?
I've done 3 hour car drives before so it shouldn't be that bad.
what to do?
half a tank of petrol (each way....).
a little bit of driving, all just to be a gooseberry for the day?
sucker for punishment?
you betcha....
some of you might know that I had planned to get myself down to Cardiff for a certain person's Graduation but my dithering around has now left me with no chance to get any ticket to get there.
Coaches are fully booked.
Trains are fully booked.
There's no domestic flight and so it looks like my only option now, is to drive there myself?
according to my maps it's just over 150miles so it shouldn't take more than 3 hours, right?
I've done 3 hour car drives before so it shouldn't be that bad.
what to do?
half a tank of petrol (each way....).
a little bit of driving, all just to be a gooseberry for the day?
sucker for punishment?
you betcha....
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
.....bloody hell......
a week after sending off the first phase drawings for that house in the previous post, I get a message telling me to go visit two sites for further new build work and they're bloody massive. From the looks of it, I can get maybe 5 houses and a small block of 12-15 flats on site#1 and maybe 6 houses, small block of 15 flats AND maybe 4 mews houses tucked away on the opposite side of site#2.
How cool is that?
OK, again, it's not international architecture exciting but heck, I never expected that I'd be more or less handling things like this by myself. Then again, that's the benefits of working in a small office; lots of hands on work.
hehe... if only I get a percentage instead of flat rate fee.
Hmm, guess what I'll be asking about tomorrow....
How cool is that?
OK, again, it's not international architecture exciting but heck, I never expected that I'd be more or less handling things like this by myself. Then again, that's the benefits of working in a small office; lots of hands on work.
hehe... if only I get a percentage instead of flat rate fee.
Hmm, guess what I'll be asking about tomorrow....
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
.....first house on the right.....
.....slightly exciting but not entirely a fresh/new design build as I'm going to be mostly bound by existing/local/neighbouring buildings but I've got my second new build project coming up. Of course, I'm only going to be knocking up some plans and making a set of elevations to suit the plans but still.... if the site is actually hidden enough, I might get a chance to play!
Let's see how it goes....
TaTaa me loverlies (ahhh.... thanks to james joyce)
Let's see how it goes....
TaTaa me loverlies (ahhh.... thanks to james joyce)
Monday, June 26, 2006
with great power......
.....on one hand I can understand the want for some things. After all, on one level, living is about having goals and striving to achieve those goals but how impossible can a target be until it really is a fantasy?
If whatever it is we dream about is so far beyond our grasp, what purpose does it seve to continue to think of it? If that thing is unatainable, why go through all of the stress and strain of not having that thing? Even if we know that it is 100% out of our hands, what then? Do we continue trying to maybe get that little bit closer to the goal or just let it go and give up? What then? If giving up is the only real option, should we still be thinking of that goal or truly let it go?
Does letting go = Giving up?
If it does, then what then for having goals?
Why do we chose the goals that we do?
Is it to give us an excuse to wallow?
Is it really to make us better or just an excuse for failure?
Or is it once again, a way of not having to take responsiblity for the things in your life? After all, if something is beyond your grasp, it's not your fault, right?
Not exactly realted but in a similar theme;
As they said in a film, a favoutite of mine.
"Everybody's coming back to take stock of their lives. You know what I say? Leave your livestock alone"
If whatever it is we dream about is so far beyond our grasp, what purpose does it seve to continue to think of it? If that thing is unatainable, why go through all of the stress and strain of not having that thing? Even if we know that it is 100% out of our hands, what then? Do we continue trying to maybe get that little bit closer to the goal or just let it go and give up? What then? If giving up is the only real option, should we still be thinking of that goal or truly let it go?
Does letting go = Giving up?
If it does, then what then for having goals?
Why do we chose the goals that we do?
Is it to give us an excuse to wallow?
Is it really to make us better or just an excuse for failure?
Or is it once again, a way of not having to take responsiblity for the things in your life? After all, if something is beyond your grasp, it's not your fault, right?
Not exactly realted but in a similar theme;
As they said in a film, a favoutite of mine.
"Everybody's coming back to take stock of their lives. You know what I say? Leave your livestock alone"
Sunday, June 25, 2006
****update****
...ok, I'm now stuck in a rather strange place.
On the one hand, I am more or less 100% sure that the trainers I bought are less than 100% genuine (assuming that my list of official numbers is accurate). The only thing is, on a like for like comparison, they are exactly the same as a real from the store Uk shoe right down to the text on the insides of the strips, the colours on the sole, the sole unit etc etc. OK, there are a few differences but I've noticed that the genuine shoes also have several differences depending on size and colourway (i.e different sole patterns, different swoosh tick, different sole (kids/adults).
As a whole, the trainers I have display the correct details according to itself
(i.e colour detail for the main colour/detail colour, correct sole detail for the size, correct detail colour for the trim colour).
From the looks of it, it is an amalgamation of two different existing colour schemes.
I ahve a sneaking suspicion that it is a factory shoe made without consent from Nike using their molds and patterns. As it is, and from the 10 odd jogging/running miles that I've put into them, they are made to the same standard as the originals and don't look to be likely to fall apart anytime soon, despite the possible weakness in a counterfeit 360 air sole. In fact, going by some of the bad examples of genuine early edition trainers I ahve, this pair is easily better made and finished than they are/were.
So what now?
Do I report the shoes (still waiting on a reply from Nike first...) as being fake and see what happens? Or just leave it and wear them into the dirt as i had intended anyway and save myself the hassle?
I know I said i was going to use this as an E-Bay test but I never expected the shoe to be made so well as I have already seen some pretty shockingly bad counterfeits.
Decisions Decisons.
What do you think?
monkey out (scratching his head)
On the one hand, I am more or less 100% sure that the trainers I bought are less than 100% genuine (assuming that my list of official numbers is accurate). The only thing is, on a like for like comparison, they are exactly the same as a real from the store Uk shoe right down to the text on the insides of the strips, the colours on the sole, the sole unit etc etc. OK, there are a few differences but I've noticed that the genuine shoes also have several differences depending on size and colourway (i.e different sole patterns, different swoosh tick, different sole (kids/adults).
As a whole, the trainers I have display the correct details according to itself
(i.e colour detail for the main colour/detail colour, correct sole detail for the size, correct detail colour for the trim colour).
From the looks of it, it is an amalgamation of two different existing colour schemes.
I ahve a sneaking suspicion that it is a factory shoe made without consent from Nike using their molds and patterns. As it is, and from the 10 odd jogging/running miles that I've put into them, they are made to the same standard as the originals and don't look to be likely to fall apart anytime soon, despite the possible weakness in a counterfeit 360 air sole. In fact, going by some of the bad examples of genuine early edition trainers I ahve, this pair is easily better made and finished than they are/were.
So what now?
Do I report the shoes (still waiting on a reply from Nike first...) as being fake and see what happens? Or just leave it and wear them into the dirt as i had intended anyway and save myself the hassle?
I know I said i was going to use this as an E-Bay test but I never expected the shoe to be made so well as I have already seen some pretty shockingly bad counterfeits.
Decisions Decisons.
What do you think?
monkey out (scratching his head)
Thursday, June 22, 2006
WTF?!?
.....i was on a break from the office and was making my way to the local McD (yes yes, still on that healthy (running) / unhealthy (junk food) streak). Upon reaching the counter and having been greated by a rather cute girl with a cracking smile, I asked for my usual "vanilla shake to go" (as they do in the adverts) when I was told, to my absolute horror, that they were out of vanilla..... and chocolate.....
Ugh.... never have I had something as sickly and as sweet as a McD banana Milkshake.
On my way back to the office, I was then approached by a rather scary looking thin man in a suit. My first sign that something was wrong was when I/we made eye contact. I had spotted him from afar and was just watching him as I neared and I saw that he was approaching other people who customarily avoided/ignored him. It was then, on rejection from another passer by when his gaze found mine.
As I got nearer, he walked a couple of paces towards me and when in sufficient distance, he opened his mouth and asked:
"have you had an accident?"
WTF?!?
At the time, when I first heard this, I was wondering if that was a question or a round-about offer. It took me a few seconds to twig what he was actually asking/doing but when I did, I was going to inform him that McD was out of vanilla AND chocolate milkshake That was dismissed very quickly by myself as I figured that he probably doesn't fall under the catagory of "accidents" and he probably wouldn't be interested (unless of course he also had a craving for milkshake of the vanilla or chocolate variety).
Mucho Bizzaro?
Too sunny to care....
Ugh.... never have I had something as sickly and as sweet as a McD banana Milkshake.
On my way back to the office, I was then approached by a rather scary looking thin man in a suit. My first sign that something was wrong was when I/we made eye contact. I had spotted him from afar and was just watching him as I neared and I saw that he was approaching other people who customarily avoided/ignored him. It was then, on rejection from another passer by when his gaze found mine.
As I got nearer, he walked a couple of paces towards me and when in sufficient distance, he opened his mouth and asked:
"have you had an accident?"
WTF?!?
At the time, when I first heard this, I was wondering if that was a question or a round-about offer. It took me a few seconds to twig what he was actually asking/doing but when I did, I was going to inform him that McD was out of vanilla AND chocolate milkshake That was dismissed very quickly by myself as I figured that he probably doesn't fall under the catagory of "accidents" and he probably wouldn't be interested (unless of course he also had a craving for milkshake of the vanilla or chocolate variety).
Mucho Bizzaro?
Too sunny to care....
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
surprise! surprise!
they came today.
talk about quick services.
i'll get some pics of them up later when I have more energy to take photos and upload and post etc etc.... so bear with me for a bit.
On the face of it, they don't look half.
there's a couple of spots of bad glue/joining between sole and main trainer body but all in all, not bad. The shape is correct and the detail is more or less correct with only a slight inconsistancy in the sole but this might be a shoe-size issue.
Of course, it is all still highly suspect, especially whe you check the tongue of the trainer and check the SKU numbers.
The one in the pair i got was 310910-011.
it looks genuine BUT as far as I know, 310910 is not a valid shoe issue number and colour code 011 is the for the standard UK white (red trim) pair. There was also a very obvious bit of "trickery" in that an actual date is printed inside the shoe which I never seen before in all my years of trainer fetishing....
Anyways.
gonna go and look for an all white pair (Decathalon maybe?) to compare.
yes ys... just another excuse for me to buy more trainers.
Laters.
talk about quick services.
i'll get some pics of them up later when I have more energy to take photos and upload and post etc etc.... so bear with me for a bit.
On the face of it, they don't look half.
there's a couple of spots of bad glue/joining between sole and main trainer body but all in all, not bad. The shape is correct and the detail is more or less correct with only a slight inconsistancy in the sole but this might be a shoe-size issue.
Of course, it is all still highly suspect, especially whe you check the tongue of the trainer and check the SKU numbers.
The one in the pair i got was 310910-011.
it looks genuine BUT as far as I know, 310910 is not a valid shoe issue number and colour code 011 is the for the standard UK white (red trim) pair. There was also a very obvious bit of "trickery" in that an actual date is printed inside the shoe which I never seen before in all my years of trainer fetishing....
Anyways.
gonna go and look for an all white pair (Decathalon maybe?) to compare.
yes ys... just another excuse for me to buy more trainers.
Laters.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
for nits and shiggles.....
i've just bought a pair of trainers on E-bay that I suspect to be counterfeit.
why?
Mainly because I was bored but also because I want to see how E-bay deal with my "case" when I tell them of the item I had bought under false advertising and whether or not they (and Paypal which they now own) will honour their buyer protetion and give me my money back.
On the plus side, they're cheap enough that if they turn out to be genuine, then I'll have another pair of shoes that I can run into the dirt in.
Latest news as I get it.
Monkey out....
why?
Mainly because I was bored but also because I want to see how E-bay deal with my "case" when I tell them of the item I had bought under false advertising and whether or not they (and Paypal which they now own) will honour their buyer protetion and give me my money back.
On the plus side, they're cheap enough that if they turn out to be genuine, then I'll have another pair of shoes that I can run into the dirt in.
Latest news as I get it.
Monkey out....
Monday, June 19, 2006
justice.... the wrong way?
you probably all seen the hoo-hah regarding Craig Sweeney and his "lenient" sentencing but what does it all mean? why are they complaining?
At the heart of it, it is about how can someone that has done what he did get away with only having to serve a five odd year sentence. On the face of it, it looks like the courts have made an enormous blunder and indeed, it is the courts that have been geting the flack about it.
As the judge involved pointed out, the sentence is based on guidelines set out by parliament; he was only carrying out his duty and doing it by the book. So is he wrong? As a judge, his duty is to be fair, even in the light of a criminal who has admitted to a crime. To a degree, i understand the anger of the public as I do believe that people who commit a certain type of crime should be punished sufficiently but I am also in firm belief that all criminals should be dealt with in the same manner (in terms of procedure).
The judge should have a set of guidelines which are clear and make sense and be universally applicable. Sentencing shouldn't be arbitary or dependent on how much press the case gets. The judge should be free to what is just and he should be not doing what he thinks is right but what he has to do according to the rules. The judge should be free to decide if someone deserves a reduced sentence or not.
As far as i am aware, the judge in this case did just that so the only thing that is wrong then, is the guidelines and procedures that he has to follow.
The biggest flaw here is the automatic deduction of a third of the sentence that you receive on pleading guilty. On the face of it, this appears to make it easier for criminals to admit to their crimes but is this what we really want? Isn't it the job of the police and the courts and the process to PROVE them guilty anyway? Wouldn't it be better if it was a case that if you plead guilty you might get reduced sentence? Does this actually mean then, that the process is actually flawed? Ask the general public and I'm pretty sure that they would say that it is.
Then again, I have a hard time understanding why some sentences for certain crimes aren't a fixed thing anyway?
Wouldn't it simply be easier to say that crime x gets sentence x with no consessions or deductions for any reason?
Wouldn't that make it more of a deterrent for people to know for a fact that if you do something, you're going to get a fixed sentence if you get caught?
After all, for some crimes, no matter how sorry you are, it doesn't change what you have done and what you are capable of doing.
What also bugs me about this is, once again, how the government has stuck their nose in on the side of the public to chastise the court's decision when it is the governments guidelines that resulted in the sentence and its reductions. Instead of admitting to part of the guilt and admitting to there being a flaw in the system that they set out, they go to pin the blame on the obvious target? Is this what out government really is like?
What happened to being responsible for us?
How can we depend on a government that refuses to accept blame for anything?
I'm also not sure about the recent trend for the sacking of MPs who make mistakes. Wouldn't it be better for them to be kept on to try and fix what went wrong?
Put it this way, if I cocked something up at work, I would fight for the chance to fix what I did wrong. Instead, what happens here is that if you cock something up, you get fired and you don't have to deal with the consequences of what you did.
How is that "just"?
Getting sacked sounds like a harsh punishment but it actually means you don't have to face that mess that you created. Isn't it then just a way of making it easier on the MPs?
"oh, I don't have to worry if I mess up, I'll just get fired, get another job and someone else will have to deal with it"
great.
At the heart of it, it is about how can someone that has done what he did get away with only having to serve a five odd year sentence. On the face of it, it looks like the courts have made an enormous blunder and indeed, it is the courts that have been geting the flack about it.
As the judge involved pointed out, the sentence is based on guidelines set out by parliament; he was only carrying out his duty and doing it by the book. So is he wrong? As a judge, his duty is to be fair, even in the light of a criminal who has admitted to a crime. To a degree, i understand the anger of the public as I do believe that people who commit a certain type of crime should be punished sufficiently but I am also in firm belief that all criminals should be dealt with in the same manner (in terms of procedure).
The judge should have a set of guidelines which are clear and make sense and be universally applicable. Sentencing shouldn't be arbitary or dependent on how much press the case gets. The judge should be free to what is just and he should be not doing what he thinks is right but what he has to do according to the rules. The judge should be free to decide if someone deserves a reduced sentence or not.
As far as i am aware, the judge in this case did just that so the only thing that is wrong then, is the guidelines and procedures that he has to follow.
The biggest flaw here is the automatic deduction of a third of the sentence that you receive on pleading guilty. On the face of it, this appears to make it easier for criminals to admit to their crimes but is this what we really want? Isn't it the job of the police and the courts and the process to PROVE them guilty anyway? Wouldn't it be better if it was a case that if you plead guilty you might get reduced sentence? Does this actually mean then, that the process is actually flawed? Ask the general public and I'm pretty sure that they would say that it is.
Then again, I have a hard time understanding why some sentences for certain crimes aren't a fixed thing anyway?
Wouldn't it simply be easier to say that crime x gets sentence x with no consessions or deductions for any reason?
Wouldn't that make it more of a deterrent for people to know for a fact that if you do something, you're going to get a fixed sentence if you get caught?
After all, for some crimes, no matter how sorry you are, it doesn't change what you have done and what you are capable of doing.
What also bugs me about this is, once again, how the government has stuck their nose in on the side of the public to chastise the court's decision when it is the governments guidelines that resulted in the sentence and its reductions. Instead of admitting to part of the guilt and admitting to there being a flaw in the system that they set out, they go to pin the blame on the obvious target? Is this what out government really is like?
What happened to being responsible for us?
How can we depend on a government that refuses to accept blame for anything?
I'm also not sure about the recent trend for the sacking of MPs who make mistakes. Wouldn't it be better for them to be kept on to try and fix what went wrong?
Put it this way, if I cocked something up at work, I would fight for the chance to fix what I did wrong. Instead, what happens here is that if you cock something up, you get fired and you don't have to deal with the consequences of what you did.
How is that "just"?
Getting sacked sounds like a harsh punishment but it actually means you don't have to face that mess that you created. Isn't it then just a way of making it easier on the MPs?
"oh, I don't have to worry if I mess up, I'll just get fired, get another job and someone else will have to deal with it"
great.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Sunday, June 11, 2006
all by myself...... don't wanna be......
do you know what the most annoying thing about living by yourself is?
when there's a mosquito in the house, there's only ONE person it can feed on.
when there's a mosquito in the house, there's only ONE person it can feed on.
it's a small world after all.....
what an amazing day of football that was.
all in all, it was great day with the matches occupying tv time and a very nice and simple and small bbq dinner, topped off with a classic film
(Carlito's Way if you're interested - one of many that I keep buying from HMV from their 3 for 20 section).
Now this is not by any means a happy romantic film, being a gangster flick and all that but at the heart of it, is a theme about relationships.
The central character has just gotten out of prison and runs into (or perhaps he goes looking for) his old girlfriend, a person that he chose to let go of before he went to prison, to cut off ties to the outside world and in some twisted logical way, make it easier on him. However, on seeing her again, he realises that he's never forgotten about her, nor has how he felt changed. All he did was shovel it under the carpet. The scene when he actually sees her face again illustrates this best as he is simply frozen, captivated by her.
Has that ever happened to you?
Have you ever met/known anyone that for some unknown reason, before you've ever spoken to them, had already gotten to you completely; hook line and sinker (as they say?)
(sorry... this is cliche night)
You can not see them or even speak to them for days, months and sometimes, maybe even years but the moment some kind of contact is made, you are back where you were all of them years ago, standing in a corridoor, looking into a room and just totally captivated by that person.
It is at the same time, the best thing in the world and yet it is also the worst thing in the world.
The best because you may have just met the most wonderful person in the world.
The worst because you might not actually get to meet them....
If you do and it works out, then you are one of the luckiest people on the planet.
So this is for all you love birds out there.
The next time,you are with the person you love, think about the first time you saw them and how you felt then and forget anything bad that might have happened between you.
Not everyone is as lucky as you are.
all in all, it was great day with the matches occupying tv time and a very nice and simple and small bbq dinner, topped off with a classic film
(Carlito's Way if you're interested - one of many that I keep buying from HMV from their 3 for 20 section).
Now this is not by any means a happy romantic film, being a gangster flick and all that but at the heart of it, is a theme about relationships.
The central character has just gotten out of prison and runs into (or perhaps he goes looking for) his old girlfriend, a person that he chose to let go of before he went to prison, to cut off ties to the outside world and in some twisted logical way, make it easier on him. However, on seeing her again, he realises that he's never forgotten about her, nor has how he felt changed. All he did was shovel it under the carpet. The scene when he actually sees her face again illustrates this best as he is simply frozen, captivated by her.
Has that ever happened to you?
Have you ever met/known anyone that for some unknown reason, before you've ever spoken to them, had already gotten to you completely; hook line and sinker (as they say?)
(sorry... this is cliche night)
You can not see them or even speak to them for days, months and sometimes, maybe even years but the moment some kind of contact is made, you are back where you were all of them years ago, standing in a corridoor, looking into a room and just totally captivated by that person.
It is at the same time, the best thing in the world and yet it is also the worst thing in the world.
The best because you may have just met the most wonderful person in the world.
The worst because you might not actually get to meet them....
If you do and it works out, then you are one of the luckiest people on the planet.
So this is for all you love birds out there.
The next time,you are with the person you love, think about the first time you saw them and how you felt then and forget anything bad that might have happened between you.
Not everyone is as lucky as you are.
Friday, June 09, 2006
best things in life are free....
the second best thing are those which come in unlimited supplies.
this is the next target
from the sounds of it, they are a heaven for carnivores offering unlimited bbq for around £20. Might not be for all people but well, you know me.....
At the moment, I am in training.
Beware....
this is the next target
from the sounds of it, they are a heaven for carnivores offering unlimited bbq for around £20. Might not be for all people but well, you know me.....
At the moment, I am in training.
Beware....
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Saturday, June 03, 2006
unrelated
for most of today I have been feeling more than a little well, ill.
As such I have also developed a strong craving for fast food, as I generally do; that desire for salt, easy to bite+chew food, salt, sweet milk-shake, salt, crispy fries, salt and maybe an apple pie, all getting a bit too much for me. This flu, having drained all life and energy from me has resulted in me being more lazy in the cooking stakes than usual and I am fighting every urge to jump in the car and going out to get my fix of unhealthiness.
How-ever, as i sit here, I still find myself actually going through a process of what I would actually like to go and get. The first thought, as always, is to go for the simple and obvious McD, the most known and accesible and consistant of the Three Evils. Only thing is, I can't be certain that they pop into my head first because they are my prefered brand of fast food or simply because they are more easily conjured up in my head because of their advertising campaigns.
Simple fact is, given two burgers side by side, Burger King does do a tastier burger except for some reason, the McD Quarter Pounder has a certain taste, that is it is slightly blander that makes it less characterful and hence easier on the palette and hence easier to eat.
How does that work?
Burger King in my area simply does not make fries that even begins to compare to McD and The McD milkshake is still a sublime creation in my opinion.
The third Evil is of course, That Chicken Shop but as always, night dependent is very hit and miss. I'm sure that they have all sorts of time related throwing away issues (at least i hope they do) but honestly, do you really think that they would ditch chicken that's been in the heater for the past four hours but still looks ok? How many times have you had the craving for the salty, peppery and crispy skin only for it to be a big pile of mushy slop?
In my ill state, my fragile mind cannot handle the disappointment of soggy fried floured chicken skin. Dont even talk about their fries....
Which leads me to the conclusion that in order to fulfill MY needs at this, my time of illness, I really should do the obvious thing which ends up being the one thing that these companies dread; Shop at all three and thus showing my non-loyalty to any of them. Sure it might mean that I am actually a bigger victim to all three but Then again, I would be one customer that all three can count, which on the flip side, means that I am one customer that is more or less un-affiliated to any of them?
Make sense?
or perhaps I am just trying to justify my uncharacteristic urge for junk..... lots of it....
As such I have also developed a strong craving for fast food, as I generally do; that desire for salt, easy to bite+chew food, salt, sweet milk-shake, salt, crispy fries, salt and maybe an apple pie, all getting a bit too much for me. This flu, having drained all life and energy from me has resulted in me being more lazy in the cooking stakes than usual and I am fighting every urge to jump in the car and going out to get my fix of unhealthiness.
How-ever, as i sit here, I still find myself actually going through a process of what I would actually like to go and get. The first thought, as always, is to go for the simple and obvious McD, the most known and accesible and consistant of the Three Evils. Only thing is, I can't be certain that they pop into my head first because they are my prefered brand of fast food or simply because they are more easily conjured up in my head because of their advertising campaigns.
Simple fact is, given two burgers side by side, Burger King does do a tastier burger except for some reason, the McD Quarter Pounder has a certain taste, that is it is slightly blander that makes it less characterful and hence easier on the palette and hence easier to eat.
How does that work?
Burger King in my area simply does not make fries that even begins to compare to McD and The McD milkshake is still a sublime creation in my opinion.
The third Evil is of course, That Chicken Shop but as always, night dependent is very hit and miss. I'm sure that they have all sorts of time related throwing away issues (at least i hope they do) but honestly, do you really think that they would ditch chicken that's been in the heater for the past four hours but still looks ok? How many times have you had the craving for the salty, peppery and crispy skin only for it to be a big pile of mushy slop?
In my ill state, my fragile mind cannot handle the disappointment of soggy fried floured chicken skin. Dont even talk about their fries....
Which leads me to the conclusion that in order to fulfill MY needs at this, my time of illness, I really should do the obvious thing which ends up being the one thing that these companies dread; Shop at all three and thus showing my non-loyalty to any of them. Sure it might mean that I am actually a bigger victim to all three but Then again, I would be one customer that all three can count, which on the flip side, means that I am one customer that is more or less un-affiliated to any of them?
Make sense?
or perhaps I am just trying to justify my uncharacteristic urge for junk..... lots of it....
i should be so lucky luck lucky.....
...simple question:
what is luck?
an off topic thread was started, in a forum I moderate in, entitled "what is and luck" came up and I have to say that I was kinda imperssed by the maturity of some of the answers; in particular one that simply read "luck explains the improbable".
I like it because it is simple and it is objective and without any attachment to anything that may bias the response. Of course, there were still the odd replies along the lines of "bad luck is punishment" which goes into a whole different kettle of fish but on the whole, it was quite good overall.
I'm writing this because once again, the bad luck thread kinda goes a long way to show how different people view the world they live in and the way they exist in the world. Another reply was that "bad luck is the reluctance to accept responsiblity" which shows the direction that I'm going for.
Again, as I mentioned before, too many people seem to want something to blame for their misfortunes and luck is the easiest way of removing yourself from blame. Of course, this is dependent of situation of course but there are rarelt any occasions where something you were part of goes wrong and you didn't paly a part in it's undoing. So why the need to blame something intangible and non-existant?
Is it even slightly unhealthy?
We all have choices for every action at every step along whatever path we are walking. There is never any point where you are forced to do anything, nor is there anything that is truely out of your control. Sure bad things can happen that are genuinely out of your hands (i.e car accidents) but these aren't the events that I am talking about. I am talking about life choices and other things related to work and relationships that we actively take part in; the things that define our lives and ourselves.
You might remember me mentioning honesty to one's self in another post and this is part of what I meant. To progress, you have to take responsibilty for your actions and reflect on them and amaned as neccesary. This is what makes humans above animals; we have the ability to be introspectively reflective and then go beyond ourselves to be better next time. If we spend too much time blaming errors on other people or even something that doesn't exist (such as luck) then where is there space for moving on and improving ourselves?
what is luck?
an off topic thread was started, in a forum I moderate in, entitled "what is and luck" came up and I have to say that I was kinda imperssed by the maturity of some of the answers; in particular one that simply read "luck explains the improbable".
I like it because it is simple and it is objective and without any attachment to anything that may bias the response. Of course, there were still the odd replies along the lines of "bad luck is punishment" which goes into a whole different kettle of fish but on the whole, it was quite good overall.
I'm writing this because once again, the bad luck thread kinda goes a long way to show how different people view the world they live in and the way they exist in the world. Another reply was that "bad luck is the reluctance to accept responsiblity" which shows the direction that I'm going for.
Again, as I mentioned before, too many people seem to want something to blame for their misfortunes and luck is the easiest way of removing yourself from blame. Of course, this is dependent of situation of course but there are rarelt any occasions where something you were part of goes wrong and you didn't paly a part in it's undoing. So why the need to blame something intangible and non-existant?
Is it even slightly unhealthy?
We all have choices for every action at every step along whatever path we are walking. There is never any point where you are forced to do anything, nor is there anything that is truely out of your control. Sure bad things can happen that are genuinely out of your hands (i.e car accidents) but these aren't the events that I am talking about. I am talking about life choices and other things related to work and relationships that we actively take part in; the things that define our lives and ourselves.
You might remember me mentioning honesty to one's self in another post and this is part of what I meant. To progress, you have to take responsibilty for your actions and reflect on them and amaned as neccesary. This is what makes humans above animals; we have the ability to be introspectively reflective and then go beyond ourselves to be better next time. If we spend too much time blaming errors on other people or even something that doesn't exist (such as luck) then where is there space for moving on and improving ourselves?
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
this is not even funny now
for the past two weeks, I have been plagued by rash caused by an allergic reaction which then got infected.
The past week had me on a heavy antibiotic course and I imposed a "clean" lifestyle (food+drink wise) just to avoid anything else that might cause another flare up.
Now, with only one more blue pill to go, I find myself with sore throat.
Dumb fudging luck....
I'm on antibiotics and I get a sore throat?
how the fudge does that happen?
Blue Pill?
Guess it's the real world effect....
The past week had me on a heavy antibiotic course and I imposed a "clean" lifestyle (food+drink wise) just to avoid anything else that might cause another flare up.
Now, with only one more blue pill to go, I find myself with sore throat.
Dumb fudging luck....
I'm on antibiotics and I get a sore throat?
how the fudge does that happen?
Blue Pill?
Guess it's the real world effect....
Friday, May 26, 2006
....what were they thinking of...?
as much as I hate to post like this, I thought it was kinda funny....
pretty sure
you'd have already seen this.
pretty sure
you'd have already seen this.
...eye eye...
the eagle eyed amongst you will hve noticed that I have finally put up an image of myself. Those with canny camera knowledge will also spy that I have in my hands an old pentax Optio430 from monkey's years back.
As much as this not so little has served me well, i think it is time for an upgrade.... Yes yes, I know that in reality, I don't really need to buy an new camera but ever since I washed and tumble dried my spare battery, the thought of coughing up £30 for a new battery has always been side-lined by the though of spending £200 on a new camera that has two batteries... Ok... I'll admit that the pack with spare battery (as well as some other goodies) is more like £250 but still, it's not a lot of money seeing how much I use my camera.
As of now, this is the object of my desire.
Only thing is, I know that if this realy was a work purchase, I'd be better off getting a full on DSLR as it would allow me to use the wide angle lens that I really need for my line of work. At the same time, I am still a fan of multi-tasking my things and if I can get a pocket camera that can serve in other areas, albeit not as well, then isn't that better? Then again, if I flip the choices; if I ended up getting a DSLR, I am certain it wouldn't be used for anything other than work.
I guess, like most things, the choice has already been made and it is just up to me to make that first step.
As much as this not so little has served me well, i think it is time for an upgrade.... Yes yes, I know that in reality, I don't really need to buy an new camera but ever since I washed and tumble dried my spare battery, the thought of coughing up £30 for a new battery has always been side-lined by the though of spending £200 on a new camera that has two batteries... Ok... I'll admit that the pack with spare battery (as well as some other goodies) is more like £250 but still, it's not a lot of money seeing how much I use my camera.
As of now, this is the object of my desire.
Only thing is, I know that if this realy was a work purchase, I'd be better off getting a full on DSLR as it would allow me to use the wide angle lens that I really need for my line of work. At the same time, I am still a fan of multi-tasking my things and if I can get a pocket camera that can serve in other areas, albeit not as well, then isn't that better? Then again, if I flip the choices; if I ended up getting a DSLR, I am certain it wouldn't be used for anything other than work.
I guess, like most things, the choice has already been made and it is just up to me to make that first step.
Monday, May 22, 2006
i'm a sick monkey....
...no, really i am.
Ok, perhaps not sick but defintely not well.
For the past week, I've had a nasty looking rash on my left arm and now it looks like it's beginning to stray onto my right arm as well. It doesn't really itch but it is damn annoying....
On a lighter note, Carrie sent me a random e-mail again.
Always good to hear from the evil muppet and I'm always tempted to go and say hello but now more than before, she is simply too far away.
maybe the next time she's in town, I'll go and stalk her again!
Time for something more serious.
I'm sure the UK lot here would've already read/heard about the illegal immigrants found working at Home Office buidlings doing cleaning. From what I gather, these individuals, WORKING to earn some money for themselves and family have since been arrested and are now in the process of being evaluated for deportation. This whole debacle has also brought to attention the number of "missing" illegal immigrants in the uk.
Granted this is a problem but I'm sure I am not the only one who thinks that chasing down and arresting the ones who are working illegally and shipping them off as being slightly misguided? There seems to be a great confusion and general tendency for the media and the public to bundle up those who are here who DO NOT work and are even here COMMITTING CRIMES with those who are here (admittedly illegally) working proper hard menial jobs taht the average UK citizen wouldn't do, all in the same boat. I don't think we should be cracking down on those who are working as cleaners, or graveyard shifts on warehouses. I think we should be cracking down on proper crime in general, no matter who is commiting them. If the criminal turns out to be an illegal immigrant, all the better.
The problem is, the system as it stands, just doesn't work.
There are people here in the UK that want to work and to those people I give a thumbs up. The ones that need to be dealt with are those who do not work and instead either leech of the rest of us or worse yet, associate with criminals and prey on their fellow country men out of their hard (albeit illegally) earned cash.
How's this for an idea, give those that are working proper jobs permits so that the others can't threaten them with police action or sell them forged documents?
Am i crazy for thinking this?
OK, i know that the logistics and practicallity of this is less than sound but it still seems better than to target the wrong group of people.
Ok, perhaps not sick but defintely not well.
For the past week, I've had a nasty looking rash on my left arm and now it looks like it's beginning to stray onto my right arm as well. It doesn't really itch but it is damn annoying....
On a lighter note, Carrie sent me a random e-mail again.
Always good to hear from the evil muppet and I'm always tempted to go and say hello but now more than before, she is simply too far away.
maybe the next time she's in town, I'll go and stalk her again!
Time for something more serious.
I'm sure the UK lot here would've already read/heard about the illegal immigrants found working at Home Office buidlings doing cleaning. From what I gather, these individuals, WORKING to earn some money for themselves and family have since been arrested and are now in the process of being evaluated for deportation. This whole debacle has also brought to attention the number of "missing" illegal immigrants in the uk.
Granted this is a problem but I'm sure I am not the only one who thinks that chasing down and arresting the ones who are working illegally and shipping them off as being slightly misguided? There seems to be a great confusion and general tendency for the media and the public to bundle up those who are here who DO NOT work and are even here COMMITTING CRIMES with those who are here (admittedly illegally) working proper hard menial jobs taht the average UK citizen wouldn't do, all in the same boat. I don't think we should be cracking down on those who are working as cleaners, or graveyard shifts on warehouses. I think we should be cracking down on proper crime in general, no matter who is commiting them. If the criminal turns out to be an illegal immigrant, all the better.
The problem is, the system as it stands, just doesn't work.
There are people here in the UK that want to work and to those people I give a thumbs up. The ones that need to be dealt with are those who do not work and instead either leech of the rest of us or worse yet, associate with criminals and prey on their fellow country men out of their hard (albeit illegally) earned cash.
How's this for an idea, give those that are working proper jobs permits so that the others can't threaten them with police action or sell them forged documents?
Am i crazy for thinking this?
OK, i know that the logistics and practicallity of this is less than sound but it still seems better than to target the wrong group of people.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
looking to the past...
...lots of people say out of habit that you should always look to the future. Sometimes that is true and you should look for ways of moving forward but then again, I'm also a firm believer of frames of reference. How do you know the way forward if you don't first look to the past? How do you avoid doing something that ahs alread been done if you don't look at what has already been done?
I've been in a bit of a lonely mood recently and craving something that isn't sitting in front of a monitor shoving a mouse around and clicking on icons. Under my bed is a little "secret" that's been hiding for the past half year and lately it's been crying out for some attention. Only thing is, I haven't really picked up a paint brush properly for about half a year now and before that, I hadn't done any painting since well..... Guildhall. Can I stil do it? I imagine I can. I don't see why not.
Anyway.
For those who haven't seen these before, they're the best of a bunch I did between 8-10 years ago when I was a wee lad.
This is 4 out of about 20 but some have been lost, left at 6th form, thrown away during moving etc etc and to be honest most of them are just mediocre.
I've got two that I said I would do; both for friends but I haven't seen them in ages and well... don't see = no chance to give and all that. Perhaps I should make a special effort to get back into the swing of things. It always was a good way to spend half an hour.
Well, that is what I could do before, what can I do now?
A more productive update later.
I've been in a bit of a lonely mood recently and craving something that isn't sitting in front of a monitor shoving a mouse around and clicking on icons. Under my bed is a little "secret" that's been hiding for the past half year and lately it's been crying out for some attention. Only thing is, I haven't really picked up a paint brush properly for about half a year now and before that, I hadn't done any painting since well..... Guildhall. Can I stil do it? I imagine I can. I don't see why not.
Anyway.
For those who haven't seen these before, they're the best of a bunch I did between 8-10 years ago when I was a wee lad.
This is 4 out of about 20 but some have been lost, left at 6th form, thrown away during moving etc etc and to be honest most of them are just mediocre.
I've got two that I said I would do; both for friends but I haven't seen them in ages and well... don't see = no chance to give and all that. Perhaps I should make a special effort to get back into the swing of things. It always was a good way to spend half an hour.
Well, that is what I could do before, what can I do now?
A more productive update later.
because everyone else did one (as well)...
You Have a Phlegmatic Temperament |
 Mild mannered and laid back, you take life at a slow pace. You are very consistent - both in emotions and actions. You tend to absorb set backs easily. You are cool and collected. It is difficult to offend you. You can remain composed and unemotional. You are a great friend and lover. You don't demand much of others. While you are quiet, you have a subtle wit that your friends know well. At your worst, you are lazy and unwilling to work at anything. You often get stuck in a rut, without aspirations or dreams. You can get too dependent on others, setting yourself up for abandonment. |
Monday, February 27, 2006
who am i? part 3
Your results:You are The Flash
Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...
| Fast, athletic and flirtatious. |
Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
lucky lucky lucky
DM: Barcelona, August 2005
I am glad that I live in a country that allows me to go to so many places so easily and so cheaply. I am also ashamed that I don't make more use of that freedom.
update of my life
sometimes, I feel like my life is carrying on as it should, after all, i'm pretty much working 9-5(ish) and doing a 5(ish) day week and earning my 22(ish)K.
Of course, i know that I've taken a slight detour from what I should be doing
i.e my Part 2
but, on the other hand, I am quite happy working as i am, doing the things I am doing. I am also aware though, that sooner or later I have to go and get the rest of my qualifications and eventually that little piece of paper and 4 extra letters after my name. At the very least I should be looking for a full time job in a proper office. Thing is, I still feel underqualified even though every other Part 1 student is going to be in exactly the same boat as I am so, almost as the song goes, what the hell am I so afraid of?
* * * * *
on a slightly different note:
I very nearly bought a pink t-shirt.
oo-er.....
Of course, i know that I've taken a slight detour from what I should be doing
i.e my Part 2
but, on the other hand, I am quite happy working as i am, doing the things I am doing. I am also aware though, that sooner or later I have to go and get the rest of my qualifications and eventually that little piece of paper and 4 extra letters after my name. At the very least I should be looking for a full time job in a proper office. Thing is, I still feel underqualified even though every other Part 1 student is going to be in exactly the same boat as I am so, almost as the song goes, what the hell am I so afraid of?
* * * * *
on a slightly different note:
I very nearly bought a pink t-shirt.
oo-er.....
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
conflict of interests....?
For those that this may interest, it looks like Wushu is going to be part of the 2008 Olympics. As of now, I'm still not entirely sure if it in as a fully fledged Olymipic event or if it is going in as an "exhibition" event for consideration to it being allowed as a full event in later games. In any event, I can't personally see it getting too much airtime apart from perhaps in China where I can already sense Government officials rubbing their hands in preparation of the Chinese team taking all of the golds in these events....
As of now, the largest Wushu governing body resides in China. The largest competition environment is in China. The best coaches in the world are Chinese. In short, at present, practically the whole of the sport is run by the Chinese associations and even those that are not, seek recognition from them, just for the fact that they are the largest and most recognised body representing the sport. Surely there is always going to some conflict between this current situation and it's inclusion into the Olympic games?In my mind, there is too much cultural attachment and association between the event and China/Chinese people. How often have you seen some white dude in the silk pyjamas doing a routine and you thought "that don't look right". OK... admittedly, probably not that often but that is precisely the point. It will inherently difficult for western guys to not be judged on their physical appearance, even when the criteria for the judging is supposed to be about how they perform for the simple reason that it won't look right.
Perhaps I am being too cynical but I can't honestly see a fair board of judges, especially seeing as how the most recognised judges are still those that sit on the Chinese wushu associations.
Of course, Wushu being allowed in might mean that the san-shou format might also be included whcih would make a nice change from the TKD point sparring, amatuer boxing and judo that is in it now. It'd be good for some sort of harder fight competition format to be included, especially seeing as how that format allows people from outside of san-shou itself to participate.
As of now, the largest Wushu governing body resides in China. The largest competition environment is in China. The best coaches in the world are Chinese. In short, at present, practically the whole of the sport is run by the Chinese associations and even those that are not, seek recognition from them, just for the fact that they are the largest and most recognised body representing the sport. Surely there is always going to some conflict between this current situation and it's inclusion into the Olympic games?In my mind, there is too much cultural attachment and association between the event and China/Chinese people. How often have you seen some white dude in the silk pyjamas doing a routine and you thought "that don't look right". OK... admittedly, probably not that often but that is precisely the point. It will inherently difficult for western guys to not be judged on their physical appearance, even when the criteria for the judging is supposed to be about how they perform for the simple reason that it won't look right.
Perhaps I am being too cynical but I can't honestly see a fair board of judges, especially seeing as how the most recognised judges are still those that sit on the Chinese wushu associations.
Of course, Wushu being allowed in might mean that the san-shou format might also be included whcih would make a nice change from the TKD point sparring, amatuer boxing and judo that is in it now. It'd be good for some sort of harder fight competition format to be included, especially seeing as how that format allows people from outside of san-shou itself to participate.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Friday, January 27, 2006
just a quickie....
...well chuffed.
after (insert the diety of your choice here) alone knows how many months of non-correspondence, I wake up to find that little darling Carrie has sent me a card. How's that for a surprise and a half!?!
Now if I can find somewhere good to host some images for me, I'll get a copy of it up here.
after (insert the diety of your choice here) alone knows how many months of non-correspondence, I wake up to find that little darling Carrie has sent me a card. How's that for a surprise and a half!?!
Now if I can find somewhere good to host some images for me, I'll get a copy of it up here.
.....grammer police strikes again....
For those of us who write in a blog or post on forums:
we have an edit button.
It's bad enough that most of us seem to have stopped being able to type in coherent sentences or even use words to their correct meaning but how hard is it to go back and fix bad spellings. Sure I know that a lot of the times, we type on the proverbial spur as a responce to something that's just come up and heck, we'll allowed a typo or two but please, if you genuinely don't know how to spell something, how hard is it to go look in a dictionary?
What bugs me even more is the growing number of people, invariably "kids" who type not only in sms/text language but also those who type in fake US gangsta speach. What the fuck? Some tosser born and raised in london wants to sound like 50 cent? What makes it worse is that I know that is 100% down to them imitating the US rap culture and the things you see in the films. I made a post about the intelligence of the viewers but this almost disproves my previous statement.
How about those US style (again) EMO kids? It appears as they've superceded the goths in terms of uselessness on the internet blog world. It's no longer just random words strung together into things that are supposed to be poetry and "[gruff crazy voice]beware the dark pits of my eternal misery and pity[/gruff crazy voice]. Instead we get "No one cares" (and?), "the girl I fancy doesn't know I like her...."(then tell her you twat) "my parents stopped my credit cards".... (get a job?) "i want to die"....(nothing stopping you)
Really?
you want to die?
for those it may concern, it's not across the street, or even down the highway; it's right across the jugular.
go and learn to type and interact in an adult way of just go and die properly.
we have an edit button.
It's bad enough that most of us seem to have stopped being able to type in coherent sentences or even use words to their correct meaning but how hard is it to go back and fix bad spellings. Sure I know that a lot of the times, we type on the proverbial spur as a responce to something that's just come up and heck, we'll allowed a typo or two but please, if you genuinely don't know how to spell something, how hard is it to go look in a dictionary?
What bugs me even more is the growing number of people, invariably "kids" who type not only in sms/text language but also those who type in fake US gangsta speach. What the fuck? Some tosser born and raised in london wants to sound like 50 cent? What makes it worse is that I know that is 100% down to them imitating the US rap culture and the things you see in the films. I made a post about the intelligence of the viewers but this almost disproves my previous statement.
How about those US style (again) EMO kids? It appears as they've superceded the goths in terms of uselessness on the internet blog world. It's no longer just random words strung together into things that are supposed to be poetry and "[gruff crazy voice]beware the dark pits of my eternal misery and pity[/gruff crazy voice]. Instead we get "No one cares" (and?), "the girl I fancy doesn't know I like her...."(then tell her you twat) "my parents stopped my credit cards".... (get a job?) "i want to die"....(nothing stopping you)
Really?
you want to die?
for those it may concern, it's not across the street, or even down the highway; it's right across the jugular.
go and learn to type and interact in an adult way of just go and die properly.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
dust settles, mess everywhere.....
.....at the moment, it seems that my life and my day to day schedule is settling into a relatively nice routine; survey's on monday, drawing up on tuesday, meeting on wednesday, design proposals on thursday, finalise details friday. If it all goes smoothly, then that would mean I can get one project finished a week and would also give me the weekend as a buffer just in case something big comes up (like those four blocks of flats that I had to do in ooohhh one month...).
Because of this, I've been looking to going back to my fighting ways as it's been way too long since I donned a pair of gloves and had seven (+1) shades of shitake mushrooms beaten out of me and well, the urge has been rising again. Good news is that one of the direct descendents of a particular school from HK/China has recently moved to the UK and opened up a school (mainly in hope of spreading his family style due to it being relatively closed for the past 100 odd years) and they're not too far from me. It would be a great contrast from my previous stuff as it looks to be one of the styles that was developed at the same time, around the same areas and from the same "parent" style (that being White Crane from the Fukian region.... More details later). AS such, it would serve as another perspective from which to look at what I've done before. Anyway, I've sent the e-mail alerting them of my intentions to join them and am currently waiting for a reply.
More martial art geekery later.
Because of this, I've been looking to going back to my fighting ways as it's been way too long since I donned a pair of gloves and had seven (+1) shades of shitake mushrooms beaten out of me and well, the urge has been rising again. Good news is that one of the direct descendents of a particular school from HK/China has recently moved to the UK and opened up a school (mainly in hope of spreading his family style due to it being relatively closed for the past 100 odd years) and they're not too far from me. It would be a great contrast from my previous stuff as it looks to be one of the styles that was developed at the same time, around the same areas and from the same "parent" style (that being White Crane from the Fukian region.... More details later). AS such, it would serve as another perspective from which to look at what I've done before. Anyway, I've sent the e-mail alerting them of my intentions to join them and am currently waiting for a reply.
More martial art geekery later.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
dedicated follower of fashion...
as you may or many not have known, yesterday in the United States, it was Martin Luther King day and as per usual, when one of these "events" come up, people will all of a sudden become experts on the subject and suddenly have, for that one day and maybe the day after an opinion on the subject matter.
Of course, me being the bitter and twisted individual that I am, am obviously being too harsh on these temporary supporters as for the most part, they probably do actually hold those opinions and beliefs and the event is just an opportunity for them to express them in a more welcome than usual forum.
So "what is this all about now?" i hear you virtually ask...
not really sure myself.
on the one hand, as the title alludes to, I want to highlight the way that people go with the current popular opinion oh, so easily. In the UK the best recent example would probably be the whole Diana death thing; no one gives a damn until the memorial day comes around again. Not true? Ask yourself, can you remember the date? Oh, and don't even get me started on George Best...
Shouldn't there be more emphasis on such things that are ultimately something that has changed the way we lived (not so much with Diana who I have to admit, I don't care for too much) but what of things such as the end of World War Two, the day the Berlin Wall came down and even more local events such as the Paddington train crash or the bombing of Canary Wharf that signalled the end of the ceasefire.
It seems that more and more these days, such things are deemed almost unimportant. Ok, again, this might not be entirely fair but still, things that i think should be taught in schools aren't or at least things are taught in such a remote way that the importance is lost. Do people really understand the importance of the Normandy landing? The significance of the results of the actions of so many people?
On a slightly perverted tangent, is it going to take careful planning by parties to make certain events more memorable? 9/11 and god help me.... july 7th (7/7....... ugh... i've actually heard someone try to call it like that)? Does it have to have a catchy title to make it stick in people's minds?
But i seem to have digressed again.
I started this post with a memory of a conversation I've had about the urge by some to buy the lastest what-ever with this chat in particular being focused on the X-Box 360 . In particular, it was about and I'm almost embarrased to admit this, which machine is/will be better between the usual suspects (X-box/playstation; yes yes, i am gadget loving geek at heart). The result of this discussion, as expected, came out that to be that ultimately, the machine doesn't matter and that it was the games that make it what it is; after all, a machine with crap games does no one any good. Of course, there is also the purely objective perspective that on one level, any particular machine might actually be technically better but how much relelvance does that actually have with the casual consumer gamer? And this is really where my particular gripe comes into it. Too many people seem to have opinions based on well, nothing; they form a bias towards something without even knowing what it is that they are talking about. In particular, they seem so focused on havin their opinion on something that they miss the simple fact that opinions should be open to change depending on the given information. They seem intent on claiming that their opinion, in this case based on a known bias towards a brand, is the correct one.
* * * * *
I've had this post on the draft list and have been going back to it every day to try and see just what it is I was trying to say but alas, the thought seems to have left me. I think it's time I admit defeat and just click on that "publish post" button.
Of course, me being the bitter and twisted individual that I am, am obviously being too harsh on these temporary supporters as for the most part, they probably do actually hold those opinions and beliefs and the event is just an opportunity for them to express them in a more welcome than usual forum.
So "what is this all about now?" i hear you virtually ask...
not really sure myself.
on the one hand, as the title alludes to, I want to highlight the way that people go with the current popular opinion oh, so easily. In the UK the best recent example would probably be the whole Diana death thing; no one gives a damn until the memorial day comes around again. Not true? Ask yourself, can you remember the date? Oh, and don't even get me started on George Best...
Shouldn't there be more emphasis on such things that are ultimately something that has changed the way we lived (not so much with Diana who I have to admit, I don't care for too much) but what of things such as the end of World War Two, the day the Berlin Wall came down and even more local events such as the Paddington train crash or the bombing of Canary Wharf that signalled the end of the ceasefire.
It seems that more and more these days, such things are deemed almost unimportant. Ok, again, this might not be entirely fair but still, things that i think should be taught in schools aren't or at least things are taught in such a remote way that the importance is lost. Do people really understand the importance of the Normandy landing? The significance of the results of the actions of so many people?
On a slightly perverted tangent, is it going to take careful planning by parties to make certain events more memorable? 9/11 and god help me.... july 7th (7/7....... ugh... i've actually heard someone try to call it like that)? Does it have to have a catchy title to make it stick in people's minds?
But i seem to have digressed again.
I started this post with a memory of a conversation I've had about the urge by some to buy the lastest what-ever with this chat in particular being focused on the X-Box 360 . In particular, it was about and I'm almost embarrased to admit this, which machine is/will be better between the usual suspects (X-box/playstation; yes yes, i am gadget loving geek at heart). The result of this discussion, as expected, came out that to be that ultimately, the machine doesn't matter and that it was the games that make it what it is; after all, a machine with crap games does no one any good. Of course, there is also the purely objective perspective that on one level, any particular machine might actually be technically better but how much relelvance does that actually have with the casual consumer gamer? And this is really where my particular gripe comes into it. Too many people seem to have opinions based on well, nothing; they form a bias towards something without even knowing what it is that they are talking about. In particular, they seem so focused on havin their opinion on something that they miss the simple fact that opinions should be open to change depending on the given information. They seem intent on claiming that their opinion, in this case based on a known bias towards a brand, is the correct one.
* * * * *
I've had this post on the draft list and have been going back to it every day to try and see just what it is I was trying to say but alas, the thought seems to have left me. I think it's time I admit defeat and just click on that "publish post" button.
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