Kahless Photo blog

The bad day at black rock

2009-08-16T21:46:00.002+01:00

[If anyone is reading this, not coming from Graf's post, this post follows on from a comment, so is not a stand-alone post in itself.]

The scene is home.

This scene did happen once a quarter each year but I remember this particular one most.

It is a summers day and I am home late from school as I was playing rounders for the school team. My dad opens the door, which I note is strange as he is rarely home from work before me. He beckons me in and says my sister has thrown up over the kitchen net curtains.

I immediately hear the commotion in the kitchen. My sister is making loads of noise and shouting. My mum is shouting at my sister to just drink the Pripsin and stop making a fuss. She has no choice. (Pripsin is a worming medicine and bloody hell, I can smell the rancid stuff just typing this!)

My father is saying "come in, dont make a fuss." Not sure what he is feeling. Maybe angry at my sister for making such a fuss. He is also telling me to go in and just take the medicine.

My mother is shouting and angry at my sister for vomiting the purple medicine over the net curtains. She is telling my sister to just do what she is told.

My sister is feeling defiant. She is doing everything she can to not take the medicine. She is maybe angry too.

I dont know what my brother is feeling. He is not saying anything either as, as usual he is no-where to be seen; I assume he is in his room. I ask and am told he has already taken the Pripsin.

I was feeling happy from playing sport at school. The minute the door opens I sense the atmosphere. I am now feeling scared. I have a horrible stirring in the pit of my stomach. I say nothing. I just want not to be here.

I was wanting that everything and everyone would just go away. I am wishing this isnt happening. I hate it. Wanting it not to happen.

My sister wanted it to go away.
My parents wanted us to drink the Pripsin with no fuss.

Spotted this tonight

2009-07-24T23:50:00.001+01:00

A bloody big lump. No pain.

Philadephia

2009-06-16T00:22:00.001+01:00

Tom Hanks well deserved his Oscar for his performance in this film.

Just watched a re-run tonight and cried my eyes out.

We are all made of ticky tacky and we're all just the same

2009-06-03T23:00:00.001+01:00

Swiss Toilet

2009-03-01T20:21:00.002Z

I know, I know. I really cant believe that I took a picture of a toilet, never alone posted it here!!

I was horrified after I had took it, that I could do such a thing. It is from the hotel room in Geneva. I took one look at it and though - where is the seat? But no fixings for one. Luckily I have a big arse so I didn't fall into it. Though I certainly didn't nestle on it with a good book!

Swiss Duck

2009-02-27T20:02:00.002Z

At the edge of Lake Geneva.

And still no orange sauce Lynn ;-)

Spanish Duck

2009-02-10T14:44:00.003Z

Continuing my series on ducks from around the world, I took this today in Seville...

My comic Strip

2009-02-08T00:21:00.002Z

Atop the ironing board

2009-02-01T18:58:00.000Z

Ned Kelly

2009-01-30T21:04:00.001Z

I took this photograph at Melbourne gaol in 1991.

Credit Crunch

2009-01-28T21:59:00.000Z

My boy...

2009-01-22T00:54:00.003Z

Caenarfon Castle, Late afternoon

2008-12-30T20:36:00.000Z

Stairway to heaven (in Llandudno)

2008-12-28T17:22:00.000Z

Black Eyed Peas

2008-12-16T23:57:00.001Z

I like this song; the beat makes me feel upbeat...

I decided yesterday I needed to be upbeat, soI slid this into my car stereo.

A Hangover brunch

2008-12-13T20:43:00.000Z

What a hangover I had today!

A prick

2008-12-13T03:07:00.002Z

East German Army Cap

2008-11-28T23:23:00.002Z

I bought this in Berlin.

French Duck

2008-11-16T01:10:00.004Z

[Outside The Louvre.]

Viaduct at Llangollen

2008-11-11T21:37:00.002Z

I visited this aquaduct at the weekend with Madeleine
Not to walk on if you are scared of hieghts as there are no railings on one side!

Croatian Ducks

2008-11-09T01:40:00.001Z

(with an itch it seems)

Welsh Duck

2008-11-08T23:50:00.003Z

Part one of my new series; ducks of the world. Next post... french duck.

View from the smoking shelter...

2008-10-28T19:16:00.000Z

It snowed today...

My laptop

2008-10-18T19:02:00.003+01:00

It is getting harder and harder to force out a B on my keyboard; this is why....

Warsaw part, whatever

2008-10-15T23:31:00.002+01:00

Warsaw was razed to the ground.
I accidentally stumbled across this.

Warsaw, part two.

2008-09-24T21:52:00.002+01:00

From the air

2008-09-19T22:01:00.004+01:00

Take off from Manchester...

Change at Frankfurt...

Some piccies from Croatia

2008-09-12T20:02:00.008+01:00

My laptop is on a go slow tonight so I have just uploaded a few randome pics from our holiday.

1. Corn is grown absolutely everywhere ...

2. A lot of the buildings outside of the city were in a poor state - an effect of the war?

3. I liked this old abandoned lido - I could here the fun and laughter of yesteryear.

4. The mountains and lakes in the national parks were absolutely stunning...

The water was really this colour...

And the water was teeming with trout...

Anyway, fuller report over the weekend!!!!

Basically the city was dull (and I am a city-girl) but the countryside stunning.

Oh and England beat Croatia 4:1. (at football) Yo!

House tree person

2008-09-11T14:33:00.002+01:00

Off on holiday

2008-09-05T20:11:00.001+01:00

Be back next week with photo's to share of Croatia.
xx.

My work wardrobe

2008-09-01T22:16:00.001+01:00

I like wearing my colourful blouses to work.

My future visit to Perth

2008-08-26T19:38:00.002+01:00

My blogger-friend Graffiti likes the expression of graffiti...
So I have re-modelled his office. What do you think?
Graffiti, if I ever pop by Perth then this is how, maybe, I will say hi.
Heheheeee.
My tag!

My Week ended Aug 22

2008-08-23T21:42:00.015+01:00

Sat in a jam on the slip road to work, A good time to check my emails!!!

A rare clear blue sky this morning; can you spot the moon (just)?
Which mean't get out into the garden to weed 'the gauntlet'..
And what a difference I made...
My boy Ben watched on...

A frog made me jump... didnt expect to find him amongst the weeds...

I thought you'd like this, my arty photo for the week!...

Chicken Fajhita's for tea

And my boy snuggled into Mrs K after a hard day in the garden...

A Revamp

2008-08-15T22:30:00.004+01:00

As you can see I have re-vamped this blog. I was rarely posting to it and had wondered whether I should delete it.

Instead I am going to post here once a week - at the weekend - with my week in pictures.
So watch this space for my first post to arrive on Sunday!

Mmmmm

2008-07-19T00:40:00.001+01:00

aFreeIQTest.com - Free IQ Test

Don't you just love the 80's

2008-07-03T23:50:00.002+01:00

And Depeche Mode...

And this is what I listen to when my soul is hurting...
It comforts me in a strange way.
as I identify.

Random Pics

2008-06-27T21:51:00.000+01:00

I have taken on my mobile recently...

Signs

2008-06-06T19:16:00.001+01:00

CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-21T23:32:00.002+01:00

Champione; Champione; Champione
OLE OLE OLE
Champione; Champione; Champione
OLE OLE OLE

WE WON THE CUP!!!!!!!

we won the league
we won in Europe!!!!!!

FUCKING HELLL......

yowl......

Another Pommy band for Lynn

2008-05-16T23:09:00.001+01:00

>/embed>

Methinks

2008-05-16T22:58:00.002+01:00

That you like Coldplay...

And I'll have to send you the CD..

Pommy life - A post for Tony and Lynn

2008-05-16T20:40:00.005+01:00

Air Yorkshire

Manchester Bollards

What Rhymes with Paul Anka?

Jeu Télé Sexy
by PeteRock

Oh and nots forgetting a pommy band for Lynn...

12 months blogging, part one

2008-05-11T00:33:00.007+01:00

I have been blogging for around 12 months now; 15th May 2007 was my first post entitled "hello."

It is funny how my blog has transformed in that time and how I have transformed in that time. I am going to do a series of posts to celebrate! The first, to pay tribute to my early visitors who still visit. They are:

+ Vi, who first commented on my post Hiro (7/June/07) Now I had blurked around Vi's blog for a bit and had felt too shy to comment. Then she had posted about some issues with credit and given that is my day job, I popped in and commented some advice. Since then we have visited each other's blog. Vi, what I like about you is that you are full of energy and have a fully packed life. And amongst it all you don't forget, in fact you value, the people around you. You are a very supportive and kind person. Full of life.

+ Lynn, who first commented a day later on my post No way (8/June/07) I assume Lynn found me from a comment I had left on Graffiti's blog. Lynn, I haven't told you this before but I had visited your blog a while before you came to mine, but I had been too shy to leave a comment. Lynn is awesome and whilst we haven't met, we have become great friends. Our friendship will last long beyond blogging. Lynn, is a kind and caring person who is tender too. She also has a strength of character and survival which I admire. And as importantly she makes me smile with her humour. I can confide in her and she doesn't judge me. I can tell her anything and it is cool.

+ DJ first commented on my post Why I have become addicted to blogging (12/June/07) checking me out after I had left a comment on her husbands blog! :-) I remember clearly her commenting on an early post that "Your writing is very good; evocative, vivid, emotive..." which endeared her to my heart forever! No-one has ever said that to me (or will again lol!) DJ is my cybertwin because we have many similar traits and our meme's tend to read similar. DJ, I really admire you to and have a lot of time for you. You too have boundless energy in devotion to your son, Chopper and your writing. You are very passionate about the important things in your life and are really caring. You are not afraid to stand up and be counted.

Thank-you my friends. Here's to the next twelve months...

Elections

2008-05-02T00:58:00.002+01:00

Local elections today.

I didn't bother voting.
Nor did Mrs K.

The second time ever.

We should have voted.
Women died to get me the vote.

The first time I deliberately chose not to vote.
This time it was raining and I didn't want to get wet.

The polling station is about 400 yards from my house.
Though down a hill.
So you have to go up it on the way home.

I have driven before to the polling station (400 yards away.)

You know what.
So what.

I will vote in the next general election.

I want to get that pratt Brown out.
He hasn't a clue.
And he is an unelected Prime Minister.
Not democracy in my book.

Happy Birthday to me

2008-04-24T00:01:00.000+01:00

Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday dear meeeeeeee

Happy 40th to me

Ooooo, I am off work (holiday) and Mrs K has a surprise day planned for me...

She told me one thing I am doing tomorrow so I can get dead excited...

And I am...

I am having a flying lesson tomorrow!!!!! (weather permitting)

:-)

So better go get some sleep first.

My Sins

2008-04-23T00:44:00.001+01:00

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Medium
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	High
Envy:	Very Low
Lust:	Low
Pride:	High

The Seven Deadly Sins Quiz on 4degreez.com

Strange but True

2008-04-07T21:15:00.001+01:00

CLAIM: Cockroaches can survive for up to a month with their heads cut off.
ANSWER: TRUE.
Cockroaches do not have blood pressure as mammals do. Therefore, cutting off their head would not cause them to die from bleeding. Nor do cockroaches need their heads to breathe. They only require their heads to eat. After about a month without their head (though probably much sooner), they would die of starvation.

CLAIM: Turtles never die of old age.
ANSWER: TRUE.
Turtles exhibit what is known as 'negligible senescence.' In other words, unlike humans, they do not continue to age once their bodies reach maturity. In theory, they might be able to live forever, though in practice this would never happen. Injury, predation, or disease eventually kill them. But turtles have been known to live beyond 150 years without exhibiting any signs of old age. Fish and amphibians also share this enviable characteristic.

CLAIM: Physicists recently announced that they were able to slow down light waves until the waves were almost frozen in place.
ANSWER: TRUE.
Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced in January, 2001 that they had used super-cooled vapor to slow down the velocity of light waves to zero, thereby freezing the energy of the light in an atomic 'spin wave.' It may seem odd to think of light being frozen in place. After all, light moves faster than anything else in the universe, traveling at 186,282 miles per second. But that's only in a vacuum. Light does slow down when it hits a substance such as air, water, or glass. It was essentially a matter of finding the right material to slow down the light without destroying the delicate light photons altogether. The researchers said that they hoped to use their light-freezing technique to create super-fast 'quantum' computers.

I thought I was a mutant but maybe not!

2008-04-02T23:31:00.003+01:00

Tonight the sole of my foot was hurting as I walked. Not too bad, but bothersome.

I took my sock off and inspected. To my shock I had a single hair growing out of my foot. It was pure white.

I took the tweezers and pulled it. Boy did it hurt. And it was a real thick hair too.

Thinking I was a mutant I googled "hair on sole of foot."

I found THIS

Do check it out and make sure you scroll down to the photo's.

Squirrel

2008-03-29T18:00:00.001Z

I was sent this by Mrs K, it is quite funny.

Paris, part two

2008-03-28T20:14:00.010Z

If you want to read about the five things of beauty I appreciated about Paris, then have a look at the post on my other blog here.

I'll show you some of the more traditional tourist attractions we visited here...

The Eiffel tower (I thought it was quite ugly actually) Which provided a good view across the city ...
The Seine, The Louvre (building) and its entrance were stunning

(Looking from the entrance out towards the main building)
Notre Dame,
Inside Notre Dame,

The Arc De Triomphe,

Ten useless bits of info

2008-03-21T21:40:00.007Z

1. In America it's possible to subpoena a dog.
story here

2. Only in France and California are under 18s banned from using sunbeds.
story here

3. The average employee spends 14 working days a year on personal e-mails, phone calls and web browsing, outside official breaks, according to employment analysts Captor.

4. Rubber gloves could save you from lightning.
story here

5. Deep Throat is reportedly the most profitable film ever. It was made for $25,000 (£13,700) and has grossed more than $600m.

6. You can bet on your own death.
story here

7. Jimi Hendrix pretended to be gay to be discharged from the US Army.
story here

8. Each successive monarch faces in a different direction on British coins.

9. One in 18 people has a third nipple.
story here

10. The most frequently used term of abuse in schools is "gay"
story here

For my friend Lynn

2008-03-09T21:28:00.001Z

:-)

An Ass

2008-03-03T19:58:00.000Z

A Book Meme

2008-02-24T20:51:00.004Z

DJ tagged me to do this meme, a Book Meme.

The rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.

Ok, I have no fiction books on my side-table at the moment. I am reading "the widsom of the Enneagram" by Don Riso and Russ Hudson.
The required quote is
"Acceptance opens doors, both inner and outer. People instinctly respond to Healthy Ones precisely because Ones make them feel that their concerns are understood and that they are accepted. Many twelve step meetings end with what is called the Serenity Prayer."

It made me laugh doing this meme because I keep bumping into the Serenity Prayer of late. It goes like this...

"God grant me the serenity to accept
the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference."

Feel free to pick up this ~~virus~~ meme if you want.

George

2008-02-19T13:44:00.000Z

I am sat on a train to London, bored to hell, looking forward to an even boring evening (stuck in a hotel in the docklands) and thought I'd have a bash at boring you too from my mobile!! I'll probably have repetitive finger injury come the end of this. At least I have the good sense to have a qwerty keypad on my mobile.
So what gives?
Maybe I'll share with you a good ole list, that's good when you're killing time. Random likes. If I did dislikes then the mother of the kid opposite who is screaming sooooo loudly may feature. Its piercing. His mother is ignoring him; I will say something in a minute. Oh, its ok, George has just wondered off up the aisle.

Five favourite things:
>Ham and crisp white crusty rolls (the fad of Belgium buns has evapourated into an occaisonal whim.)
>Sunrise in the morning; we have had some beautiful ones lately. I try and breathe them in to imprint them on my mind. this am the sunrise was so vivid and intense; I wish I could have shared it with you all.
>Snuggles with my dog Ben. He truly is my dog and he looks at me with such love. I saved him from the woods one night where he had been dumped. He is soft and gentle and can really snuggle in under my arm if he is in the mood. He loves being loved, though he isn't good at asking for cuddles, when I open my arms out to him he smiles. I love delighting him.
>My new mobile phone. I have (almost) total access to my cyber life wherever I am. My emails get pushed to my phone, I can view your blogs; ooh sometimes it feels like my lifeline to the real world, even though it isn't, but then it is. Oh you know what I mean. I can talk to you guys like I talk to no one in RL. Am I a sad bugger? No! We are real here; we accept eachother here. We get to know eachother quicker in cyber-space. Blogging is on my fave list!
>Filling up my lungs with sea air and hearing sea gulls qwarking. Distracted into a far away place.

Ok just changing trains at Crewe.

Next list; three things I have learnt in the lst year:
>That 'butt' in english is called a fanny in the US (hehehee)
>That I am a caring, kind and compassionate woman (I never saw that before.)
>The truth about my parents.

I am just going to have a quick snooze now.

...

2008-02-05T22:29:00.000Z

Sometimes

2008-02-02T01:21:00.000Z

Sometimes I can be a complete and utter twat (excuse my swearing and americans twat does not = backside in the uk.)

I don't intend to be.
I can't even pretend that I was drunk; I was sober!
I would explain it away as over enthusiasm.
Over enthusiasm at asking questions and in my endeavour to understand, sometimes I can overstep the mark and be insensitive.
I can do insensitivity.
Don't mean it.
Just don't realise it until it is too late.
Not an excuse though.
I know I was a twat as a comment I made tonight was moderated out.
Maybe I overstepped the mark of common decency too. Sometimes there can be too much information.
Fuck.
Someone pass the shotgun.

Do you ever behave twatishly?

Typical

2008-01-25T16:38:00.000Z

No hot water.
Take an afternoon off work and get a boiler man in to have a look.

Would you adam and eve it?

Hey presto, the minute he walks through the door it is mysteriously working.
"Nothing wrong here love."

I wouldn't mind but you could bet a penny to a pound that the hot water will stoppeth flowing shortly for me to go through the hassle of getting the man out again.

Does this ever happen with you?

A fake smile?

2008-01-23T23:48:00.001Z

Take this fun test...

Can you spot a fake smile??

I thought I could but I only got 8/20. Apparently it is harder than you think!!

Some random facts

2008-01-20T22:03:00.001Z

1. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
2. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
3. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
4. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."
5. On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag.
6. All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.
7. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
8. Almonds are a member of the peach family.
9. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
10. The characters "Bert" and "Ernie" on Sesame Street were named after "Bert the cop" and "Ernie the taxi driver" in Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life."
11. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
12. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
13. A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
14. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
15. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
16. The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.
17. In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.
18. The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
19. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
20. "Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.

Dancing Queen

2008-01-06T18:54:00.000Z

Got a pile of unwanted cd's that you want to recycle?
Went to boogie on down in style?

Well visit this site for a complete step by step guide to cut the CDs up into small pieces, glue them to a Styrofoam ball and, presto! You've got a disco ball.

Handy tip: dip the discs in boiling water first to soften them up before cutting them.

Warning: scissors can be sharp so please ensure you cut the cds under adult supervision!

TCP

2008-01-05T23:44:00.001Z

Ugh.

I am coming down with one of the winter bugs that are going round at the moment. I have white pusy lines across my throat.

And a few snuffles.

So my prevention regime comes to the fore...

Gargle TCP (pharmacist recommended) - yuck yuck yuck
Curry laced with garlic (whole bulb, c. 12 cloves) and very hot chilly.

I have a temperature and I feel ill.

:-(

PLEASE pray for JIP

2007-12-31T11:51:00.001Z

To anyone reading this post, and to my blogfriends, I have an urgent request for you.

My blogfriend JIP REALLY needs your thoughts and prayers right now. To quote her therapist who has written a post on her blog

"... They have worked so hard and fought so hard to gain their freedom. Many of you have followed their struggle over several years. If you believe in the power of prayer then please pray for their protection and safety tonight which is going to be one of the worst nights of this year and the begining of the next year. "

(JIP lives in OZ, so is about 10 hours in front of us in the UK.)

Please friends, please think of JIP and pray for her. Right now as we move from 2007 into 2008.

Thank-you.

A Post Christmas walk along the beach

2007-12-27T23:46:00.000Z

Today, along Prestatyn promenade.

I got wet feet lol!

One job leading to another

2007-12-15T23:30:00.000Z

I remember reading some months ago, someones post where they talked of one job leading to another. That is soooo true!

My home is just one big shit-hole at the moment with junk just piled up in virtually every room. The chores are well behind too. As my mate would say, it is demoralising. It also feels like a lead weight around the neck. So I decided come hell or high water I would start to sort the crap out.

I started in the dining room. It is full of stuff to go into the garage, like the suitcases we used for Moscow and various tools I have used for household fix-ups.

So I pile it into the hall to go out to the garage; can't move for the crap.

So open up the garage; and cant move for the crap.

So I tidy the garage.

Then I take the crap from the hall out to the garage. I climb ladders to put the suitcases into the loft of the garage and the spare dog-flap we bought several years ago falls on my head. Now our current dog-flap is falling apart, so I think - I will replace it.

So I go to the backdoor, dismantle the old flap and attempt to put the new one on. I put it on back to front!! And you cant dismantle once put together without drilling into it. Shit!

Back to front means that maybe burglars could use it to get in (but they would need a drill.) Another job for another day.

Back to the dining room...
Next I come across a new shade that we bought for the bedroom months ago. Might as well put that up! So back to the garage to retrieve a standard light rose to replace the spot lamp. Start working on that. Takes longer than expected (why does that always happen, I should start to double initial expectations of time to complete tasks) then daylight starts to fade. Abandon that job!

And you still can move for shit in the dining room!

Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

A quiz for you

2007-12-12T20:21:00.000Z

Example: 101D =101 DALMATIONS

3BM
16 P in a P
20 TV
34 S of CM
42 M of L
44 M - the MPHG in the W
47 S on a H
SWAT7D
57HV
2001ASO
007JB
1F0TCN
52WIAY
13IABD
T10C
7BF7B
77SS
T39S
76TINBP
13UFS
12DOC
T3M

How many can you get?

Into the body!

2007-12-09T18:53:00.000Z

Apparently I need to get out of my head more and into my body as I think too much. So I (half reluctantly) went with Mrs K for a walk today. The photo's are from my mobile so not the best ; the place is Talacre, about a 20min drive from here.

Lucky Me

2007-11-30T18:30:00.000Z

I am
SO
EXCITED!!!!

I have a
BIG
SMILE
on my face....

You never guess WHAT?????????

Today Mrs K got invited as a VIP guest + 1 (that's me!!) to the PFA (Professional Footallers Association) Centenary Gala Dinner! What is that you may ask....????

Well we enter on a red carpet...
And this is a description I found about the night on the internet...

"Following the Centenary Match on December 2nd, a who’s who of world famous sporting personalities will gather at Manchester Central for a star studded gala dinner. The evening’s entertainment, hosted by Jack Dee, will include the operatic overtures of Jon Christos and Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall, whilst presenting the latest styles from Harvey Nichols’ Fashion Show. You will be treated to a champagne reception and then a spectacular five-course meal, provided by renowned chef Paul Heathcote. Megastars from the world of showbusiness will also be performing as the two combine to bring the year’s events to a spectacular close. "

Not usually my cup of tea, but what the heck...

I am not girly girly but tomorrow I have to go out and get a dress !!!!!!!!! (If you knew me in RL you would laugh as I am not known for wearing anything but trousers!)

But what the heck!

And as a special treat, for one night only (or less if I get the wobbles), so you can all share in my joy, if you look down at the bottom of my sidebar, you may just see that big smile on my face (ignore my spots!)
:-)

postscript: the photo of me lasted 3 hours on my sidebar and you all missed it!
post postscript: the photo is restored overnight following Vi's comment...

Motivational Sayings

2007-11-28T13:41:00.000Z

Create your own motivational posters HERE ...

Do you like mine?

(This is the line I came out with last night which made Mrs K laugh!)

Please pray for my blogfriend JIP

2007-11-25T14:42:00.000Z

Please visit my blogfriend JIP who in her words is "sinking in a sea of despair."

She has asked for your thoughts and prayers, so PLEASE visit her site and leave a message. Her sister who is extremely ill with cancer also needs your prayers.

JIP is an incredibly courageous woman who has shown such great strength in bravely facing many many things.

JIP has also linked to Keepers blog here to explain some of the story.

Thank-you.
(If you are not religious, thoughts of good-will and caring are just as important.)

Transmission Break

2007-11-23T16:57:00.001Z

Be back in a few days...

My Fencing Days

2007-11-21T19:03:00.000Z

My blog-friend Tony asked me to post some pictures of my fencing medals.

Just before I started secondary school, my parents attended an open day and signed me up for the school fencing classes. I was eleven years old and whilst I didn't have choice in the matter, I ended up enjoying it.

After a year I joined a second club and ended up being quite handy with a foil. I stuck at it for about 3 years then quit.

This is me as a kid during an actual match. (I am the one facing toward the camera.)

And my bust isnt really that big! Us lady fencers had to wear plastic breast cups for protection!

These are some of the medals / pennants that I won.

And this is a trophy that I won (I didnt get to keep it; this is an old photo.)

I enjoyed fencing. It is a sport of speed, fitness and of out-thinking your opponent. I liked that it especially.

My Paving

2007-11-21T00:03:00.000Z

Back in August, I posted about the paving that I was doing. See my Macho Girl post here!

Well across many many weekends since then I have been slogging away. All 30sqm of paving is laid and most of the grouting is done. I havent done anything for several weekends now, as I havent been up to it, as you know.

And I wasn't going to post or show you pictures until it was completed. But I think now, what the heck. I doubt I will be up to finishing the grouting for a while. So here are the pictures and I hope you are suitably impressed!

( I havent photo'd the bit I haven't grouted yet which is to the left of this shot!)

1/2 Year Birthday!

2007-11-16T17:04:00.000Z

Yesterday marked 6-months of blogging for me.

JIP asked me how I've found blogging and what has changed in my life as a result.

Well after a month of blogging, in June, I wrote a post about what I love about blogging here and I guess all those reasons hold true for me today, so I won't repeat it. Then in July I wrote another post, here, about what I saw as the downside of blogging; that it was feeding, unhealthily, at that time my search for validation.

I look back at the comments to that post and one of them really rings true for me, it is from Lynn
"These are all things to consider, Kahless. I think bloggers are ultimately comfortable once they identify their true purpose for blogging and accept that it okay to write whatever it is they need to write.

When I first started blogging, I did it to entertain myself and make friends online. I didn't understand that I had greater needs than these for my blogging. I needed to vent my frustration, share with others what was happening to me and have people accept me in spite of the events of my life. Perhaps you know enough about my history to understand why it is that I needed that.

It took me a long time to accept that I needed a certain thing.I think the key is finding the thing you really seem to need from blogging and then deciding for yourself whether the blogosphere is an acceptable way to have that need met. "

So back to JIP's questions...

Overall I have found my blogging experience as fantastic. Confusing at times too. I no longer search for validation, though I would be lying to say I don't love it when people comment. Or feel disappointed if one of my favourite bloggers hasn't shown up. But I am accepting of that and don't take it personally; well, most of the time anyway! :p

It was a roller-coaster ride at first, but blogging has become an important interest in my life. I love it. And I get what I need from it.

I guess I needed blogging as a route to express myself in ways I have never done so before. And find that I was still acceptable as a result. My confidence in what and how I write has increased. I was always led to believe that I was crap at writing. Well I have learned the beauty of words and they have become an important tool for me to express myself. I write heaps now, not only on my blog but elsewhere too.

In blogging I have also had the opportunity to see the real beauty of some people. That there are some people who in RL neither party would have realised the similarities but through blogging I have really identified with. Some people have been real supportive, kind and generous of heart to me over the months. For no other reason than they wanted to be. That makes me feel good.

I feel that I am developing some friendships and that is neat. I have learned that it is possible to trust some people and I have developed a good and special internet friendship with someone. We both have our own lives, but we manage to chat across cyber-space and share things. It may be a giggle, it may be a secret, but I am learning that I can be accepted for who I am. Maybe in RL I am starting to be a bit more 'me' as a result.

And there are some great blogs out there in cyber-space to read. Some make me lmao, some get me really thinking, some are pure entertainment, some educate me, some make me feel sad, some angry, I could go on and on. And I can contribute and comment because I have my own blog.

Blogging has given me an interest.

And finally, I seem to spend more time on-line these days which doesn't always please Mrs Kahless; sometimes she comments that she has become an internet widow!

Google Earth

2007-11-14T09:00:00.000Z

I was piddling around with Google Earth the other night. This is what I found...

The circled house is where I was born 39 odd years ago, in Southend. It was a night when the Grim Reaper narrowly missed grabbing me apparently.

The second picture is the car park at work. Now I know this picture is over a year old as the smoking shelter which was erected a year ago is not shown. The circled car is my old car (which I wrote-off.)

Unfortunately I can't show you where I live now because Google earth seems to have not got much more than a green blob on the landscape for my part of the country.

BTW, tomorrow marks six-months since I started blogging. Wow. Might write a post about it given I have some time on my hands. :-)

loody 's...

2007-11-13T08:40:00.000Z

Grump grump grump.

I am losing patience with my laptop.

Over the last few weeks the letter '' on my keyoard has een playing up. So I happily type away at a post or add a comment to someones log, read it ack over and any words that contain the letter '' are of course missing THAT loody letter.

I am able to go ack over the text and if I thump down hard on the keyoard then it appears... like this...b.

I am sick of having to do this editing; it is starting to irritate.

I am sorry, my dear readers, ut you may have to put up with a little incorrect spelling from now on.

Alternatively, I could get my screwdriver out and have a fiddle, ut that always ends up in tears!!

Walking dogs

2007-11-10T20:28:00.001Z

One winter morning, about 3 years ago, I was walking Ben and Holly along a nearby country road. As you walk up the lane, the road rises and there is about a 3-4 foot drop down to the field on your right where you have a farmer’s field; sometimes cattle and sometimes sheep graze there. They are contained in by stock fencing, which is basically wire netting attached to wooden posts.

Now B and H do not do walking to heel. I use long extension dog leads that can be used to pull them in close but also let them have some opportunity to sniff around whilst I continue walking.
So I am walking along this lane, it is cold, dark and whilst I am alert to the potential of any cars, otherwise I am in a starting to wake-up state. Before I knew it, the boy Ben had seen something that he fancied chasing, jumped over the stock fencing and started to run. I have the lead held tight, but his momentum crashes me into the stock fencing. Ouch.
I have in my right hand the lead attached to Ben, who is the other side of the stock fencing and in a field 3-4 foot below me. In my left hand the lead attached to Holly who is on the road next to me.

What do I do?

I am stood there, bruised from my collision and left with a dilemma. How do I reunite us all together? If I let go of the lead, Ben would run off to catch his prey. It is dark. So I look at Holly and think whether we could both jump into the field. Nope - too dangerous; she could hurt her hips in the drop.

So I evaluated the situation and decided Holly was the lesser flight risk. The plan was to take her lead off, jump in the field on my own, then coax Holly to follow Ben and I, roadside, to the gate at the other end of the field. However what if a car came up the lane? That was the risk.
I took the risk and jumped the fence on my own. Holly was a good girl and tracked us along the road where we were reunited a few minutes later.

Ben was nonchalant. What was the fuss about?

Our boy can be a bugger!

78 out of 150

2007-11-07T12:56:00.000Z

I stole this from Vi at Are You Local? then slightly adapted it to up my score! (I have italicised the ones I changed.)

It’s called “150 Things”.

The ones in purple are the ones I have actually done or experienced.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins.
03. Climbed a mountain (Snowdon an number of times - Wales highest mountain)
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candle-lit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Been paragliding. (A tandem paraglide and we went to 10,000 feet. I have a video to prove it!)
11. Visited Paris (I went to France for the first time last year, hopefully paris next year.)
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise (Numerous times)
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (footie of course!)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables (I count this as potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic.)
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars (on a boat, in the bushes, in a cemetary..)
20. Changed a baby’s diaper (never; though I have cleaned my dogs bottom when she wasnt well.)
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon (in South Africa)
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne (or course!)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity (to quote Vi "I hope everyones done that at least once in there life")
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse (twice; one had the same name as me and the other was Mrs K's nickname)
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can (from the top of Snowdon)
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse (though it was a little cloudy!)
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day (in uk, pretended to be Aussie for a laugh)
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk (and they chundered over me)
42. Had/Have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Asia
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland (my parents lived their for a while)
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them (when travelling in Asia)
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero (I better not tell you about my mental games that I play where I am a secret agent on a mission)
58. Sung karaoke (and performed in front of 1000 people and won!)
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football (in Oz)
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater (in St Louis)
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites (Loads around the world)
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight (played it for 3 days with just the odd few hours kip)
72. Gotten married (well, civil partnership)
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days (gone for 12 days actually, but I was on a drip)
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the snake river
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage (as an adult sang in a 'pop idol' charity thingy)
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone (illegally crossed the border into urma if that counts)
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship (I hate boats)
94. Spoken more than one language fluently (no chance, I am dumb on languages)
95. Performed in a Rocky Horror Picture Show
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country (if you count riding a motorike in Thailand for which I have no licence, but they didn't care.)
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane (on a computer!)
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ear
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse (horses scare me)
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept 30 hours in a 48 hour time frame
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi (yummy!)
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach (with my bare foot!)
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read “The Iliad”
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions (made it to one)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office (Nope, never want to)
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair (red for a dare)
147. Been a DJ (at home on my own - my doggies love my disco)
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident (last year wrote of my car and hit another as I did a Uey into oncoming traffic after a therapy session)
150. Saved someone’s life (no, though I hope someday I make a difference)

Feel free to steal!

Need a toilet break?

2007-11-04T22:24:00.000Z

Well I now provide a toilet on my site for your convenience.

The readability Test

2007-11-04T22:05:00.000Z

Apparently you have to be a genius to read Lite kahless. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. However I know you are all have incredible minds anyway.

Fun by Chopski

2007-11-04T18:18:00.001Z

The funny, delightful, fantastic and so much more blogger Chopski wrote me a pissoem.

Here it is.

Thank-you Chopski!

(A pissoem for Kahless)
Fun by Chopski.

Fun is something funny that often makes you laugh
like a little old lady slipping over on the path.

Fun can be a comic or a funny stand up bloke
a toddler saying a swear word or a lame knock knock joke.

Watching a funny movie that can make you smile
or a clown at the circus can get you rolling in the aisle.

Me I plump for sarcasm the lowest form of wit
some people don't like it but I don't give a shit!

My electronic art

2007-11-03T22:24:00.000Z

Moscow Adventure

2007-10-31T23:20:00.000Z

This is the disabled ramp down to the road underpass in Moscow. What do you think? A bigger thrill ride than disneyland?
When faced with such inclines with my partner, what crosses my mind is 'what goes down, must come back up.'

I am not quite a Muppet.

2007-10-23T20:56:00.000+01:00

emails received following me giving my details on a web site offering a free astrological reading.

13.10.07
Hello Kahless,

Please excuse me for being so direct with you but I really am very worried Kahless. I fear that you are simply waiting for things to happen without reacting even though some very important changes and chances are just within your reach. Kahless, You simply need to want these changes to take place and to ask me for this reading which will bring you all of the information which you need. Nobody else but you Kahless can make this important decision to act. As I have already told you I really do worry about you because I think that it will be a real shame that you miss out on this Transit which will allow you to transform you life on many different levels. I must remind you that you will have the chance to get closer to someone who is very dear to your heart and take a new direction in your career thanks to this new job and . As a result I took the initiative to determine two extra elements for you Kahless and so I can now tell you which are the exact dates of this Transit. However this does not in anyway replace the full reading which is still as essential for you. So here is what I can tell you about these extra elements:

1) I've double-checked this information several times over and I can confirm that such an intense Transit will not take place in your configuration again for a long time to come. This is why you need to get the best out of this event now.

2) I have calculated the dates of this Transit and so I can now tell you that over the month of December you will live though this period and to be more exact the Transit will begin on 14 November 2007 and will end on 14 December 2007.

[….]

As far as you, your particular situation and your Transit are concerned Kahless, you simply need to go to the following web-page to request my help and I will immediately get to work on your reading:

[….]

Your friend,
Jenna

20.10.07
Hello Kahless,

Kahless, as I have already demonstrated to you, as soon as I received your request for an astrological forecast through my web site I immediately felt a very strong connection with you. My intuition told me that you will soon live through a very important period and I confirmed this sensation through the astrological reading which I sent you.

Well, just a few days ago I had what we can call 'a flash' about you Kahless. This kind of phenomena is not unknown to me and I have already had this kind of feeling before. This is a gift which I have had since birth and I receive these sensations through an extra-sensory perception. In other terms, the simple ability to anticipate future events is a sense which is often greatly developed in most creatures on Earth.

Through this flash I saw you in a situation which is very different from the one you are living at the moment. I saw a great change in your life, somewhat sudden changes I admit but these are elements which are going to bring you great pleasure and a great interior joy. This is the principal feeling which dominated my flash about you, the feeling that you will experience great inner peace and a raging desire to get the very best out of life and to make the most of things.

As you may have suspected Kahless, I immediately made the link between this feeling and the astrological Transit which you will soon be living through and which is set to bring some very favorable changes into your life. As a result I now think that it is essential that you get reading in the very best manner possible to benefit from this Transit which is going to change a great deal of things in your life. Therefore Kahless, and as I have already mentioned in my past letters to you, only a full complete reading will give you all of the information and the details you need to prepare yourself and to be sure you have all the knowledge you will need for this period.

It is now certain that this event is coming soon and unfortunately until you have asked me to produce this report for you I will not be able to start it. In the meantime the most I can do is to warn you about what I perceive about you and that this event is soon to come. You simply need to ask me to get to work on your reading on the following web page which I have put online for you. As soon as this is done I will determine for you ALL of the information which you will need to benefit from this Transit. You will also be able to see on this particular web-page the information I propose to provide you with:
[….]
Your friend,
Jenna

Russia

2007-10-20T15:31:00.000+01:00

We had a fantastic time in Russia. For me, I think it was the best holiday I have had in a long time; I think because Moscow is my kind of city which appeals to and feeds my imagination.

I want to write a few posts on Moscow, but you might not want to read them, so I have broken them down and split them across my blogs as follows...

1. Top things I enjoyed about the holiday (posted here)
2. My favourite Moscow sights (posted here)
3. Some challenges of disabled travelling in Moscow (posted here)
4. The Russia v England footie match (posted here)

My favourite Moscow Sites

2007-10-20T14:54:00.000+01:00

1. Lenin's Mausoleum (Мавзолей Ленина)
Lenin's marble Mausoleum stands in Red Square and the embalmed leader has lain here since 1924.
The next photo is of Lenin and is the only one shown across my Russian posts which I did not take as you are not allowed to take pictures actually inside the mausoleum.)

His body is of waxy yellow appearance.

As I walked down into the tomb to see him, I thought to myself that I was going to resist my Catholic upbringing and not make the sign of the cross (which you do when you see a dead person.) So I stuck my hands in my pockets. One of the sombre guards stepped forward and gestured for me to remove them from my pockets. Ooops - didn't mean to be disrespectful.

2. Wall of Peace
The wall of peace was completed in November 1990, less than a year after the Berlin Wall fell and is composed of hundreds of individually painted tiles on a theme of international friendship.

I saw very little graffiti in Moscow; for me the graffiti on this wall added to the charm and indicated the freedom felt by the youths who did it (would this of happened 30 years ago?)

By the wall was a project "Our Names" where Muscovite's can order the laying of the nominal stone for the birthday or in the memory of something, or whatever ... and it will laid down in the pavement.

3. The Kremlin (Московский Кремль)

Synonymous with politics and power, the Kremlin includes four palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin wall with 20 distinctive towers. For me, the red brick walls were imposing and the golden domes of the cathedrals glistened in the sun.

4. Red Square (Красная площадь)
Entering the square through the Resurrection Gate, to the south the square is commanded by St Basil's, to the west the Kremlin walls and Lenin's Mausoleum and to the East the GUM building (state department store.)
When we first visited Red Square in the day, it felt cold; I could smell in the air and imagine the slaughtering of Cossack rebels.

However when we visited the Square at night, if felt magical and Christmas like.
I also count myself lucky. After visiting Red Square on the first occasion, I read in a tourist magazine that "this area has an iconic, almost sacred status to the Russian people, and the various state forces deployed there enforce strict rules about respecting the place. ... recently a British sports journalist was arrested and taken into custody for putting out his cigarette under his foot here." Oops.

5. Tomb of the unknown Soldier (Могила Неизвестного Солдата)

The flame illuminates a bronze inscription saying "Your name is unknown, your deed is immortal" (Имя твоё неизвестно, подвиг твой бессмертен).
To the left of the tomb, there is a granite wall with an inlay saying "1941 - To Those Who Have Fallen For The Motherland - 1945".

Russia v England

2007-10-20T14:49:00.000+01:00

Firstly, I will say that the fact that we lost 2:1 didn't impact on my enjoyment of our holiday; I won't say the referee robbed us either - decisions even themselves out over the course of a campaign. The fact was, England didn't deserve to win and our failings rose at the beginning to the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. McClaren was a bad choice as manager and I said months ago that I thought that we would fail to qualify.

There is nothing like going to an away game abroad. The travelling band of away die-hards are passionate and the camadarie special. I love mingling with the crowd and feeling part of a rebel pack!

And that Rooney gets everywhere...
Security was tight, even intimidating. At one point (not pictured) we had to walk through two rows of soldiers with unmuzzled Doberman dogs. Made me feel like I was walking into a Gulag.

I will have one rant though. I thought the attitude of the players at the end of the game was disgraceful. With the exception of Wayne Rooney, Paul Robinson and Steven Gerrard, none of the players turned and clapped, thanking the travelling fans for their support. It is a tradition and an important acknowledgement. They were too wrapped up in themselves and the thought of not going to the Euro Finals next year. Well you multi-millionaires, have you thought for one moment about how much of ordinary Joe Bloggs' wages have been spent to come support you?

Rant over!

Buster Rooney

2007-10-14T19:00:00.000+01:00

Yesterday we went down to Wembley to watch England play Estonia. I met Buster the British Bulldog outside.

When we got back in the evening we watched England beat France in the Rugby World Cup semi-final. Now the spirit they have shown to come back from an early competition trashing by South Africa, that surely is what is coined as British Bulldog spirit.

In a rugby match the players can take quite a bruising. They pick themselves up with little fuss. In a footall match, a playertoo can fall to the ground and they sometimes behave like they has been shot by a sniper, when they have only been nudged slightly. I think our footballers can learn a lot from the rugger buggers.

Tomorrow we are off to Moscow, so see you next weekend.

What is this?

2007-10-14T16:44:00.000+01:00

THIS has 'appeared' on the inside of my roof to my garden shed?

Does anyone have any idea what it is and what creature put it there?

Should I be worried?

The Irish

2007-10-08T22:36:00.000+01:00

At a U2 concert in Ireland Bono asks the audience for some quiet.

Then in the silence, he starts to slowly clap his hands.

Holding the audience in total silence, he says into the microphone...

"Every time I clap my hands, a child in Africa dies."

A voice from near the front of the audience pierces the silence...

" Stop Fookin doing it then!"

(Source: from t'internet but don't know where as emailed me.)

I am a Star - what tarot card are you?

2007-10-08T19:37:00.001+01:00

You are The Star

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised

The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Let 16 year olds buy smokes if they want to.

2007-10-01T20:23:00.000+01:00

At age 16:

You can leave school
You can choose your own doctor
You can claim social security benefit
You can work full time
You can leave home with your parents’ consent
You can get married with one parent’s consent
You can drink wine or beer with a meal in a restaurant
You can hold a licence to drive a moped
You can buy a ticket in the National Lottery
You can but offensive weapons
you can agree to have sex – both heterosexual and homosexual sex.

At age 17:

You can hold a licence to drive any vehicle except certain heavy ones
You can engage in street trading
You can purchase an air rifle
You can leave home without your parents’ consent

Today the age at which you can legally buy cigarettes or tobacco was raised from 16 to 18.

So basically a 16 or 17 year old can be in full time employment, paying income tax, but the state limits them to what they can spend their earnings on.

A 16 or 17 year old can have consensual sex, yet can't go out and buy a packet of fags to smoke afterwards.

I think the law is an ass.

Postsecret

2007-09-30T19:50:00.000+01:00

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.)

The site posts every sunday. This is a selection from the last few weeks.

This told me more about myself than I expected it to

2007-09-24T18:22:00.000+01:00

Graffiti said:

“One of the ways to understand who you are and why you are, is to look at the heros, characters or figures that you relate to or identify with. This can be movie stars, singers, dancers or just characters from film, TV or the media.”

I thought this sounded quite a fun idea and thought I’d give it a go. So I had a think on my way into work this morning and I pretty quickly came up with two characters.

The first is Carrie Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie.

The second is Elizabeth Walton from The Waltons

What do these two characters have in common?

Next I came up with these two characters that I would really want to be like, hero’s of mine.

Han Solo from Star Wars

And Neo from the Matrix.

What do these two characters have in common?

And what characters would you choose?

Anyone got a suitable caption?

2007-09-22T20:07:00.000+01:00

Nerd God

2007-09-20T23:41:00.000+01:00

Re-done the test because I think it is cool, and I am so excited as I have advanced

Ooooh, want to be 100%, must study harder!

I'm a Mega-Dorky Nerd Queen, Awesome and like Mature Cheddar!

2007-09-17T21:30:00.000+01:00

Chopski wanted me to post something he could take the piss out of, so I took the Nerd test today, courtesy of a link provided by djkirkby

Firstly I took the basic test

Wow - A Supreme Nerd (and proud btw.)

And then I took the advanced test ...

and I am a Mega-Dorky Nerd Queen !!

Not only that, but djkirkby also gave me an award. Thank-you DJ! I will wait before I pass it on.

Then the good Dr. and Queen Vixen decided to assign some fellow bloggers all a cheese based on her impression of us through our writing . This is what she said about me...

Kahless: This was a hard one as there are many shades of Kahless - in the end I plumped for Mature Cheddar. Real, tangy, crumbly delicious Cheddar. A universal favourite who has the kind of taste that suits all sorts of moods. Works just as well on a stick with a chunk of pineapple as she does in a tangy cheese sauce. Ploughman's lunch or cheese butty for all those days working with the concrete, and the ability to mingle beautifully with fish or chicken for those quieter more subtle dishes. Versatility is the quality here and a good all round performer.

Finally, I have a picture on the Internet that I quite liked.

Gone camping

2007-09-15T19:03:00.000+01:00

Next door at Random

To Do List

2007-09-12T00:20:00.000+01:00

- Lay stone paving out front (10 days labour)
- shift 5 tonne of anglesey rock over-ordered by stoned stone-mason and dumped on front lawn
- finish cladding wonky wall out back
- sort back garden (no mean feat - loads of pruning, weeding etc)
- turf or seed front lawn
- fix broken drain cover out front
~~- fix broken back gate~~
- mow field
- paint outside woodwork of house
- paint outside walls of house
- re-point stone posts
- secure tv aerial better before winter winds
- sort out bird feeders
~~- go to car garage and get broken tail-light fixed (not my fault; it was Mrs K honest)~~
~~- sort out dog vaccinations~~
~~- locate new and better kennels for the dogs~~
- bath dogs
~~- visit sister and family~~ Not done but not now doing
~~- buy birthday presents for sister and her kids~~
- get you know what 3-yearly test at doctors
- shorten length of cord on bedroom blinds
- put up new bedroom ceiling lights
~~- hand new picture in bedroom~~
- put up conduit to cover wires from tv in bedroom
~~- replace grout in shower~~
~~- re-do sealant in shower~~
- oil wooden floor in hall
- decorate spare bedroom
- put blinds up in spare bedroom
~~- get plumber in to fix boiler~~
- clear out utility cupboard
- clear junk from dining room
- put up lighting fixture in dining room
- have I bored the fuck out of you with this post yet
- finish framing of pictures
- sort out broken electric socket in kitchen
- replace some sealant on work surface
- replace breaking plastic on dog-flap
- finish tiling under sink in bathroom
- put up facia on bathroom blind
- replace chipped grout in bathroom
- place sealant round doorframe in bathroom

Anyway, that's my starter for ten and enough to be getting on with. I have missed off the regular chores like pay bills, get the food shop in etc.
Problem is, I am on a bit of a go slow at the moment.

A Passion for England

2007-09-10T21:31:00.000+01:00

Mrs K and I went to Wembley on Saturday to see a Euro qualifier against Israel. We go to virtually all the England home games and a splattering of away games. Not to watch good football - stick to club football for that - but to get the loyalty points to qualify for the tickets for the big international tournaments (where you will see the best footballers in the world and get a fantastic buzz from the whole experience.)

So what do I like about following England?

1. I get to dress up. Picture me; England shirt, England baseball cap, flag of Saint George tied around my neck, flowing like a large cape behind me.

2. I get to sing the national anthem and feel great pride in this country that I love. I stand up, and with 80,000 other fans, put my hand on my heart and belt out the anthem. My voice goes coarse as my throat drys up. I feel national pride and get a little choked up.

3. The crowd banter, not as funny generally as club banter, but still there. For example... picture a rather obese Israeli physio running onto the pitch to give attention to one of their players. You then have 40,000 fans singing (to the tune of Knees Up Mother Brown)
Who ate all the pies, who ate all the pies, you fat bastard, you fat bastard, you ate all the pies.
Poor guy; hope he doesn't understand English.

4. I get to be a naughty child. OMG if anyone at work heard what came out of my mouth. Things like...Referee, you're a wanker, you're a wanker.... referee, you're a wanker, you're a wanker.
*blush.* I shout and scream and cheer and laugh.

5. Get to have banter with the away fans. Sometimes it is friendly, like with the Jamaicans - they have the best national anthem I have heard and I ended up joining in the dancing and singing of the chorus with them! Sometimes not so friendly... the Argentinians for example.

6. The dream. I dream that I will be there when we lift the World Cup. I have been lucky to have been at some memorable games where we really partied afterwards...but following England, you learn that there are more lows, than highs, so you need to appreciate the all round match-day experience.

Now then there are tournaments .... but hopefully that will be a post for next summer.