Catching up
Having spent a few days away from home I am in the process of playing catch up. Firstly, I have the things I wanted to write about but because I was on someone else's connection couldn't, and then there are the more mundane things like catching up with things at work and the pile of post that inevitably awaits after a trip away.
I posted about the PaganCon 2002 and with hindsight perhaps I shouldn't attempt to have Ms Slade drummed out of pagan circles, after all she is one of the leading lights and as a result it would more than likely be me who was made unwelcome everywhere. I should just encourage people to go and listen to her and hope that common sense will prevail. Hopefully that way she will become a laughing stock and that might have the desired effect of shutting up her racist drivel.
Sunday was a good day too. I went with my partner and some of the people from his astronomy club to the National Space Centre at Leicester. That was really interesting and had lots of interactive things to do, like "driving" a version of the Sojourner and having a timer telling you how long it would have taken to complete your moves if the rover had actually been on Mars. The planetarium show was interesting, though it did remind me a lot of the electronic music concerts at Jodrell Bank. The only thing I found wrong with the centre is the lack of proper air conditioning in the tower, at low levels it was okay but as you went up to the higher levels it got warmer until the top where the heat was almost unbearable. As you would imagine in one of these places the souvenirs are well overpriced, but on the whole it was a good day out, and the staff were friendly and helpful.
Monday, started badly. I was dragged out of bed well before I was ready because there was bomb scare. The flats were I was staying wasn't actually evacuated as the police decided that we were not at risk, however, my other half didn't want to take any risks. So there I was with only the clothes I stood up in, I hadn't washed, cleaned my teeth or even brushed my hair. To top it all it was one of the hottest days I've known this year so far. When we were given the all clear to go back to the centre I was so relieved to get back to the flat to have a cool bath and put fresh clothes on, though within about an hour my deodorant had called it a day and stopped working so I was back to square one. The train journey north was a semi-nightmare as in it was bad but it has been much worse, at least there was some air conditioning in the carriage that I was in, and we didn't have water pouring down on us and our luggage like the poor sods in another coach. The train was late as usual though so some things never change.
I'll be really glad when I don't have to take these regular trips down south any more.
Tuesday, July 30, 2002
Sunday, July 28, 2002
Getting back onto the Pagan Scene
Yesterday I went with my other half to PaganCon North West 2002.
It was an interesting day - I met up and exchanged gossip with the High Priest of my first coven, had a good chat with the infamous Mad Mick, Pagan Poet extraordinaire, with whom I share many friends in common, being, originally from the same stomping grounds, participated in a workshop on the Kabala (pronounced Ka-bahhhhhh-lahhhhhhhh by the female leader, who also kept saying pillow when she meant pillar), and listened to a few of the talks. I confess I was a bit worried because my other half is not Pagan, in fact he has a degree in Physics with Astrophysics, so I was expecting him to rubbish everything. But he seemed to take everything in his stride and was even very appreciative of the concepts that Kate West addressed in her talk.
The keynote speaker was Paddy Slade who was there to give her talk on the sovereignty of the land. It was this talk that spoiled an otherwise great day. Ms Slade is a fantastic psychologist; she really knows how to push the buttons of an audience to get them onto her side. Also the fact that she is 70 and has gained a lot of respect in other ways in pagan circles tends to make people sit up and listen to her, often uncritically.
Her talk started with a dream that she had where the "Old Gods" were leaving the country because they weren't needed anymore and she was admonished because she hadn't spoken out as their power was eroded.
She gave a long and heart-rending speech about growing up in Kent during the War, about seeing the soldiers returning from Dunkirk mentally scarred and emotionally drained, about being strafed by German fighter pilots during the Battle of Britain, about being evacuated and being introduced to witchcraft, by her mother and grandmother and other old women of the area.
She then went into some geologically confused ideas about how the British landmass was first populated. She moved on into the creation of the laws, and although the methodology of laws arising was logical, she gave the impression that all laws arose after the landmass was populated and that there was no social structure before that. She went on at length about the English laws first being created by Alfred, completely denying that much of the law originated from the Romans and, hence, was imported from Italy For example, she claimed that it was Alfred who introduced Habeas Corpus to English Law, when anyone who has done O-level hisory will know that this law was actually enshrined in the Magna Carta a few hundred years later. Then she complained that the British Laws were being eroded and that we were taking on laws from other areas, and by denying the laws that came from the land we were weakening our Old Gods and soon there would be nothing left to keep them here. She constantly made reference to the whole of the British landmass as being English, and later in the questioning session complained that devolution was dividing a united country, completely ignoring that, for example, Scotland is a separate kingdom that was forcibly annexed, denied it's own languages, had it's independent parliament dissolved for over 200 years and it's own true monarch denied the right to govern his people. Of course, to Ms Slade this is a successful partnership. She denies that Britain is a multicultural society claiming that within England all but 4% are English, (this figure probably only covers the Jewish population, so will obviously rise when West Indian, Asian, African, etc communities are added up) though she did modify her definitions when it was pointed out that the Scots and the Welsh were not English, and she sees absolutely nothing wrong in setting aside the laws that she feels should be sacrosanct, when they are applied to people that she doesn't see as being "English".
To say I was horrified is an understatement.
Altogether, I came away feeling that a person whom I was taught to respect, has turned out to be a right-wing fascist. She is, in my opinion, a racist, nationalistic, petty and vindictive person who would not have been out of place in the upper echelons of Hitler’s Nazi party. That she is using her position as a pagan-elder to push these views as being the "natural order" is, to my mind, horrific. This is a woman who should be drummed off the pagan scene before she does it serious harm. Of course, no one will do anything until it is too late and the entire pagan community is being held up to pay the price for sheltering such narrowminded bigotry.
Yesterday I went with my other half to PaganCon North West 2002.
It was an interesting day - I met up and exchanged gossip with the High Priest of my first coven, had a good chat with the infamous Mad Mick, Pagan Poet extraordinaire, with whom I share many friends in common, being, originally from the same stomping grounds, participated in a workshop on the Kabala (pronounced Ka-bahhhhhh-lahhhhhhhh by the female leader, who also kept saying pillow when she meant pillar), and listened to a few of the talks. I confess I was a bit worried because my other half is not Pagan, in fact he has a degree in Physics with Astrophysics, so I was expecting him to rubbish everything. But he seemed to take everything in his stride and was even very appreciative of the concepts that Kate West addressed in her talk.
The keynote speaker was Paddy Slade who was there to give her talk on the sovereignty of the land. It was this talk that spoiled an otherwise great day. Ms Slade is a fantastic psychologist; she really knows how to push the buttons of an audience to get them onto her side. Also the fact that she is 70 and has gained a lot of respect in other ways in pagan circles tends to make people sit up and listen to her, often uncritically.
Her talk started with a dream that she had where the "Old Gods" were leaving the country because they weren't needed anymore and she was admonished because she hadn't spoken out as their power was eroded.
She gave a long and heart-rending speech about growing up in Kent during the War, about seeing the soldiers returning from Dunkirk mentally scarred and emotionally drained, about being strafed by German fighter pilots during the Battle of Britain, about being evacuated and being introduced to witchcraft, by her mother and grandmother and other old women of the area.
She then went into some geologically confused ideas about how the British landmass was first populated. She moved on into the creation of the laws, and although the methodology of laws arising was logical, she gave the impression that all laws arose after the landmass was populated and that there was no social structure before that. She went on at length about the English laws first being created by Alfred, completely denying that much of the law originated from the Romans and, hence, was imported from Italy For example, she claimed that it was Alfred who introduced Habeas Corpus to English Law, when anyone who has done O-level hisory will know that this law was actually enshrined in the Magna Carta a few hundred years later. Then she complained that the British Laws were being eroded and that we were taking on laws from other areas, and by denying the laws that came from the land we were weakening our Old Gods and soon there would be nothing left to keep them here. She constantly made reference to the whole of the British landmass as being English, and later in the questioning session complained that devolution was dividing a united country, completely ignoring that, for example, Scotland is a separate kingdom that was forcibly annexed, denied it's own languages, had it's independent parliament dissolved for over 200 years and it's own true monarch denied the right to govern his people. Of course, to Ms Slade this is a successful partnership. She denies that Britain is a multicultural society claiming that within England all but 4% are English, (this figure probably only covers the Jewish population, so will obviously rise when West Indian, Asian, African, etc communities are added up) though she did modify her definitions when it was pointed out that the Scots and the Welsh were not English, and she sees absolutely nothing wrong in setting aside the laws that she feels should be sacrosanct, when they are applied to people that she doesn't see as being "English".
To say I was horrified is an understatement.
Altogether, I came away feeling that a person whom I was taught to respect, has turned out to be a right-wing fascist. She is, in my opinion, a racist, nationalistic, petty and vindictive person who would not have been out of place in the upper echelons of Hitler’s Nazi party. That she is using her position as a pagan-elder to push these views as being the "natural order" is, to my mind, horrific. This is a woman who should be drummed off the pagan scene before she does it serious harm. Of course, no one will do anything until it is too late and the entire pagan community is being held up to pay the price for sheltering such narrowminded bigotry.
Wednesday, July 24, 2002
Humpf
I knew today was going to be a bad day. Maybe it was something to do with the way I woke up at 3:30 am, went back to sleep and then slept throught the alarm. Or perhaps the Jehovah's Witness, who blocked my path and tried to give (or sell) a copy of their latest magazine, resulting in my missing my bus had something to do with it. I did tell him to go away and get a life, but it was 8:30 in the morning and I was late and I hadn't had a coffee so I suppose really he came off lightly.
I arrived at work 20 minutes late, and lo and behold, I have been left about 5 days work to be done in three days, so to get anywhere near completing this I will have to put in couple of late nights to get eveything finished. I had been hoping to leave early on Friday to travel down to Manchester to see my darling beloved and to go to the PaganCon NorthWest, but that is looking unlikely. So I'm going to arriving in Manchester at close to midnight with all the con merchants, beggars and thieves lurking around the train station thinking that I'm a tourist arriving for the Commonwealth Games. I could get a taxi but again due to the games the prices will be hyper inflated and the driver will make the assumption that I don't know the place and will try the 10 mile detour.
I could be mistaken but I doubt it.
I knew today was going to be a bad day. Maybe it was something to do with the way I woke up at 3:30 am, went back to sleep and then slept throught the alarm. Or perhaps the Jehovah's Witness, who blocked my path and tried to give (or sell) a copy of their latest magazine, resulting in my missing my bus had something to do with it. I did tell him to go away and get a life, but it was 8:30 in the morning and I was late and I hadn't had a coffee so I suppose really he came off lightly.
I arrived at work 20 minutes late, and lo and behold, I have been left about 5 days work to be done in three days, so to get anywhere near completing this I will have to put in couple of late nights to get eveything finished. I had been hoping to leave early on Friday to travel down to Manchester to see my darling beloved and to go to the PaganCon NorthWest, but that is looking unlikely. So I'm going to arriving in Manchester at close to midnight with all the con merchants, beggars and thieves lurking around the train station thinking that I'm a tourist arriving for the Commonwealth Games. I could get a taxi but again due to the games the prices will be hyper inflated and the driver will make the assumption that I don't know the place and will try the 10 mile detour.
I could be mistaken but I doubt it.
Monday, July 22, 2002
Confidence restored
My boss came back from holiday today and as I expected there are lots of "bitty" jobs that need to be done. These jobs are a mixed bag because whilst I quite like finding research papers and making presentation slides from the diagrams, they are also frustrating because many of the papers need to be printed out and as a result I spend a significant proportion of the day waiting for the printer to catch up with me, and MacOS X print queuing is not very good. At the moment, for example, I have five documents in the print queue, except they aren't queuing. I keep getting a little error box telling me that there is a problem communicating with the printer. This is, of course, because the printer is already printing. I really need to get somebody from IT to sort this machine out, because I will end up throwing through the window.
Meanwhile, the boss is his usual self and trying to get everything done immediately. I don't want anyone to think I don't like my boss. He is actually great to work for, and is very appreciative of his staff, for example, when he went to a conference in Paris he brought me back a very nice box of chocolates, and on return from his family holiday he has brought yet another small gift. Other staff members received gifts too. The "problem" is that he is extremely busy. Sometimes he is so busy that he cannot process his workload to produce work for me fast enough and so I can end up sitting in my office twiddling my thumbs. I should be grateful, I know that there are a lot of people who would love to be paid to do nothing, but it is not really in my nature. And as I am on a twelve month contract, my thoughts run along the lines that if there isn't work for me then what chance is there of my contract being renewed. I know I'm being silly, the boss would tell me if there was anything wrong and I have already told him that I'm not always working to full capacity. He apologised to me for not keeping me in work, saying he would have to do better.
So I shall just go back to waiting for the printer, and smiling and apologising that things are taking so long, whilst thanking my lucky stars that for all the frustrations it could be so much worse.
My boss came back from holiday today and as I expected there are lots of "bitty" jobs that need to be done. These jobs are a mixed bag because whilst I quite like finding research papers and making presentation slides from the diagrams, they are also frustrating because many of the papers need to be printed out and as a result I spend a significant proportion of the day waiting for the printer to catch up with me, and MacOS X print queuing is not very good. At the moment, for example, I have five documents in the print queue, except they aren't queuing. I keep getting a little error box telling me that there is a problem communicating with the printer. This is, of course, because the printer is already printing. I really need to get somebody from IT to sort this machine out, because I will end up throwing through the window.
Meanwhile, the boss is his usual self and trying to get everything done immediately. I don't want anyone to think I don't like my boss. He is actually great to work for, and is very appreciative of his staff, for example, when he went to a conference in Paris he brought me back a very nice box of chocolates, and on return from his family holiday he has brought yet another small gift. Other staff members received gifts too. The "problem" is that he is extremely busy. Sometimes he is so busy that he cannot process his workload to produce work for me fast enough and so I can end up sitting in my office twiddling my thumbs. I should be grateful, I know that there are a lot of people who would love to be paid to do nothing, but it is not really in my nature. And as I am on a twelve month contract, my thoughts run along the lines that if there isn't work for me then what chance is there of my contract being renewed. I know I'm being silly, the boss would tell me if there was anything wrong and I have already told him that I'm not always working to full capacity. He apologised to me for not keeping me in work, saying he would have to do better.
So I shall just go back to waiting for the printer, and smiling and apologising that things are taking so long, whilst thanking my lucky stars that for all the frustrations it could be so much worse.
Computers (Part 3)
This morning I got up with the firm intention that I was going to get Windows working on my home workstation. Of course, being a Sunday there was the addition that there were fast cars on the television, so there was a three hour period were nothing was going to be done.
So I went to my neighbours, were my friend sat and watched the racing with me, which surprised me because she usually says that F1 is a boring procession. Anyway, we watched the race, commented on the jump start from Fillipe Massa, analysed the replays of the cars coming out of the pitlane and gave our decisions as to whether the race stewards were correct in the penalties that they handed down, looked on in awe at the degree of maturity shown by Kimi Raikonnen, almost cried for him when the fates cruelly robbed him of his first victory, and so on.
Then I went back to my flat and started on the computer. It still isn't working. I have a CD Re-Writer that the OS thinks is just a CD-ROM. I have installed several versions of CD Burn software and so far only one has acknowledged the device as a burner. Unfortunately that someware only converst mp3's to audio CD's so it is not suitable for my purposes. I've installed an ftp client to get investigate sites like the sunsite archive but that won't connect to anything, and as of about two hours ago I was ready to give all my computer equipment to Oxfam.
I am getting rather upset, frustrated and stressed with this. Of course, the only person who lives near me with any idea about computers knows nothing about windows, though this won't stop him from trying to get his hands on my machine and trying to fix things.
Why is technology so hard to live with?
This morning I got up with the firm intention that I was going to get Windows working on my home workstation. Of course, being a Sunday there was the addition that there were fast cars on the television, so there was a three hour period were nothing was going to be done.
So I went to my neighbours, were my friend sat and watched the racing with me, which surprised me because she usually says that F1 is a boring procession. Anyway, we watched the race, commented on the jump start from Fillipe Massa, analysed the replays of the cars coming out of the pitlane and gave our decisions as to whether the race stewards were correct in the penalties that they handed down, looked on in awe at the degree of maturity shown by Kimi Raikonnen, almost cried for him when the fates cruelly robbed him of his first victory, and so on.
Then I went back to my flat and started on the computer. It still isn't working. I have a CD Re-Writer that the OS thinks is just a CD-ROM. I have installed several versions of CD Burn software and so far only one has acknowledged the device as a burner. Unfortunately that someware only converst mp3's to audio CD's so it is not suitable for my purposes. I've installed an ftp client to get investigate sites like the sunsite archive but that won't connect to anything, and as of about two hours ago I was ready to give all my computer equipment to Oxfam.
I am getting rather upset, frustrated and stressed with this. Of course, the only person who lives near me with any idea about computers knows nothing about windows, though this won't stop him from trying to get his hands on my machine and trying to fix things.
Why is technology so hard to live with?
Saturday, July 20, 2002
The drowned rat speaks
Today it rained! Not just a light sprinkling of rain, but a torrent of biblical proportions. I got into the local Waterston's within five mins of the start and I was soaked right through my coat to my underwear. Everywhere I stood I left a puddle as the water dripped out of my clothes. To cap it all I must have looked like a bag lady because the security guard seemed to be following me around the store. Anyway I bought a book that I had been planning to get, so the enforced visit wasn't a complete loss.
The worst thing about being out in the rain is other people's umbrella's. I lost count of the times I had to duck, or twist to one side of the other suddenly because I was in danger of losing an eye on the spokes of someone's umbrella. And, of course, being Saturday afternoon at the start of the tourist season in Edinburgh, Princes Street was a heaving mass of bodies, and almost every single body had an umbrella, that was being swung in a dangerous manner. Maybe the UK's nannie state should instigate a "driving test" for brollies so that until such time that you can operate an umbrella safely without risking injury to others, you are not allowed to use one. Of course, that would make no difference to me - I didn't have an umbrella to start with and once I was already soaked it was a pleasant experience to be out in the rain.
But I'm weird. So there!
Today it rained! Not just a light sprinkling of rain, but a torrent of biblical proportions. I got into the local Waterston's within five mins of the start and I was soaked right through my coat to my underwear. Everywhere I stood I left a puddle as the water dripped out of my clothes. To cap it all I must have looked like a bag lady because the security guard seemed to be following me around the store. Anyway I bought a book that I had been planning to get, so the enforced visit wasn't a complete loss.
The worst thing about being out in the rain is other people's umbrella's. I lost count of the times I had to duck, or twist to one side of the other suddenly because I was in danger of losing an eye on the spokes of someone's umbrella. And, of course, being Saturday afternoon at the start of the tourist season in Edinburgh, Princes Street was a heaving mass of bodies, and almost every single body had an umbrella, that was being swung in a dangerous manner. Maybe the UK's nannie state should instigate a "driving test" for brollies so that until such time that you can operate an umbrella safely without risking injury to others, you are not allowed to use one. Of course, that would make no difference to me - I didn't have an umbrella to start with and once I was already soaked it was a pleasant experience to be out in the rain.
But I'm weird. So there!
Friday, July 19, 2002
*sobs*
Why is it that at the moment I seem to be permanently fed up? As I type this entry I am still in my office at work waiting for a print run to finish. It is 20:20 - I technically finished work 3 hours and 20 minutes ago, however, the iMac being the beast that it is, it took me until past 3:00 pm to do a job that I should have been able to finish well before lunch. Of course, I then had to set about doing the rest of the work I had earmarked for today. I would have left it but I know that the boss will be back in the office on Monday and as he is only about for 2 days I will be rushed off my feet then, with no time to catch up. Serves me right for idling this past fortnight.
The advantage of working late in the office it that I can put a CD in the player and blast music around the labs. The current choice is a chill album that was mixed by a guy I know through a mailing list. It is a good mixture of musical styles put together really well. He sent me three of these CD's titled "Stone Chilled" way back in March. The sad thing is that we've had a fall out and as a result there are no more CD's coming through my letter box. Bummer! On the good side though I am hoping that his record company will be ready to release his new album very soon. I was sent an early mix of it prior to our fall out and it is a mightly fine album. I expect I will say more about it after the release date.
Why is it that at the moment I seem to be permanently fed up? As I type this entry I am still in my office at work waiting for a print run to finish. It is 20:20 - I technically finished work 3 hours and 20 minutes ago, however, the iMac being the beast that it is, it took me until past 3:00 pm to do a job that I should have been able to finish well before lunch. Of course, I then had to set about doing the rest of the work I had earmarked for today. I would have left it but I know that the boss will be back in the office on Monday and as he is only about for 2 days I will be rushed off my feet then, with no time to catch up. Serves me right for idling this past fortnight.
The advantage of working late in the office it that I can put a CD in the player and blast music around the labs. The current choice is a chill album that was mixed by a guy I know through a mailing list. It is a good mixture of musical styles put together really well. He sent me three of these CD's titled "Stone Chilled" way back in March. The sad thing is that we've had a fall out and as a result there are no more CD's coming through my letter box. Bummer! On the good side though I am hoping that his record company will be ready to release his new album very soon. I was sent an early mix of it prior to our fall out and it is a mightly fine album. I expect I will say more about it after the release date.
Arghhhh!
Frustrations abound at the moment, and I am now being rushed off my feet by one of the researchers, who left producing a slide presentation until the last minute. I have a feeling that I am going to be working late tonight. I suppose that it will make up for the early finishes and extended lunch breaks that I have managed during the last two weeks.
Plus one of the jobs that I was doing I now find was wrong and will need to be done all over again properly. Oh happy joy. At least I have a better idea of how to get on with it, so it shouldn't take as long this time around.
I am beginning to wonder if work is worth the hassle. I'm getting to the point that I have no life, which is not very good.
Get on with it and think of the money I suppose.
Frustrations abound at the moment, and I am now being rushed off my feet by one of the researchers, who left producing a slide presentation until the last minute. I have a feeling that I am going to be working late tonight. I suppose that it will make up for the early finishes and extended lunch breaks that I have managed during the last two weeks.
Plus one of the jobs that I was doing I now find was wrong and will need to be done all over again properly. Oh happy joy. At least I have a better idea of how to get on with it, so it shouldn't take as long this time around.
I am beginning to wonder if work is worth the hassle. I'm getting to the point that I have no life, which is not very good.
Get on with it and think of the money I suppose.
Thursday, July 18, 2002
Computers (Part 2)
What was it I said about technology making my life hell? I have over the last couple of days been trying to get my downstairs neighbour to help me with the various things that need doing to make my computers work.
However, I work all day and he has other things to do. So it is now Thursday and we are only halfway through the tasks needed to get my system back in working order.
So far, we have backed up the data from the Linux workstation to the server, reinstalled Linux from scratch with the newer version (we thought this was better that just upgrading), and backed up the windows partition (via Linux) to a series of CD's.
All we need to do now is reformat the windows partition, reinstall windows, resize that partition (maybe), and then upgrade the patches for Linux, prior to bringing back all the backed up data. Did I say ALL we need to do? That's it's taken us the best part of a week to get this far is leaving me very worried, particuarly as the chap who is helping me now has house guests for a few days.
I am beginning to wonder if I will have a working computer before the year is out.
Humpf
What was it I said about technology making my life hell? I have over the last couple of days been trying to get my downstairs neighbour to help me with the various things that need doing to make my computers work.
However, I work all day and he has other things to do. So it is now Thursday and we are only halfway through the tasks needed to get my system back in working order.
So far, we have backed up the data from the Linux workstation to the server, reinstalled Linux from scratch with the newer version (we thought this was better that just upgrading), and backed up the windows partition (via Linux) to a series of CD's.
All we need to do now is reformat the windows partition, reinstall windows, resize that partition (maybe), and then upgrade the patches for Linux, prior to bringing back all the backed up data. Did I say ALL we need to do? That's it's taken us the best part of a week to get this far is leaving me very worried, particuarly as the chap who is helping me now has house guests for a few days.
I am beginning to wonder if I will have a working computer before the year is out.
Humpf
Life in a Hitchcock Movie
I have a new neighbour from hell at work. This time it is a seagull and it is nesting on the roof of the building across a small carpark from my office. The guys in the lab go stand by the corner of the building on their cigarette breaks and the researches in our secondary portacabin unit have to go past there to get into the labs, as the leylandii hedge and an overgrown rose bush prevent a more direct route. Of course, the seagull doesn't know that. It just sees these big two legged things that are a threat to its nest, and so it goes on the attack. It hasn't attacked me - yet - but the lab manager, one of the senior researchers and several of the groundsmen have had a large, angry seagull swoop on them from a great height. Of course, the location of my office gives me a ringside seat.
Smirk!
I have a new neighbour from hell at work. This time it is a seagull and it is nesting on the roof of the building across a small carpark from my office. The guys in the lab go stand by the corner of the building on their cigarette breaks and the researches in our secondary portacabin unit have to go past there to get into the labs, as the leylandii hedge and an overgrown rose bush prevent a more direct route. Of course, the seagull doesn't know that. It just sees these big two legged things that are a threat to its nest, and so it goes on the attack. It hasn't attacked me - yet - but the lab manager, one of the senior researchers and several of the groundsmen have had a large, angry seagull swoop on them from a great height. Of course, the location of my office gives me a ringside seat.
Smirk!
Computers (Part 1)
Why do I have this urge to throw all my computers off the top of a very tall building? Is it perhaps something to do with the way that the incredibly good looking iMac superdrive needs to be rebooted every half an hour because OS 9.2 won't acknowledge it has 1Gb (no that isn't a typo) of RAM, and OS X just won't do anything? Or could it be that the Windows partition of my dual booting workstation gives me the blue screen of death even before the desktop loads? It could even be in the way that the linux partition in slowly grinding to a halt because some nameless person who did a hardware rebuild for me didn't reinstall the drivers so that the pc has gone flake, flake, flake. Whatever the reason, I am fed up with technology.
At least I am today.
Why do I have this urge to throw all my computers off the top of a very tall building? Is it perhaps something to do with the way that the incredibly good looking iMac superdrive needs to be rebooted every half an hour because OS 9.2 won't acknowledge it has 1Gb (no that isn't a typo) of RAM, and OS X just won't do anything? Or could it be that the Windows partition of my dual booting workstation gives me the blue screen of death even before the desktop loads? It could even be in the way that the linux partition in slowly grinding to a halt because some nameless person who did a hardware rebuild for me didn't reinstall the drivers so that the pc has gone flake, flake, flake. Whatever the reason, I am fed up with technology.
At least I am today.
Tuesday, July 16, 2002
Thoughts...
It is a dreary, murky, wet day in Edinburgh, and I am sat in a portacabin office which is either too hot or too cold, but never just right.
Outside my window is a leylandii hedge in which a pair of sparrows have made a nest and are raising a brood. This is nice because I see the birds bringing back food for the young. The male is having a hard time of the parenthood thing because it appears that he is genuinely hen pecked. Everytime he comes back to the nest he perches on a large piece of stone that is right by the side of the path and just under the hedge, at which point Mrs Sparrow appears, and boy does she give him hell. She chirps, tweets and harrasses him until he has delivered the offering to the nest, and continues the onslaught, chasing him away from the hedge after the young have been fed their morsel.
It gives a whole new meaning to noisy neighbours.
It is a dreary, murky, wet day in Edinburgh, and I am sat in a portacabin office which is either too hot or too cold, but never just right.
Outside my window is a leylandii hedge in which a pair of sparrows have made a nest and are raising a brood. This is nice because I see the birds bringing back food for the young. The male is having a hard time of the parenthood thing because it appears that he is genuinely hen pecked. Everytime he comes back to the nest he perches on a large piece of stone that is right by the side of the path and just under the hedge, at which point Mrs Sparrow appears, and boy does she give him hell. She chirps, tweets and harrasses him until he has delivered the offering to the nest, and continues the onslaught, chasing him away from the hedge after the young have been fed their morsel.
It gives a whole new meaning to noisy neighbours.
Monday, July 15, 2002
Why...?
Why is it that most of the mailing lists that I am subscribed to at the moment are full of f***wits? One of the lists I'm on (topic = Electronic Music) has a guy who seems to be posting details of his entire collection - one track at a time, using the format:
=================================================
~~~~~~~~~~Artist~Essential Release~~~~~~~~~
=================================================
=================================================
~~~~~~~~~~~Artist~Album Title~~~~~~~~~~~~
=================================================
Now I appreciate that he is not english so his understanding may be a little lacking, but when one list member asked what was his point, our little fuckwit has a rant trying to take the moral high ground. I annotated his reply saying that we like witty, intelligent and informative posts, which his clearly wasn't. I actually likened his posts to spam.
So what has he done now? Firstly, despite my saying publicly I didn't want private mail from him, he has privately mailed a message, asking me to tell him about the music I am listening to at the moment. Secondly, he has posted another message to the list AND cc'd it to me and the other guy who commented about the posts.
If someone has such a clear lack of brain power then they should be shot. It would be a mercy killing. Honest.....
Why is it that most of the mailing lists that I am subscribed to at the moment are full of f***wits? One of the lists I'm on (topic = Electronic Music) has a guy who seems to be posting details of his entire collection - one track at a time, using the format:
=================================================
~~~~~~~~~~Artist~Essential Release~~~~~~~~~
=================================================
=================================================
~~~~~~~~~~~Artist~Album Title~~~~~~~~~~~~
=================================================
Now I appreciate that he is not english so his understanding may be a little lacking, but when one list member asked what was his point, our little fuckwit has a rant trying to take the moral high ground. I annotated his reply saying that we like witty, intelligent and informative posts, which his clearly wasn't. I actually likened his posts to spam.
So what has he done now? Firstly, despite my saying publicly I didn't want private mail from him, he has privately mailed a message, asking me to tell him about the music I am listening to at the moment. Secondly, he has posted another message to the list AND cc'd it to me and the other guy who commented about the posts.
If someone has such a clear lack of brain power then they should be shot. It would be a mercy killing. Honest.....
Saturday, July 13, 2002
That was the week that was...
This past week has been one of distinct contrasts. It seems as though everything that could happen has and to be perfectly honest it has at time felt like I was living in the middle of a soap opera. There has been a death, an "engagement" , the possibility of a business going bust, and a few other minor dramas. If it was a soap it would have been dismissed as unbelieveable, but they do say that truth is stranger than fiction.
The "engagment" is my friends and downstairs neighbours. Apparently the financial mess caused by David not having a will made them think about their financial arrangments and the burden of inheritance tax. Charlie's Diary at http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blosxom.cgi has all the details.
As for the business, David's business partner, Ian, is going to make a go of it on his own, the rest of us will pitch in as much as we can, and we will put our faith in the God of Market Forces.
This past week has been one of distinct contrasts. It seems as though everything that could happen has and to be perfectly honest it has at time felt like I was living in the middle of a soap opera. There has been a death, an "engagement" , the possibility of a business going bust, and a few other minor dramas. If it was a soap it would have been dismissed as unbelieveable, but they do say that truth is stranger than fiction.
The "engagment" is my friends and downstairs neighbours. Apparently the financial mess caused by David not having a will made them think about their financial arrangments and the burden of inheritance tax. Charlie's Diary at http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blosxom.cgi has all the details.
As for the business, David's business partner, Ian, is going to make a go of it on his own, the rest of us will pitch in as much as we can, and we will put our faith in the God of Market Forces.
Friday, July 12, 2002
Thoughts of Death...
Well I suppose it has finally sunk in now that David is dead. It's very difficult to dismiss something like this as a bad dream, or someone's sick joke when you've sat in the crematorium chapel, seen the coffin, and heard the eulogy. There were times when I found it difficult to fight back the tears. It didn't help that the service was a typical dour Church of Scotland affair, that the hymns were depressing and the organist was so dire that he managed to add several bars of music to one of the hymns in the middle of the verse. The eulogy was in the form of a pray and it seemed at times as though the minister was spending more time evangelising about how we should put more faith into an invisible friend rather than celebrating the life that David had and his achievements.
What was even more annoying was that despite everything he has done for brewing and promoting Real Ale not a single person from the local branch of CAMRA could be bothered to show up. I mean, the guy is dead, and his funeral is no time to continue with petty, vindictive quarrels, though petty and vindictive seems to be the forte of the local branch, so why was I surprised?
It has just made me more determined that when I go I want something plain and simple. I want a wake and I want to be there, I don't want a God botherer eulogising over me to push forward his views of how my friends get their comfort (though a naked High Priestess shrieking and wailing might be a nice touch) I want my friends to get as pissed as newts at my graveside, whilst reminiscing about who I was and what I stood for. I don't want people who haven't seen me in years turning up and hijacking the affair, even if they are my family. I don't want a fancy casket, I just want a hole in the ground and a hawthorn planting on top. And if someone would be so kind as to put a few pints of beer in there to help me on my way, that would be much appreciated.
Well I suppose it has finally sunk in now that David is dead. It's very difficult to dismiss something like this as a bad dream, or someone's sick joke when you've sat in the crematorium chapel, seen the coffin, and heard the eulogy. There were times when I found it difficult to fight back the tears. It didn't help that the service was a typical dour Church of Scotland affair, that the hymns were depressing and the organist was so dire that he managed to add several bars of music to one of the hymns in the middle of the verse. The eulogy was in the form of a pray and it seemed at times as though the minister was spending more time evangelising about how we should put more faith into an invisible friend rather than celebrating the life that David had and his achievements.
What was even more annoying was that despite everything he has done for brewing and promoting Real Ale not a single person from the local branch of CAMRA could be bothered to show up. I mean, the guy is dead, and his funeral is no time to continue with petty, vindictive quarrels, though petty and vindictive seems to be the forte of the local branch, so why was I surprised?
It has just made me more determined that when I go I want something plain and simple. I want a wake and I want to be there, I don't want a God botherer eulogising over me to push forward his views of how my friends get their comfort (though a naked High Priestess shrieking and wailing might be a nice touch) I want my friends to get as pissed as newts at my graveside, whilst reminiscing about who I was and what I stood for. I don't want people who haven't seen me in years turning up and hijacking the affair, even if they are my family. I don't want a fancy casket, I just want a hole in the ground and a hawthorn planting on top. And if someone would be so kind as to put a few pints of beer in there to help me on my way, that would be much appreciated.
Work is getting me down...
Well it isn't so much work as the lack of work that is bugging me. In fact it is the lack of challenging interesting work that is really the problem. Let me explain. My boss is on holiday for two weeks. Much of the work that he left me has been done, copied, posted and/or filed. So I am now left with two tasks, the first one is a boring as hell, and the second is even worse. How interesting can you make archiving paperwork into PDF format? Okay, so yesterday I finished work early to go across town to see my therapist, and, of course, today I'm leaving early to go to a funeral (see earlier blog entry), and no one is bothered, but that isn't the point. Because I said yes, no problem and rolled over like a doormat this is all I have left to do, and this is in some part to do with the way I got the job.
This position was created for me. The boss's secretary was on extended sick leave, and I was the lucky person from the Temp Agency that was posted here. The aim to please attitude that is needed when being a temp combined with my ability to be super efficient (in short bursts) obviously impressed enough that at the end of the contracted temp period I was asked if a 12 month contract would be any good for me. Who in their right mind would refuse that? Being offered a job without applying and without the dreaded interview is like a dream come true. However, it has also created a rod for my own back in that I have to keep up that image and this is a strain because it isn't what I am really like.
Well I suppose I made my bed so I had better lie down, after all I only have another nine months to go...
Well it isn't so much work as the lack of work that is bugging me. In fact it is the lack of challenging interesting work that is really the problem. Let me explain. My boss is on holiday for two weeks. Much of the work that he left me has been done, copied, posted and/or filed. So I am now left with two tasks, the first one is a boring as hell, and the second is even worse. How interesting can you make archiving paperwork into PDF format? Okay, so yesterday I finished work early to go across town to see my therapist, and, of course, today I'm leaving early to go to a funeral (see earlier blog entry), and no one is bothered, but that isn't the point. Because I said yes, no problem and rolled over like a doormat this is all I have left to do, and this is in some part to do with the way I got the job.
This position was created for me. The boss's secretary was on extended sick leave, and I was the lucky person from the Temp Agency that was posted here. The aim to please attitude that is needed when being a temp combined with my ability to be super efficient (in short bursts) obviously impressed enough that at the end of the contracted temp period I was asked if a 12 month contract would be any good for me. Who in their right mind would refuse that? Being offered a job without applying and without the dreaded interview is like a dream come true. However, it has also created a rod for my own back in that I have to keep up that image and this is a strain because it isn't what I am really like.
Well I suppose I made my bed so I had better lie down, after all I only have another nine months to go...
Thursday, July 11, 2002
Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a role model....
This is a rant that has been brewing for some time. I am a Pagan. I know this is probably going to have my mailbox flooded with Christians wanting to save my soul, and all I have to say to them is, tried it and didn't like it. I personally feel that Christianity was cold and placed dogma over spirituality and the Christians I met through the Church were on the whole hypocritical and bigoted. Sure there were some really nice genuine people, and I am sure that they gained a lot of comfort from their chosen path, but the vast majority of the church goers I met were determined to evangelise at every given opportunity (even at totally inappropriate times) and all seemed to forget two of the most basic doctrines that they preached about, being a) forgiveness of sins and b) love the sinner not the sin. Possibly I was just at the wrong church, but the experience left a bad taste and a view that if that is Christianity you can keep it.
However, this is not the subject of the rant. I am subscribed to a number of Pagan/Wicca mailing lists, and these are increasingly being inhabited by teens whose idea of the "Old Ways" is shaped by television programmes like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch". They want the knowledge of spellcraft without taking any responsibility for their actions. They insist that spells are the be all and end all and have no concept of the deeper meanings, of the gentle cycles of nature, of the shifting seasons and the changing phases of the moon, of the use of herbs and oils and colour to help people attain those things that are best for them, that hardship and illness are often messengers telling us that we are doing something wrong, and that we need to change aspects of our lives. They also seem to have this idea that they can do whatever they want to gratify their latest urge.
A case in point, somebody posts a request to a list for a spell to cause a person to gain weight. When a few people point out that there is a moral issue and this is an inappropriate type of spell, like the petulant child she is, she has a rant that she is being attacked and that she has the right to do whatever she wants. She is of course TOTALLY justified in her actions. At this point I have my two cents. I explain about the cycle of retribution (you hit me so I will hit you harder etc), I explain about perception and how two people can describe an event where they stood side by side to someone who wasn't there in such a way that the third person thinks they have been told about two separate events. I explain that the truth depends on your viewpoint and that there is no such thing as absolute truth. And what did I get? Two simultaneous emails, one to the list and one sent privately. The list mail was a personal attack, which coming from someone with the mentality of a 5 year old, I expected. The private one was conciliatory, how I misunderstood her because she probably said something in the wrong way, and that she could tell I was an elder and that I was very knowledgeable and that she would like to learn from me. In the spirit of reconciliation I responded to the private message, and acknowledged that she had a right to practice however she felt, but to ask herself how she would feel if the weight gain she wanted to impose caused her victim to become so depressed as to commit suicide (or even try to). I asked how she would feel if because of this weight gain her victim had a heart attack or stroke and died. I asked her to think carefully about what she was intending to do and to please not do it. I got a reply from her and this time the teddy was really being thrown out of the pram. Apparently I am a bitter, twisted, nosy, know-it-all who needs to grow up.
Well if being that gives me a conscience and a modicum of common sense then I suppose she was really complimenting me.
Feh!
This is a rant that has been brewing for some time. I am a Pagan. I know this is probably going to have my mailbox flooded with Christians wanting to save my soul, and all I have to say to them is, tried it and didn't like it. I personally feel that Christianity was cold and placed dogma over spirituality and the Christians I met through the Church were on the whole hypocritical and bigoted. Sure there were some really nice genuine people, and I am sure that they gained a lot of comfort from their chosen path, but the vast majority of the church goers I met were determined to evangelise at every given opportunity (even at totally inappropriate times) and all seemed to forget two of the most basic doctrines that they preached about, being a) forgiveness of sins and b) love the sinner not the sin. Possibly I was just at the wrong church, but the experience left a bad taste and a view that if that is Christianity you can keep it.
However, this is not the subject of the rant. I am subscribed to a number of Pagan/Wicca mailing lists, and these are increasingly being inhabited by teens whose idea of the "Old Ways" is shaped by television programmes like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch". They want the knowledge of spellcraft without taking any responsibility for their actions. They insist that spells are the be all and end all and have no concept of the deeper meanings, of the gentle cycles of nature, of the shifting seasons and the changing phases of the moon, of the use of herbs and oils and colour to help people attain those things that are best for them, that hardship and illness are often messengers telling us that we are doing something wrong, and that we need to change aspects of our lives. They also seem to have this idea that they can do whatever they want to gratify their latest urge.
A case in point, somebody posts a request to a list for a spell to cause a person to gain weight. When a few people point out that there is a moral issue and this is an inappropriate type of spell, like the petulant child she is, she has a rant that she is being attacked and that she has the right to do whatever she wants. She is of course TOTALLY justified in her actions. At this point I have my two cents. I explain about the cycle of retribution (you hit me so I will hit you harder etc), I explain about perception and how two people can describe an event where they stood side by side to someone who wasn't there in such a way that the third person thinks they have been told about two separate events. I explain that the truth depends on your viewpoint and that there is no such thing as absolute truth. And what did I get? Two simultaneous emails, one to the list and one sent privately. The list mail was a personal attack, which coming from someone with the mentality of a 5 year old, I expected. The private one was conciliatory, how I misunderstood her because she probably said something in the wrong way, and that she could tell I was an elder and that I was very knowledgeable and that she would like to learn from me. In the spirit of reconciliation I responded to the private message, and acknowledged that she had a right to practice however she felt, but to ask herself how she would feel if the weight gain she wanted to impose caused her victim to become so depressed as to commit suicide (or even try to). I asked how she would feel if because of this weight gain her victim had a heart attack or stroke and died. I asked her to think carefully about what she was intending to do and to please not do it. I got a reply from her and this time the teddy was really being thrown out of the pram. Apparently I am a bitter, twisted, nosy, know-it-all who needs to grow up.
Well if being that gives me a conscience and a modicum of common sense then I suppose she was really complimenting me.
Feh!
Student Loans
It is that time of year again. I have noticed in my diary that my student loan deferment is due again. However, due to the incompetence, stupidity, or sheer bloody-mindedness of the Student Loans Company, I still haven't been awarded the deferment for last year yet. I have lost count of the amount of documentation that they have lost, in fact it's so much that I refuse to send originals anymore. Though, of course, they haven't lost anything, indeed according to them, I have never sent these documents and therefore I must be lying.
It has even got to the point where they telephoned my mother to find out were I was living because they had had no contact from me for over a year. That they already had my correct address details and that in the previous week I had made four telephone calls to them (itemised phone bills are your friend) didn't seem to figure. That they upset an elderly lady, leaving her thinking that something dreadful must have happened, whilst calling her a liar that was covering up for me, has absolutely nothing to do with them. That (from talking to their call centre staff) it appears they have several computer systems that don't talk to each other, is irrelevant. That they train their staff to believe their system is infallible and that the company does not make mistakes is regrettable. That the same staff treat loan holders as though they are all liars out to cheat the system is inexcusable.
The worst part of this is that if you are studying in higher education you have to deal with them to get funding. Bummer!
It is that time of year again. I have noticed in my diary that my student loan deferment is due again. However, due to the incompetence, stupidity, or sheer bloody-mindedness of the Student Loans Company, I still haven't been awarded the deferment for last year yet. I have lost count of the amount of documentation that they have lost, in fact it's so much that I refuse to send originals anymore. Though, of course, they haven't lost anything, indeed according to them, I have never sent these documents and therefore I must be lying.
It has even got to the point where they telephoned my mother to find out were I was living because they had had no contact from me for over a year. That they already had my correct address details and that in the previous week I had made four telephone calls to them (itemised phone bills are your friend) didn't seem to figure. That they upset an elderly lady, leaving her thinking that something dreadful must have happened, whilst calling her a liar that was covering up for me, has absolutely nothing to do with them. That (from talking to their call centre staff) it appears they have several computer systems that don't talk to each other, is irrelevant. That they train their staff to believe their system is infallible and that the company does not make mistakes is regrettable. That the same staff treat loan holders as though they are all liars out to cheat the system is inexcusable.
The worst part of this is that if you are studying in higher education you have to deal with them to get funding. Bummer!
Wednesday, July 10, 2002
I said I would never do this...
I swore I would never be so narcissistic as to publish a blog, but sometimes things happen that make you re-evaluate your life. For me it seems to have been one of those years, but the events of the last weekend certainly brought a few things close to home. Even the blogger program doesn't seem to want me to do this because my first piece was swallowed up only to be lost in the ether that is "the Net".
I suppose when you're young and all the people around you are about the same age you have this feeling of immortality. It's old people who die, friends and aquaintences of your parents or grandparents. If it is someone of your own age group it is usually the result of an accident, something avoidable, something tragic. Then one day suddenly you get a call to find that someone you know has died in their sleep. No smoking gun behind the curtain, no mad driver losing control at the wheel of a lorry. Just something mundane and ordinary. In this case probably a stroke. It's still tragic. David was only 40, he was overweight, didn't exercise, and tended to work around 80 hours a week. I will say here and now that he and I were not the best of friends, in fact, there were times when I really didn't like him. He could be a real loudmouthed, obnoxious prat, but if he had a friend in need he was there, no questions asked. When I first moved to Edinburgh and was sleeping on a friend's sofa bed, he offered to get a friend of his, who worked at a bank, to give me a mortgage despite my not having found a job at that point. When a taxi to take me to the train station didn't turn up it was David who paid no heed to speed limits to get me to my train, almost driving his car onto the platform as well. When I moved into my flat and wanted to get some furniture items, David just asked when I wanted to go to the store.
I think that his death has caused me to look at what I have done with my life and the answer appears to be a big fat nothing. David was a brewer. What he and his business partner didn't know about brewing beer probably wasn't worth the knowing. This is one of the things he will be remembered for. He made a mark in peoples lives, and for those of us that knew him, there will be a vacant space that he once occupied, whether that be in the way he was there if you needed his help or in the way he could annoy the pants off you, but the gap is there and we will equally miss both sides of man that left it, I suppose.
His death has brought mortality into sharp focus. He was, after all, only a couple of years older than me. I too am over weight, and the last time I tried any exercise I strained myself in the first five minutes. Plus there is a history of heart disease in my family. My grandmother was told in 1956, after her first heart attack, that if she was careful and lucky she might live six months. Well she apparently chased the doctor out of the house, and the six months lasted until November 1992, but she never was one for doing as she was told, or even what was expected of her. I'd like to think that I take after her but I'm sorry to say that I have drifted through my life taking the line of least resistance, and as a result I look back on 38 years and what do I have to show the world? Zip, nada, nothing.
If nothing else, the shock of this is making me look at my attitude to life, because, like my grandmother, David was full of life. My grandmother always grabbed life by the throat and wrung out every last ounce, and in many ways, I suppose, David was just the same.
I guess I have to take a leaf out of their mutual book and start doing some grabbing myself.
I swore I would never be so narcissistic as to publish a blog, but sometimes things happen that make you re-evaluate your life. For me it seems to have been one of those years, but the events of the last weekend certainly brought a few things close to home. Even the blogger program doesn't seem to want me to do this because my first piece was swallowed up only to be lost in the ether that is "the Net".
I suppose when you're young and all the people around you are about the same age you have this feeling of immortality. It's old people who die, friends and aquaintences of your parents or grandparents. If it is someone of your own age group it is usually the result of an accident, something avoidable, something tragic. Then one day suddenly you get a call to find that someone you know has died in their sleep. No smoking gun behind the curtain, no mad driver losing control at the wheel of a lorry. Just something mundane and ordinary. In this case probably a stroke. It's still tragic. David was only 40, he was overweight, didn't exercise, and tended to work around 80 hours a week. I will say here and now that he and I were not the best of friends, in fact, there were times when I really didn't like him. He could be a real loudmouthed, obnoxious prat, but if he had a friend in need he was there, no questions asked. When I first moved to Edinburgh and was sleeping on a friend's sofa bed, he offered to get a friend of his, who worked at a bank, to give me a mortgage despite my not having found a job at that point. When a taxi to take me to the train station didn't turn up it was David who paid no heed to speed limits to get me to my train, almost driving his car onto the platform as well. When I moved into my flat and wanted to get some furniture items, David just asked when I wanted to go to the store.
I think that his death has caused me to look at what I have done with my life and the answer appears to be a big fat nothing. David was a brewer. What he and his business partner didn't know about brewing beer probably wasn't worth the knowing. This is one of the things he will be remembered for. He made a mark in peoples lives, and for those of us that knew him, there will be a vacant space that he once occupied, whether that be in the way he was there if you needed his help or in the way he could annoy the pants off you, but the gap is there and we will equally miss both sides of man that left it, I suppose.
His death has brought mortality into sharp focus. He was, after all, only a couple of years older than me. I too am over weight, and the last time I tried any exercise I strained myself in the first five minutes. Plus there is a history of heart disease in my family. My grandmother was told in 1956, after her first heart attack, that if she was careful and lucky she might live six months. Well she apparently chased the doctor out of the house, and the six months lasted until November 1992, but she never was one for doing as she was told, or even what was expected of her. I'd like to think that I take after her but I'm sorry to say that I have drifted through my life taking the line of least resistance, and as a result I look back on 38 years and what do I have to show the world? Zip, nada, nothing.
If nothing else, the shock of this is making me look at my attitude to life, because, like my grandmother, David was full of life. My grandmother always grabbed life by the throat and wrung out every last ounce, and in many ways, I suppose, David was just the same.
I guess I have to take a leaf out of their mutual book and start doing some grabbing myself.
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