For Love Nor Money...

Light on the Posting…

Steve — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:46:21 +0000

You know who I feel sorry for?

Steve — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:53:39 +0000

The Daughter. Nine year old Phoebe. She has to grow up with parents like this. What hope does she have? Add to that the fact that this ‘news’ report will stay online for ever and ever (or until the internet breaks).

I’m talking about THIS story.
How fu**ing stupid does one have to be to get a ticket with “Bodrum” printed on it, get on the plane, and not say a word until you arrive in Turkey. Apparently they “fell asleep” (for the full duration of the flight, including the take-off announcements where i’ve seen flight crew wake people up to make sure their seatbelts are fastened? Including the food service? Including the landing? Hmm.

Yes, the serviseair rep made a cock-up, but a minor one which would have been resolved if the passengers hadn’t been to fu**ing thick to realise the boarding pass was for the wrong country. Surely they would have noticed when going through a gate with a big LCD screen proudly proclaiming “Bodrum” as the final destination.

Forget carbon footprints, forget taxes and fuel duty. When i’m in charge, the first rule of international travel should be that you know the name (or at the very least, the location) of the airport to which you wish to travel. If you can’t muster that much common sense, then there is too high a risk of you cocking something else up when you get there, and in all likeliehood calling upon the services of the local consular representative, thereby costing us our hard-earned tax pounds.

So, the poor Coray family, will miss their seven nights in the sun. Burning on the beach by day, supping British beer in the Red Lion whilst watching Coronation Street on Sky at night.

The poor woman who works for Servisair has now been suspended pending investigation. Yes, she made a mistake, but it’s the braindead passengers’ fault that they ended up in Turkey. What the F*CK is the world coming too?!?!

I’m also quite annoyed with the BBC Wales reporter who loads up the question “in this day of heightened security, how do you feel about waking up on the other side of the continent?”. So much for balanced reporting. Oh, and their original flight was to a totally different continent, unless Lanzarote has sprouted sails and floated up the side of Africa to join it’s other Spanish island cousins.

Which all leads me on nicely to my friend Zaheer… who was also in Turkey, but that was the plan. The plan wasn’t to get crashed into by a trucker though. Read all about it and donate HERE….

www.silkroadexpress.org

Steve — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:35:47 +0000

Follow the adventures of my friend Zaheer, who with two others is in the process of driving to Mongolia. In a car. On their own.

They’re taking part in the Mongolian rally, and it’s all for good causes (and fun). As you’ll see from their blog, they’ve just had the front end of their car ripped off by an inconsiderate trucker. They could probably do with a few more donations on the website to lift their spirits…

www.silkroadexpress.org

This weekend….

Steve — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:52:24 +0000

I have been mostly making THIS. Which is one of the many reasons for light posting.

Still, Play-dough is great fun. We’ve made pink, blue and black play-dough for the daughter of a friend, and I have plans to have all sorts of fun making green and yellow and purple too!

I’ve also been making cake-in-a-mug-in-a-microwave (idea courtesy of b3ta). The links to the videos of others doing it are all a bit naff. They all play on it being a big novelty/not very nice. It is possible to make a very nice cakey-muffiny-cake in a mug, in the microwave, as follows:

Mix all of the below in a big mug until smooooooth.

4 tbsp s.r. flour

4 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp cocoa

4 tbsp milk

1 tbsp veg. oil.

When it’s creamy and smooth, bung it in the microwave for 2 minutes on full blast, but keep checking it. When it’s risen above the top, it’s ready. It will sink a bit (and looks a bit souffle-esqe). It is, however, a tasty mug of cake.

Eat with a spoon.

For added yums, add some chocolate chips to the mix before you zap it.

This, my friends, is why I really need to get to the gym more.

Angry from Morningside?

Steve — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:13:48 +0000

I might have to rename this blog. I think i’ve found my new blogging inspiration: becoming more and more exasperated at the increasing levels of nanny-state in which we live. I think i’d probably enjoy going for a shouty-screamy G&T with Ken Frost.

In the meantime, I have been working on my ulcer by reading about nanny’s ideas to ban sharp pointed knives. Well, to be fair, it isn’t nanny proposing it this time, but it can’t be far off.

As one who loves cooking (with varying degrees of success). I know the need for a sharp knife, and also the need for a sharp point on a knife for certain ‘procedures’.

What next? Plastic scissors like we had in nursery school?

We’ve already had plastic ‘glasses’ in Glasgow, because drunken neds can’t cope with the opportunity to glass each other. We’ve already got paracetamol limited to packs of 16 or fewer to avoid suicide attempts (despite the fact that most high-streets have several shops where one could collect a ‘useful’ number of pills with minimal effort).

Grr. I think I should cancel the house purchase in Fife and just find a cave in the Highlands (after an appropriate health and safety assessment, of course).

Fat Fighters.

Steve — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:28:52 +0000

Before I go any further, I have to qualify this by saying that I am a marginally fat bastard (but I’m tall and handsome, so get away with it!). I also don’t know all the details, so this post is based on speculation. My cousin’s husband does work for Grampian Fire and Rescue, but I don’t see them so often, and would feel a bit embarrassed phoning them up just to scrounge details for the sake of a blog post!
The thing which has got my goat today is all this talk of Grampian Fire and Rescue going on strike because one of their number have been sacked.

Being a bit of a Tory, I have mixed feelings about Trades Unions (apologies in advance to C, I know it’s a subject you feel strongly about and probably one on which we disagree in places!). In their best form they represent a group of intelligent people using their collective strength to combat injustices and unfairness in the workplace. All very good.

In their worst, however, they are nothing better than a bunch of luddites chucking spanners in t’mill works. Dollies out the prams, handbags at dawn, brazier in the car park at the slightest hint of ‘management orders’.

When I worked in the Prison Service as a lowly warder, I had to pass a yearly fitness test (not a particularly challenging one, it has to be said). I knew that this test was in place when I started, and I knew the consequences of letting myself go too much (very easy on a week of nightshifts with nothing to do but wander about peeking in doors and eating). There would be efforts put in place to get me fit again, a series of further tests, and if I still failed, then the chop. Although, I could of course apply for another post within the service, provided I was qualified for it.

The chap up north who has been sacked has clearly gone through these processes, and is still not in a position to fully carry out his duties. As such, he surely can’t go on being a fire-fighter.

At this point I should say that I don’t want to argue with the valuable work which firefighters do day after day. I certainly don’t want to go cutting people out of cars or climbing ladders to put my life at risk saving others. That said, I do expect that those who DO wont have to stop for a breather halfway up the ladder.

I feel we’re only getting half the story from the Fire Brigades Union. Grampian Fire Service have stated that this decision was taken after help and support was offered, but are no doubt bound by all sorts of confidentiality policies preventing them from commenting in any great detail. The Union are demanding that Mr Ogilvie should be re-deployed to another role. There seems to be no discussion about the suitability of Mr Ogilvie for any of these other roles. Perhaps he’s not suited to “education or inspection roles”. I find it hard to believe that these avenues were not discussed or considered throughout the process. With so many laws in place to protect the worker, particularly those in the public sector, I’m quite sure “t’management” didn’t just turn around and say “You’re Fat! You’re Fired”.

If the strike does go ahead, I feel sorry for those working in Grampian Fire Service who don’t necessarily agree with the Union. Again, my experience of working in a workplace with a strong union is one of subtle bullying and pressure to agree with the ‘Union Line to Take’. You’re either a ‘worker’s man’ or a ‘company man’. There seems to be nothing in-between. No middle ground, no room for logic.

We see the same in Royal Mail. It wasn’t too long ago that a postie was found guilty of not doing his job properly (I can’t remember the full details, and can’t be arsed to Google, but i’m sure it involved letters not getting to their destination). The postie was suspended pending investigation, then sacked. The union was up in arms and went on strike. Why? Management apparently used underhand tactics, including surveillance to check up on the postie in question. Can anyone else see my problem with the Union here?

Someone isn’t meeting the criteria laid down in their job description, management investigate and act accordingly, and then the union come out with guns blazing because “one of our number is under attack”. No logic, no common sense. Defend the Workers. Up the Comrades. Red or Dead.

Ok… my high horse is getting tired, so I’d better put him back in the stables. I’ll finish off with a bit of balance again defending unions. They DO have their place. They DO serve a useful function defending those who find themselves victims of workplace injustice, and the DO have a place banging dodgy employers to rights. But still…..

Intermission.

Steve — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:35:43 +0000

No real post today, just a link. To This. Please no sarky comments about a tory reading the Guardian. It’s not the proper Guardian, just the online bit, and the only reason i’m reading it is because Google Reader suggested it (how very dare it!).

It does, however, perfectly sum up K and my relationship when it comes to knives. I respect and worship them, while K leaves them rusting at the bottom of a sink full of dishes, then puts them point-first into the METAL cutlery rack. How many ways can I explain “they are NOT cutlery”!!!!.

Boxes Boxes Boxes.

Steve — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:44:30 +0000

I’ve not abandoned ship again. I’m just busy. Chest-deep in packing at the moment. So… the non-essentials have pretty much been packed. Our large furniture (sofas, table, beer fridge, chest freezer) have all been shifted out to my Folks’ garage. Why, then, do I still see a flat FULL of stuff!?

Any tips from seasoned house-movers? Everything that’s left in our bedroom at least is essential stuff – the clothes we wear every day, cosmetics, hairdryer, straighteners (not mine…), and the like. When do you pack these?

Equally, the kitchen has been stripped of non-essentials. The breadmaker and juicer are boxed. The half-ton of tupperware we’ve collected has been boxed. Many of the mugs and cups that we don’t use every day are in boxes too. When do we do the next bit? We still have just over three weeks to go. I don’t want to live on takeaways and eat from nasty chipped rented flat plates for that time.

All this, and the fact i’ve been incredibly busy with work too. Still… it’s Orange Wednesday today, which means a trip down to Cineworld. It’s looking like a toss up between Hancock and Wanted. I really don’t like the look of wanted (the trailer lost me at the “sliding car scoops up the man” bit). We had decided on Hancock, but now some buggers at K’s work have suggested Wanted is better, which has put doubt in her mind. Any suggestions to back up my side are welcome before 7pm.

Oh Yes.

Steve — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:35:59 +0000

Wasn’t it good?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00cgnjr

The cybermen are coming, baby.

Typical

Steve — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:55:10 +0000

Just as I’m getting ready to up sticks and leave Edinburgh, it looks like we’re in the process of getting Google Maps StreetView. The somewhat sinister looking Men in Black (t-shirts) camera car was spotted by Croila near her bit a wee while ago, and the day before yesterday, I saw it round the corner from me (just at Morningside Station). Bloody typical. Don’t they realise how cool it is to be able to find a street level picture of your house on the internet?

Do you think I could flag them down next time I see them and ask them to map Rosyth too?

Interesting that it seems to be a fleet of OPEL Astras rather than the usual Vauxhall badge. It would suggest they’re imported from mainland Europe, yet they are right-hand-drives. Or… do I just not know enough about buying cars and can you now buy a Vauxhall with an Opel badge on it? Not that I care that much really, I’m not a fan of Opel cars, having had a rather “football mom-ish” Zafira as a hire car a few months ago. Aesthetically speaking, do prefer the Vauxhall griffin to the rather dated looking Opel flash.