---

Stinky Pete

I was trundling to work this morning in my usual manner when I noticed the gnawing feeling in my tummy.  What's this?  Hunger....but I ate just 12 hours ago.  Looking round for something to fill the gap I spied a small cake shop, "Soothills".  Surely this would contain something to appease my hunger.

"Yum" thought I, then "Boo, it's packed".  Undeterred I joined the end of the queue as it trailed out of the little shop and round the corner.  I was that hungry.  It was then that I noticed the smell.  A sort of rancid sweat stink mixed with the odor of damp wool.  Instantly my hunger vanished.  If it wasn't for my greed I would have left the line of other greedy people and proceeded to my place of work.

Looking around for the source of the malodorous stench I spied a nearby rubbish bin brimming with discarded objects.  "Ahh" thought I, "A stinky bin, never mind for soon I shall pass it and it's bad pong."

But I was wrong.

I entered the cake shop and the smell increased in intensity.  The shoppers bunched up, as they tend to, when we entered the vicinity of the food stuffs.  When I took a step back the smell diminished.  "What's this?" calculated my fevered mind, "The redolence is issuing from the chap in front of me".  Frantically I looked round but my exit had now been blocked.  I held my breath.  I couldn't maintain it.  I needed oxygen.  I started to panic.

It was then that I noticed a gap forming in the milling crowd.  Here was my chance.  If I could force my way further into the shop I could seek some limited sanctuary by the cold drinks machine.  I started to move by a sprightly old biddy had seen the same opening.  I was forced to shove her into the stacks of french stick to get passed.  And then another biddy tried to block my path.  Into the iced buns with her.  An old man with walking sticks tried to trip me but an eccles cake in his eye and a lemon slice up his nose sent him reeling.  I was safe.  Fresh air at last.

I resolved to finish my shopping as quickly as I could.  Two crusty buns later I was outside but Stinky Pete had got there first and he was milling about in the doorway.  The only to deal with people milling in doorways is to poke them hard in the ribs and mutter "'scuse me mate" but I couldn't bring myself to touch him.  He was so rancid that the only way to get rid of the smell would be a bonfire.  So I waited and fumed.

When he finally left the doorway I made a hasty dash to work.  All the way drinking in the sweet aroma of traffic fumes and stagnant rain water.  Bliss in comparison.

Why do people let themselves get into such a stink?

Current mood: Dazed and confused


Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen is a meme with one purpose:  to get to know bloggers better. Thirteen secrets they've never shared before, Thirteen random things about themselves or their lives that give the reader a better idea of who they are.

This week I'm only letting a little bit of information about me slip out.  This is because I am secretly weeping tears of sorrow because Sioned didn't stop by to look at the blog entry that I dedicated entirely to her yesterday.  Tears of sorrow.  It's nearly enough to crush a man's spirit.  Then I thought WWCYFD?  So here I am blogging again.

Thirteen Acronyms

1. WWCYFD - In any difficult situation you should always ask yourself What Would Chow-Yun Fat Do?  He'd look cool and probably kick someone's butt but he'd do it in a wise way.
2. TLA - If in doubt chuck a Three Letter Acronym into conversation. 
3. PEBKAC - An IT problem that is the fault of incompetent users.  Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair.  A typical fix for this is percussive maintenance.
4. RTFM - Another IT favourite.  Read The Fucking Manual.  I've told everyone that it means Read The Fix Manual but secretly I smile inside whenever I say this to someone.
5. DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid is amazing stuff.  So simple yet it contains a total map of what it is to be a human being.
6. FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions that are actually answers to questions that few people actually need to ask.
7. GNU - GNU's Not Unix.  A joke in the naming of the free operating system.  I think it's really clever that the name is built into the acronym like that.  It just shows how meaningless it really is.
8. Laser - Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.  I bet you thought it was a real word too.
9. WWTD - What Would Thor Do? In The Order of the Stick Durkon asks what his deity would do in a difficult situation.  The comic can be found here.
10. ROTFLMAO - Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off.  Not literally obviously.  I rarely use this acronym but I do tend to get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever I see it in response to one of my comments.
11. WSB - The name of the little company that my chums and I formed.  The WSB nominally stood for Warblington School Boys but I secretly named it We Sell Brains.  Officially it stands for Wireless (and Wired) Systems for Business.
12. OK.  Another non-word.  The origins either come from US military term for Zero Dead (0 killed) meaning a successful mission or from the greek phrase "olla kalla" meaning all's good.
13. NIIOMTPLABOPARMBETZHELBETRABSBOMONIMONKONOTDTEKHSTROMONT (Нииомтплабопармбетзелбетрабсбомонимонконотдтехстромонт). The 56-letter initialism (54 in Cyrillic) is from the Concise Dictionary of Soviet Terminology and means "The laboratory for shuttering, reinforcement, concrete and ferroconcrete operations for composite-monolithic and monolithic constructions of the Department of the Technology of Building-assembly operations of the Scientific Research Institute of the Organization for building mechanization and technical aid of the Academy of Building and Architecture of the USSR."  I like it because it's long.

Current mood: Big-Smiley


A Sioned Day

As the ever beautiful and glamorous Michelle has been blogging about other Platform 27ers I thought I would get in on the action a bit.

I first read the name Sioned in Ellis Peters' first Cadfael novel "A Morbid Taste for Bones".  In the TV adaptation Sioned was played by Anne Friel.  The character is a feisty woman with definite and strong opinions much like our own fellow blogger.

Did you know that Sioned is a Welsh version of the name Siân. The English translation is Janet which is a form of Jane.  Apparently it means God's Gift or Gift from God and if I believed in such things I'd have to agree because she's lovely.

There is a wiki page dedicated to Sioned but it isn't our Sioned.  Instead it's some character from Melanie Rawn's fantasy books in the Dragon Prince series.  Pah!  Someone should really correct this.

Famous people called Sioned include harpist Sioned Williams and, I'm afraid, that's about it.

There are no films and no books called Sioned.  Again, this is something that should be looked into as a matter of urgency.

Current mood: Big-Smiley


Sweary Mary

"You....you....you mucky poo pant head, you!" ranted Tiny Tasha to her brother.  It was the funniest abuse I've ever heard.  Much better than my old favourite "Clag on a string!"

As I am currently in the mood for a good bellow of rage I was wondering if my fellow bloggers, here on Platform 27, could suggest suitable phrases.  Something rantry but silly at the same time.

Thanks you please.

Current mood: Angry

Meetings

I'm going to a meeting in a minute.  I expect nothing to come from it.

Current mood: Angry

The Workers are Revolting

Current mood: Angry

Grr!

Why is that the people that I work with are so fucking stupid?

It isn't that they don't have intelligence, it's that they don't bother to use it.  They don't even bother using common sense where basic intelligence fails.

I may have to slap one of them soon.

Current mood: Angry


From PostSecret

Current mood: Big-Smiley

Grump

I'm in a foul mood today.

I blame my nephew.  Aunty K brought the little pest round yesterday and let him loose in our house.  Before he suffered from an unpleasant and tearful episode of explosive diarrhea he managed to completely trash the girl's bedroom.  Grr!

This then put The Hildy in a bad mood as she was trying to study for her OU exam in a few weeks.  For some reason she would rather spend her free time reading notes on social policy in the 1980s than picking up toys, books and clothes that have been thrown about.

Now because we spent the afternoon tidying up we forgot to go shopping.  Because we forgot to go shopping we had to eat leftovers stew.  Without dumplings!

I know!  Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse!

Then it did.  Cake Worm announced that she needed some new football boots for footy club.  Which starts today.  This was of course after the shops had shut.  Pesky child. 

And then the grumpy Hildy was not at all responsive to my romantic overtures of the evening.  This left me very grumpy.  I wasn't even in the mood to have an argument so we could make up afterwards.

=============

In other news I've been pondering the existence of life from other planets visiting us.  I've decided that there is life on other planets as it is almost a statistical certainty but that if they have visited us they did the sensible thing and fled as fast as they could.

Also I've been think about what it would be like to be a zombie.

What thoughts go through your mind when you leave it to it's own devices?

Current mood: Grumpy


Property Ladder

I've been looking at buying a bigger house in the last few weeks.  My humble home is simply too small for the six of us now.  I've got three daughters sharing one room and Little Al in the box room.  The Hildy and I share a bedroom that looks more like a store room crossed with a laundrette than a place of relaxation and repose.  The kitchen can hold only two people at a time which is awkward when I'm in a "teach the kids how to cook" mood.  Our living room\dining room is now a place of arguments and petty squabbles as we're always bumping into each other.  Our garden is cramped and now far too small for the kids to play in. 

The whole thing is made much worse as we are now looking after two of Snarley's friends on Monday and Friday after school. It's a reciprocal deal with their parents but it does make my home into Pandemonium with not four but six screeming children running about the place.

The Hildy found a lovely house for us in a good area.  It was still a three bedroom house but they were bigger and there was an additional downstairs room.  It had a big garden, room for an extension, and an attic that we could convert to a room.  It was even near to Snarley's new school and not too far from the other kids' school. 

When we enquired with the evil estate agents they were helpful enough to print out all the details and arrange an appointment.  Then they told us that it was already under offer.

Bastards!

Why do they do this?  Why can't they say that it's under offer before raising our hopes like this?  Why?  It's like dangling a bone in a dog's face and snatching it away.  It's cruel.  That's what it is.  Cruel.

Current mood: Sad


Student Loan

I have got a letter
I have got a letter 
I have got a letter 
I wonder who it's from

Dear Mr hoverFrog

Loan Account Number: 90WACOFF521

Please find enclosed the 15th annual statement for your student loan.  The one you took out in 1990 and spent within a week on drugs and beer.  Was it worth it?  I bet you can't even remember spending all that money.  That is beside the point really because you have now officially paid it all back.  Actually you finished paying it back on 16th March of this year but we've only just got round to writing to you.  Never mind, eh, we've got your money now.  That's the important thing.

Deferment of loan payments

You don't have to start repaying your loan until you earn the average wage of a Bavarian goat herder.  We'll write to you to remind you every year about this just so we can have a laugh at your expense.  Credit card bills still not clear.  Don't worry.  If you ever earn enough to pay them off you'll still owe us.  It'll hang over you for the rest of your life.

Queries

You can write to us but , lets face is, we aren't going to reply and even if we do we'll lose all record of it if it suits us to.  You can try ringing the National rate number (only 35p/minute) but I expect you'll give up after 20 or 30 minutes of listening nothing.  Even if you do get through the line will be so bad that you'll have to hang up.

You remember that time we tried to take you to court because we'd ost your deferment form.  How we laughed and laughed afterwards?  I expect you did too once you'd got used to the idea of paying back money when you didn;t need to because of our cock up.

Summary

The last two paragraphs are standard and have no bearing on the first but we include them in all our letters even when they aren't relevant.  I bet you're as glad as we are that we won't have any more dealings for a while.  I mean it's not as if you can afford to pay for your childrens' education now that we've skinted you.  Don't even bother trying to get the government to foot part of the bill either.  They'd have a good old laugh if they thought people still believed that education was a right and not a privilege.  Free education is a myth.  Honestly, where do you think your taxes go anyway?  Education, education, education?  Bollocks!

Yours smugly

pp The company who bought your debt from the Student Loan Company 

The Student Loan Company

Well that's good news I suppose.  At least there's no longering resentment on my part.  I'm tempted to write back and thank them.

Current mood: Meanie

100 Days till Christmas

If children post a letter to Santa, Reindeerland, SAN 1TA before 13 Dec (though preferably earlier), the Royal Mail says he'll write back.  I feel sorry for Santa having to get a part time job with Royal Mail but I suppose the wages of a toymaker and philanthropist aren't as high as they once were.

Just so you know, we've already started our Christmas shopping.

Current mood: Big-Smiley

Minimum Wage

Minimum wage is going up from 1st October again.  Hurrah!

If you're over 21 you'll expect a minimum hourly rate of £5.35.

Let me hear you say w00t!

Never mind that it is incredibly easy to get around this law by hiring people to work on a "by job" basis.  i.e. A hotel in London paid cleaners to clean rooms at £1.80 per room regardless of the time it took.  Never mind that.

When I started working for the company I work for now we paid the vast majority of staff much less than the suggested minimum wage level.  The MD and finance director, who earnt bucket loads of cash despite the fact that we were making a loss every month, thought that a minimum wage would send the country into recession and ruin thousands of small businesses.

Fortunately they've gone now and their wealth has been redistributed.  Small businesses don't seem to be failing any faster than they used to.  However the poor don't seem to be getting much better off.

According to the TUC the minimum wage should increase to more than £6/hour from next October.

If you were Emperor of Earth, or the equivalent, what level would you set the minimum wage at?  And why?

Current mood: Sceptical


Ahoy there!

Yarr!  It be International Talk Like a Pirate Day today all over the globe.

Shiver me timbers if it ain't a fine day fer pirating.  She's a right beauty and ye'd be the lowliest son of a bilge rat if'n ye refuse ta celebrate it with us.  I be planning ta drink plenty of grog wi' me shipmates and retiring ta me cabin wi' me mighty fine saucy wench come sundown fer a spot a treasure huntin'.  By the Powers!

If'n ye're the sort of scallywag who don't have a saucy wench then find the nearest port a try some of these faithful pick up lines smartly.

10 . Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?

9. Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?

8. Come on up and see me urchins.

7. Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.

6. I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.

5. Pardon me, but would ya mind if fired me cannon through your porthole?

4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?

3. Ya know, darlin', I'm 97 percent chum free.

2. Well blow me down?

And the number one pickup line for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day is ...

1. Prepare to be boarded.

That's all ye need ta know.  Yo-ho-ho, me hearties.

Cap'n Frog

Current mood: Shover me timbers!


Aaaaannnd rip

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.  There lived a happy Hildy and a jolly hoverFrog.  The happy Hildy shared a little run down old house with her two chums, Jules and Maccy and went to the pub every night to escape the memory of her horrible job in a video shop.  Mr hoverFrog also went to this same pub for a similar reason but lived in a dingy squat with his mate No-name who rode a motorcycle and made propellors.

One day on March the 18th Mr hoverFrog and The Hildy were invited to a party by someone whose real name was not Bobby.  Mr hoverFrog remembered the date because it was his old school chum NepNees birthday and she was going to be 21.  The Hildy and Mr hoverFrog drank a little bit too much of the vino and the vodka and the booza and got a little frollicksome in Bobby's garden. 

When the couple came in from the frollicking that they had been enjoying to refresh themselves with more vino and other drinks The Hildy accidentally walked into an invisible patio door.  Poor Hildy bounced off and went to walk forward again because she was confused by the invisible barrier.  She would have bounced forever if some kindly soul had not opened the patio door for her.  This bumping and rebounding made Mr hoverFrog guffaw and chortle for a long time.  Even now he has a jolly good giggle whenever he thinks about it.

Later on Mr hoverFrog and The Hildy enjoyed some more intimate frollicking and from that day forth they were rarely apart.

As The Hildy had a shop job she had to work on some Saturdays and some Sundays but not until 10am.  This meant that the happy couple could spend the mornings of their weekend enjoying each others company in the best way that couples can.  Sadly this made their housemates feel sad because they were not getting any action.  Eventually The Hildy decided to move in with Mr hoverFrog and pack in her crummy and depressing job so they could start a family.

All this time the happy couple would enjoy their weekend mornings, as well as any other snatched moments that they might have together.  A happy tradition arose where Mr hoverFrog would wake early and go to the local shop for some energy food (chocolate) and a newspaper.  He would carry the gifts to bed and The Hildy and Mr hoverFrog would spend some time canoodling and some time reading and eating chocolate and then some more time canoodling and frollicking until something forced them to get out of their bed again.  Usually wicked and naughty bad sales people or Jehovah's Witnesses.  The Hildy does not like Jehovah's Witnesses very much.  Not very much at all.

In the fullness of time the baby Snarly was born followed swiftly by CakeWorm and then very swiftly by Tiny Tasha and Little Al.  These times were great fun but the Sunday morning tradition went a bit out of the window.  The Hildy and Mr hoverFrog were very busy and hardly noticed the passing of their fun times and instead only snatched the odd moment together.

Lately though it seems that Snarly is suddenly 11 and independent, CakeWorm is 9, efficient and busy. Tiny Tasha tries to be a growed up as her sisters and Little Al follows them in action.  Both of them are now 8.  The busy mornings of feeding and watering babies has passed leaving Mr hoverFrog to lie in bed with The Hildy and ponder the pleasures of long ago weekends.  All is good with this arrangement and happiness abounds in their little household.  But for one thing.

The Hildy loves her children and Mr hoverFrog loves his children but they don't want to have anymore.  Well actually Mr hoverfrog would happily have more but there aren't enough places to put them in their little house now and they quite like to have their weekend mornings to themselves.  Especially now that the children are staying up later in the evening.  Thereby limited time for snatched moments.

To stop any more children growing in the tummy of The Hildy Mr hoverFrog has been wearing a stretchy bit of bedroom wear that is supposed to help with things like that.  Unfortunately for the peace of mind of Mr hoverFrog and The Hildy such bedroom wear seems to have an irritating habit of splitting at just the wrong moment.  This makes them both curse with naughty bad words and tends to spoil the moment a little.

Mr hoverFrog is therefore looking for a different method stopping babies.  He would be ever so grateful if his fellow bloggers would give some suggestions to resolve his difficulty.

Thank you fellow bloggers in anticipation.

Current mood: Big-Smiley


Hopeful

My usual opinion of the human race as a group is quite low.  We have so much going for us and we contantly let ourselves down.  However every once in a while something happens that gives me renewed hope that we actually deserve a shot at living on this lovely planet.

This article in the Guardian today is proof of one such event.  Basically some Italian villagers have refused to hand over a girl abused in her native country and have caused a bit of a diplomatic stink.  Nice one.  If I were them I'd be very disappointed that my government were even entertaining the idea of returning someone to a life of abuse and very probably suicide.

Oh wait, we do that already.

Another hope filled article I read today shows that democracy is alive and kicking in North America.  George Bush's new law allowing him to torture people in the interests of national security has been rejected by senators.  They don't want to see America limit the terms of the Geneva Convention in this way.  Good for them.

Now I'm looking for a third piece of good news to make my day.  Anyone want to share?

Current mood: Hopeful


Thursday Thirteen

If any former 20sixers remember Enigma then you may have followed him Blogger and seen his Thursday Thirteen Blogroll entries.  Well I liked them but he's deleted them now.

Thursday Thirteen is a meme with one purpose:  to get to know bloggers better. Thirteen secrets they've never shared before, Thirteen random things about themselves or their lives that give the reader a better idea of who they are.

So I'm in a sharing mood today so here is my Thursday Thirteen:

Thirteen Things that I believe in

1. "Why?" should be the first question that you teach your children.
2. Karma.  I should clarify this.  I don't believe in the westernised idea of Karma where a person gets a good or a bad deed coming back to them.  I believe that when you do something good then people appreciate it and will do good things as a result.  This has an overall effect of making people perform good acts which makes everyone's life better.  It works in reverse as well.
3. The power of debate.  If there is no debate then how will I ever understand my enemy.  I don't need to agree with my enemy to understand him, I just need to see his point of view.  I believe that there is no argument that cannot be overcome through debate.
4. Logic is the beginning of wisdom.
5. A government should serve the interests of the people.
6. A smile is a great gift to give someone.  It's free and contagious.
7. The most heinous and the most cruel crimes of which history has record have been committed under the cover of religion or equally noble motives.
8. We change the world in small steps and not in leaps and bounds.  Or as Ghandi put it "In a gentle way, you can shake the world. "
9. If you think that an order is wrong then you should question it and if the explanation is flawed then you should defy it.
10. Some sins are not wrong.
11. History teaches us that people make mistakes.  If we learn anything from history it is that many of these mistakes should never be repeated.
12. A little suffering is good for the soul.
13. Sarcasm.

There you go.  This was a little more serious than I originally intended but there you go.

Current mood: Sharing


The Hoff

I'm seriously considering purchasing this book,

I think that it would make the day of anyone who saw me reading it.  I admit to being slightly influenced by the Guardian article of a couple of weeks ago and by my recent conversation with the adorable Sioned regarding the seriousness of the life of the legend himself.

Does anyone else really want to see The Hoff at the top of the best seller charts for his autobiography?  I know I do.

Current mood: Big-Smiley


Bored Meeting

I have to go to a board meeting today at various times to discuss IT strategy, present statistics, debate training policy and other dull stuff.

Due to the indeterminate length of time for each of these topics I am forced (by my own policy) to lock my computer or log off.

Logging off really will be the highlight of my day.  What interesting things are you doing today.

Currently playing: Jump in my car - David Hasslehoff
Current mood: Bored


Forget David Blaine

Currently playing: Alanis Morissette - You oughta know
Current mood: Bored

Silly Blog Game

I have Sioned to thank for this idea from about a year ago. 

This is how it's played. Type a word or short phrase in to Google images, then select the best picture and post it on your blog. Then choose a word for everyone else to try. Got that?

Might be an idea to go back to the blog that deals the word, and let them know that you've posted.(And to find out if someone has beaten you to it.)

My word was "red"

the next word is "Dog"

Currently playing: Summer
Current mood: Bored


Who ate all the pies?

Me, that's who.

Since coming back from my holiday two weeks ago I've been eating constantly.  Or so it feels.  I'm not even hungry.  This was exacerbated by the fact that I had free food and drink when I went to London last week.  Free food. And drink.  What's a fellow to do in a situation like that but eat, drink and make merry?

Please give me some helpful advice that I can use to distract myself from all the tasty foodstuffs that I have in my home.  I happen to be a wonderful and enthusiatic cook and so does The Hildy and I'm also prone to snacking on my favourite food of all time:  Cheese.

Quickly before my youthful good looks and sylph like waistline are gone forever.

Oi you, no sniggering at the back.

Alternatively if anyone would like to paint my portrait a la Dorien Gray I'd be ever so grateful.  I wouldn't end up in quite the same pickle though.  Oh no.  I'm far too sensible I am.

*Ahem*

Current mood: Stuffed!


Stolen from Tomato Puree

What Kind of Mental Disorder Do You Have? Psychopathic Killer You have no sense of remorse. You show kindness only to your pet rabbit...until you brutally slaughter it with a steel-toed boot.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Current mood: Obviously bonkers

Blinkage

No-one met me for drinks at London blinks yesterday.

• Is this because I left it to the last minute to tell anyone about my trip?
• Is it because everyone was really busy with prior engagements?
• Is it because you all hate me?
• Is it because you were all there but we just don't know what each other look like?

I suspect the last is true.  My huge ego won't allow me to consider the other options.

Anyway I'm Jason.  I'm quite tall, was wearing a black suit, white shirt and no tie.  My hair was in a pony tail but it'd got a bit loose and messy after a whole day of attending a seminar on Adobe products.  I was also carrying a black backpack with my laptop and books in.  I spent some time nursing a pint of bitter and reading "The Picture of Dorian Gray".

I'll tell you what: That Oscar Wilde really liked to describe men.  I'm not sure but I suspect he may have been a bit gay.

See you next time maybe?

Current mood: There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or


*Yawn*

Right then.  I'm off to Laaaandon Taaaaaan.

Maybe I can sleep on the train.

Hopefully I'll see one or more of you at Blinks.

I really have no inspiration at this time in the morning to write anything.

*Yawn*

Current mood: Big-Smiley


Ahem! Blinks tomorrow

I think mmm is the only person who notices this entry for blinks tomorrow.

I obviously upset everyone last time I was in London town which is why no-one want to come this time.

*sniff*

In other news I went bowling on Saturday with the kids.  Cake Worm is the champion with 111 scored.  I don't know if this is good or bad but much enjoyment was had by all.

I'm also really hot today.  If summer is over as people are claiming can it please cool down a bit.  Please make the necessary arrangements with the weather people.

Current mood: Big-Smiley


Don't fake it

According to Sunday's Observer women should be expected to fake orgasms in order to boost the fragile egos of us weak men.  At least according to feminist writer Fay Wheldon.

Well I'm afraid that I don't need to be mollycoddled quite that much.  I'd rather my sexual partner were more honest with me rather than being deceptive.  If you haven't got your jollies then you should bloody well say so.  I'm sure that we could think of some way to help.

I mean, honestly, do women really think that men are so fragile that we'll fall apart if not properly handled?  I doubt it.  The current trend seems to be quite the opposite.  Feminism seems to have been victorious.  Far from being second class citizens seen as dependent on a man it seems now that the reverse is true.  Apart from a small wage deficit at least.

Personally I'd rather have a partner in my partner than a subservient or a dominatrix. 

What do you think?

Current mood: Sceptical

Big School

Snarly Beth starts Big School today

Here she is when she was very little.

But this is how I'll always think of her.

Isn't she gorgeous.

Current mood: Big-Smiley