-Insert Post Title-

-Insert Interesting Post Material-
-Insert Amusing Story/Anecdote-
-Whine A Lot-
-Say Bye-

Pretty much sums up my posts of late :) Still feel grotty, still have a headache, nose feels like a great big boxer has smacked me one, crap night of sleep... Tam is pulling the house apart, Jaysen is wandering around dressed as a werewolf, and I am making Lemon Meringue Pie. The weekend is rapidly drawing to a close, which means cold, early mornings for another five days before I can stay in bed and hide.

Assuming of course, I don't fall apart by then.

A-Go-Knee!

OK, so it's not THAT painful, but damn it's sore. Had a really crap night, as I tend to sleep on the left side of my body, but not last night. And sleeping on my right side feels odd for one, but last night it was pulling my face tight. And the headache lingered all night AND I kept feeling sick. Great stuff.

Woke up to streaming sunlight, and the feeling of a knife stuck in the left-side of my head. The bloody headache will not go, drugs or not. So Jo has given me a break and shifted her and the kids to her mums for the day so I can chill, watch some movies and not have Tam smack me in the nose. Three times, no less. And being the smart chap I am, I've itched my nose, realising too late that it's got stitches in it. I've just given it a good clean, and I'm keeping an eye on a couple of parts that look very red.

All in all, I feel pretty pants, and the doc said I might feel rough for a couple of days. The bastards.

Anyways, in other news - I checked my Celebdaq this morning and am now doing diabolically... I'm worth less than I started with, even the weekly payments didn't help - so I've dumped the idiots causing me such big losses, and invested in a few people that might have some stuff going on during the week. This is why I've never invested money - because I am crap at it :D

And to give ya'll something to do...

• Stupid Quiz: Quite amusing - I only scored 8 out of 11 :(
• Tube Map - Sponsored: Probably more the the British readers, someone has taken a Tube Map and altered all the names to become brand names. Had me in stitches (ba-da-boom!)
• Hamster Amusement: Video clip that made Jo laugh like a schoolgirl!
• Waste of Biscuits: hehe too much time or money...
• Cow Maze: OK, not in English, but you have to get the cow to the house using the arrows... Entertainment for aaages! Thanks Alan!

That should give you something to do. And mental note - laughing with stitches in the nose is incredibly painful!

I'm Bored Being Me

Home by lunchtime? Great stuff Dan!

Not exactly. I'm feeling too icky to do a proper "in depth" post, but suffice to say, my day at the hospital started wobbly, and finished with me suffering from the headache from hell. The highlights of my day (in no particular order),

• Being booked in twice with different instructions.
• Having the surgeons debate if this is an "Ears/Nose/Throat problem, or re-refer through Dermatology"
• Being told that the cyst might not be a cyst, and having it sent to Oncology for checking.
• Having to wait 2-6 weeks for Oncology to let me know.
• Having the "small circular wound" become an inch-long incision up my nose so he could "get it all out"
• Having several needles that made me want to puke.
• Not being allowed to wear my glasses for TWO weeks.
• Sitting here with the headache from hell
• Having my left nostril close up from swelling

There is more (amazingly) but I feel too icky to sit and post about it. So now the worry from having it done has changed to worry of what it is, might be, could be. And I know what Oncology means.

For those that didn't know, the "cyst" was on the left side of the nose and has been there forever. And Minge, Jo wasn't allowed in with me as... er.. Apparently they "don't allow visitors or partners in the day unit". Which pretty much says "tough luck asshole". So I sulked alone.

IT doesn't hurt, the side of my head and face hurts (though it is deffo "ouchie" if I wrinkle my nose). I've got a bitching headache now.

A Day In The Life

You know, in this house, you just cannot take a breather. Tomorrow I've got the whole cyst-removal thing going on, so this evening, I had planned to get take away, watch a movie, reply to some mails - you know, have a rest - I have to be up there at 7.45am, and figured an early night would be on the cards...

Oooooh no you don't, Dan...

Me (7pm) - Jaysen, time for bed.
Jaysen (Looking... odd) - Can I have a cotton bud to clean my ear please, it's itchy.
Me - Er, no. You don't do your own ears.
Jaysen - *wanders off upstairs, but something tells me.....*
Jaysen (calling from upstairs) - I've got a little problem.

Turns out, Smarty Pants decided to "accidentally" insert a stone into his left ear. Then he used his finger to get it out, but only pushed it in further. THEN he used a cotton bud he pilfered to try and pull it out, and guess what - pushed it even further back.

Well, sod trying to pull it out ourselves, we resign ourselves to a trip to the local Casualty (ER). A place not know for it's speedy service. After all, what's February without a trip to a hospital in this house.

So we sit. And sit and sit. It's a typical emergency room, with someone bleeding, someone moaning, someone coughing everywhere, and a crying baby. JOY. We get there at about 7.30pm, seen by Triage pretty fast, and... stop. And bear in mind, they have a policy to get the kids seen quicker.

9.45pm we're finally called, and sit for another ten minutes. Then in comes a nurse who I am SURE found his medical degree. He has a look. "I don't see anything in there". Now, HE is looking with a light-up pokey-in-the-ear thing, while WE can see this thing without any jiggery pokery. It's a rock. It's in his ear. Fetch doc, fetch. Out come the fine-point tweezers, and cue the wailing and screaming from Jaysen who is apparently in some pain. Doc grabs and pulls, and out comes a rock.

Well, PART of a rock. And what does he say? "Just some ear wax" I blink, Jo blinks, we exchange a look, Jaysen cries, Doc has another peek. "Hmmm still something in there" and another rooting session, and screams of blue murder from Jaysen, out comes a second 'thing'. "Ahhh there it is" says the doc, putting this little black THING on a tissue. I mean, it's smaller than a peppercorn, while the other thing might as well be a brick.

He decides all is done, tells us to go home (along with sobbing Jaysen). As soon as his back is turned, me and Jo check the first lump, the "ear wax", and it is SO a lump of rock. There are no two ways about it, it's a triangular, solid, rocky bit of rock - as is the small black thingie too.

So now we're home, he's still unhappy but cheering up, and me and Jo haven't eaten yet. And it's half ten.

Anyone fancy a go at being me? I swear it's fun fun fun!

Oh - and we kept the rock - I will photograph it and it's little friend for prosperity tomorrow and post it :)

Where Can I Hide?

Well, tomorrow morning bright and early, I have to be at the local hospital to have my nose sorted out... I've had what I thought was a mole on there for the last, er... blimey, since I was at school, so 14 years? More? Anyways, turns out the bugger is a cyst, and tomorrow it's coming off.

But I am dreading it. Every single moment leading up to tomorrow is filled with fear.

I am a big fat coward, I admit that. It takes a lot to make me squeamish, and I only have a couple of phobies. Needles being stuck in me is one, and I discovered that having bits of me cut off before my very eyes is another. This cyst is on my nose in my field of view of my left eye. Local anaesthetic, which means lots of needles into the nose before my very eyes. And then there's the whole choppity chop chop.

I just got off the phone with the nurse, and she has said if I get really nervous, then I can have a sedative to induce amnesia. Great. Also, Jo isn't allowed in there with me at all, so I have to spend my day on a ward that will likely be filled with old people that stink of pee and crazy oldies.

Added to this, I am going to need supervision for 24 hours once I am home as I will "likely get sick" which is ever so comforting. I get knackered all this week, stressed out for Friday, spend the weekend ill - and then start school runs on Monday all over again. What do I need to do to get a break?!

So Tired!

I think the week is catching up on me. I'm sitting here and might as well have coffee running directly into my bloodstream for what it's worth - but I am knackered. I feel heavy, my eyes are doing that slow-blink thing, but I know if I head up to the sofa or bed, I'll wake up before I get there and spend an hour trying to sleep before giving up and heading back downstairs!

Ugh.

Snowing...

As has been the case since we lost Bethy, the snow reminds us (and a lot of people across the country!) of her. The day she passed away, we had to travel across London to the registrar office, and as we left that afternoon, the skies opened, and lumps of snow hit us as we stood there waiting for a taxi. Over the course of the next week, it seemed every time one of us sat thinking about her, the skies darkened and down came the snow. Since Tuesday people have been letting me know that they have snow and Bethy is flapping her wings for them. Tuesday afternoon, just after 12.20, we had a small flurry, but today, it's been snowing since I got up! It's not settling, but it's nice to look out and see it, thinking of Bethy messing around and playing in the snow...

Anyways, all is quiet here for a change. Well, aside from the Dutch Trance thumping on my speakers ;) My hair is getting longer, I'm thinking about my next tattoo, my money in Celebdaq has plummetted (so much for beginners luck!), my mobile phone is quiet, and I'm all caught up on my game posts. The cats aren't impressed with the weather, but the dog doesn't care.

Read this and had to chuckle - I used to live a couple of miles from a pig farm, and in the summer with the right wind conditions, you could smell it, so this must have been amusing!

Spent some of the morning updating my Lyrass.com site, only to have Frontpage crash on me mid-edit (and pre-save!) so all the minor changes I made are gone and I really can't be bothered to start over. More fool me for not using CSS - but as I don't really understand it, I'll just leave it be. One day, maybe :)

I just know that Jo will get up today and "suggest" we go shopping. I say "suggest" as it's usually "We're going out", and I could be all tough and manly and refuse and tell her to learn her place, but I really don't like getting smacked around ;) She knows my weak points and uses them to the best of her ability.

Women, they're all evil.

Celebdaq

A few days ago, Alan and Minge posted on their blogs about Celebdaq. Instead of buying and trading in Company Shares, you buy and trade in Famous People. Now, me and number crunching are not things usually associated with one another. Nor is me and paying attention to the celeb "news" of the world - he's marrying her, she's in a crap film, they are bitching about them - it's all a bit odd for me to try and understand how something that happens in the Big Brother house, for example, can hit the front page of a newspaper. It doesn't help matters that I have almost zero desire to watch TV. I don't watch TV Series - I catch them on DVD. I don't watch soap operas - they drive me insane. I don't watch Reality TV - I'd rather sandpaper my eyes with liberal amounts of rubbing alcohol. I just don't DO TV or gossip columns.

So why am I playing? Well, it's all a bit of a laugh, and I do occasionally read the news over on the IMdB, or glance at my homepage "Entertainment" section every now and then. Plus, being given ten grand of fake money to blow how I see fit? Well, it just adds to the amusement.

So I sign up, Alan says Go, and I start shopping. Some here, some there, bit of him, some of her. Overnight, I made a profit. And the following day my money just went north, and last night, I dunno WHAT happened, but I've made a huge percentage increase in my fundage! Now, 12% gain doesn't sound like a lot, but according to that screenshot, I am up with the bigboys in postion 26,825. Aside from one or two, the people around me have wads of cash, from £60,000 to £500,000.

Now, I would be very surprised if it lasted. I've sold a few celebs this morning and bought a few more, but I have my long-run theory in action. I'm not going into it here, but suffice to say, I wouldn't be surprised if I sank fairly low in the next few days, but in theory, I should make a killing in the coming weeks.

Only time will tell :)

A New Day!

Well, yesterday is over, and it took me a while to go through the mails that were sent overnight. And my stat counter appears to be broken too ;) I hope it's just down for maintenence!

Last night we had an early night - yesterday really took it out of us - and I vaguely remember sitting up in bed watching Tam play around when the next thing I realise, I've got cramp in my shoulders and am all slumped over - and it's 1am! Even this morning I still feel fairly tired, but then Tam is asleep on my chest as I write this, and that always makes me feel warm and sleepy!

The Great British Weather is currently diabolical. I could have done with NOT going out at 8.30 this morning, but it's either that or keep Jaysen off school. It's pouring with rain, and the wind is coming from the north so it feels extra chilly. I hate this time of year, it's too gloomy and makes me moody. Still, I have various things to keep me perked up...

A couple of people have asked about the soup we made yesterday... As some of you know, I started out on my slippery slope of careers as a chef, and spent a year in a resturant in Hullbridge, Essex learning. While I picked up some skill, I also learned it's a long, hard, thankless and underpaid job - but meh :)

Anyways, the soup is actually something Jo's mum makes every now and then, and is the reason I don't consider her a typical mother-in-law. You need:

• A large gammon joint
• A large pot/pan
• A crap-load of water

Start with the gammon. Bring the water to the boil, put the entire lump of meat into the boiling water, and turn it down to simmer for a good couple of hours. Add more water if it starts to uncover the meat when it evaporates. Once the meat is cooked through - keep the water - take it out and add some more. Bring the water level up to about three-quarters of the way to the top. Then you need to add:

• 4 large Carrots (grated)
  
• 2 medium Onions (finely chopped)
• 2 large Leeks (sliced)
• 1 large Swede (grated)

We cheated and used the food processor to grate everything. You also need to either cut the meat into really small pieces, or grate that too. Chuck it all in the pot and leave it for an hour on a low heat. After an hour, you should add:

• 8 Potatoes (cut into bit-sized bits, just under an inch square)

And guess what - chuck them in too. You should probably stir it every now and then too. The spuds need about 45 minutes to cook in there, but just before they are done, you can cheat a little bit by adding:

• 1 packet of Vegetable Soup mix

This is actually to thicken it up slightly, but if you just leave it to simmer, you get the same effect - it just takes longer.

The end result is just amazing, it's low in fat, warming (ideal for this bloody weather) and really filling. I suspect it'd be a good thing to diet on. Just not in the amount I ate last night ;) Oh, and get some really crusty bread to go with it, and slap loads of proper butter on it. Again, unless you're dieting ;)

Anyways, that's enough of me being a woman. Time to do something manly... Not sure what, but I will figure something out! hehe

Well..

What can I say? Seriously, the outpouring of support today has (again) been incredible. I've had people I've known since day one messaging me, right through to people that have never spoken to us, even people that just stumbled onto the blog. Amazing.

The lists have been filled with love for us and for Bethy, and the grief out there is incredible. For those that I upset with my very long winded mail, I am really sorry. I know I cried as I wrote it, but I HAD to write it. It has been rattling around inside me for a week, and I started it yesterday but needed a break. I added to it this morning and went with it.

If I could ask one thing of you all; Don't be sad. Bethy is having so much fun where ever she is, and one day, we'll be together again and will give out lots of hugs and cuddles to anyone that wants them, the little Hugging Beast that she is. Granted, I have been sad today, but for the most part, I have been thinking of her and smiling. She would so want you to do the same - smile.

Today was fairly normal for the most part. Jaysen went to school, Jo had a lay in, Tam spent the morning trashing me and my desk. We decided to make a big 'ol pot of homemade soup - took hours to make but it was sooo worth it. And, as today is Bethy's day, I made the worlds supply of pancakes - the Little Moo loved her pancakes and would eat them till she was ready to burst, covered in golden syrup like a mechanical sticky beast.

And this evening, we watched a couple of DVDs once Jaysen was in bed, while Tam has destroyed my desk once more and is currently trying to pull her tights off. So we're having an early night. It's been a long day, and I think an early night is a good idea.

So once more, thank you all for your love, your messages and your support. I don't know how I would have made it through this year without any of you.

Oh, and thanks for hammering my blog! I usually get 30-100 visits over 24 hours... The total since this morning is currently 415! My bar chart is going mad! So thank you for that too!

And remember - SMILE!

12.20

One year today, at this very moment.
Love you Bethy - I hope you're having fun where ever you are my little gorgeous.

x

February 21st. Today.

Well, today is that day.

This morning, one year ago, we were told things were as bad as they could physically be. Bethy had fought with everything she had, but it was just too much for her. This morning, one year ago, we were woken by the nurses and told there was a problem with your oxygen levels. We knew there and then that this was just to get us downstairs. The faces of the nurses and doctors we passed told us everything we needed to know - we were not bringing Bethy home. This was it.

That morning, Bethanys beautiful blue eyes - her pupils - were odd sizes. The words we never wanted to hear, "Brain Damage" was being spoken. But they had to know. We didn't understand why then, but we know now why they pushed for the CAT scan that morning. Everyone knew this was it, but still they wanted the scan - a scan that showed everything that was Bethy was gone. She had left us already that morning, but still she kept fighting.

I remember phoning the family, telling everyone what had happened, and what decision we had made. A decision we HAD to make. There was no Bethy left in there. We held her, and my mind will always hold the moment that the nurses passed her to us, and her little hand - her hand bruised from needle after needle - waved to us, Bethy saying her goodbye to us. And we held her and cuddled her and cried over her...

At 12.20pm, the doctor confirmed that Bethy had left us and gone to play somewhere else. I look back on that day and know that every other day of my life pales in comparison. The week leading up to Bethy passing away had been very hard on her, and in the end, after complication and problem, one after the other, she decided enough was enough. I must have signed half a dozen consent forms in that week in order to have procedure after procedure, all with an aim to get her stable once more, but it was not to be.

She did exactly as we asked her to the whole time - the whole time we told her to be brave, be strong, and she did. No matter what, she fought it and let the doctors do what they had to do. Even after a string of cardiac arrests, she would lay on the bed in ICU and respond to us, nodding her head in time to music, nodding in agreement or shaking her head in disagreement when we asked her questions. She hated my beard, always did, and I shaved it on the Thursday just for her, and put her hand on my face to feel the skin and she was in agreement it was much much better.

Before she was drugged up to her eyeballs, she even scribbled us a note which I still have, and while it didn't READ as anything, she told me what it said.

"Dear Mummy and Daddy, I love you lots and lots. Dear Jaysen, I love you lots."

But despite everything, she could no longer be with us. Even to the last, her heart kept going and she was breathing on her own, off all the machines and drips. The damage inside her little blonde head was the final straw, and she skipped away on her wings.

The day of her funeral was an incredible affair. Hundreds of people - family, relatives, friends - all turned up in a blaze of colour to see our Little Moo off. The whole place was filled with colour in celebration of Bethy, and while everyones heart was heavy, the colour made us smile.

And then just weeks later, Tamsyn arrived, a new little girl. And she has one hell of a guardian angel.

----------

Bethy,
I miss you. Goodness knows I miss you so much. Not a day goes by when I don't think about you and the things you got up to. Not a day goes by when I don't look back on what you put up with, yet accepted it. Always, you were the most tolerant little girl I ever knew.

Oh you could be a monster - and you knew exactly what you were doing when you were doing it, but I wouldn't change you for the world.

I just wish, with every part of my being, that we could have had more time together. More time for you to do what you wanted to do, more time to grow and become a big sister, and more time to become Jaysens nemesis. I hear you laughing still, and I hear you running around upstairs but I know you're not there anymore.

I know that where ever you are, you are smiling down on people. I know you're dancing when you want, running around when you want, and showing everyone your zippers that you were always so proud of down here. I know you're giving them hell up there, and I am so proud of you. The things you went through, the things that had to be done with you, and you still had a smile for people. I am so proud of you.

Keep dancing, my little gorgous. I see you baby...

All my love,
Daddy

----------

And so, here I sit today, with Tam asleep on my chest, missing a very special little girl. I don't know how we made it through this year, but I only have family and friends - especially my online friends - for everything. The support, the love, the compassion.

We are getting through this, but the road is long.

I just wish for one more day with her.

Heh

Thanks to the weather, my mood took a downward turn earlier today. Fed up, grumpy, sick of the clouds and the wind and the rain. It's crap out there today, it really is.

Of course, a couple of things brightened my day, so it's all good now, and I am enjoying some Baileys and music. Ahhh...

More on my interesting searcher from a few days back. While I am really tempted to plaster his IP Address for all to see, I won't do that. I WILL tell you he's American. In the State of Kentucky. In the Town/City of Paducah, and using Comcast. So, if you have a friend that lives there and uses that ISP, it could be someone you know! hehehe Oh, and he/she was browsing at just after midnight - proves the crazy ones DO come out at the witching hour!

For your patronage, I thank you. hehe

Spot The Difference

Remember the other day, when I posted about cleaning up my desk - how neat, tidy and clean it was. Well, something happened to that this morning... So we'll play a game to test you, the reader. Sorry Emma, this might be a bit hard for you...

So - here we have the photo from a few days ago. Pay attention:

Got that clear in your head? OK.

Here are some shots from today...

Ta Dah!


Yes, she nearly fell... Oops


That's it, sit like a good girl.


Nooo, that's mine...


Put them back sweetie...


Nooo, there's nothing else for you over THAT side!


So there you have it, answers on a postcard.
She's really taken a shine to my desk. I cleaned it off the other day as she likes to sit on the left-hand corner of it, and then she discovered she likes the shelves - so they were cleared out, then she discovered she likes to stand, so the photos were moved elsewhere, and now she pretty much likes to destroy my DVDs sitting under there and stomp on my keyboard. I've had to stick my speaker down as she kept trying to chuck it into her cot.

Kids eh?

One Of Those Quizzie Things

Minge did it over on his blog, who got it from someone, who probably got it from someone.. You get the idea. So, I figured I would do it, but I'd make mine snazzy and put links in to some answers. Why? Why not, ho ho!

1. What time is it?
- 10.07am

2. What is your Full name?
- Daniel John English

3. What are you most afraid of?
- Snakes

4. What is the most recent movie that you've seen in a theatre?
- Seeing as the damn colonials call a Cinema a "theatre"... Fantasic Four, I think it was.

5. Have you ever seen a ghost?
- A couple of times

6. Where were you born?
- Colchester, Essex

7. Favourite food?
- Italian or Chinese. Or maybe Mexican

8. Ever been to Alaska?
- Not that I recall...

9. Ever been toilet paper rolling?
- Yes, teachers homes mostly. (BTW, Minge, TPing is throwing a loo-roll into trees, over houses, and generally a bit of a chuckle)

10. Loved someone so much it made you cry?
- Most certainly.

11. Been in a car accident?
- Twice, and I caused them both. In a learners car.

12. Croutons or Bacon Bits?
- Fat-Filled Bread, or "Random Meat Product".. Such choices...

13. Favourite day of the week?
- They sort of all blur into one. Friday, I suppose.

14. Favourite Restaurant?
- Aussie Outback.. mmmm...

15. Favourite Flower?
- Honeysuckle

16. Favourite sport to watch?
- Sport? Ugh...

17. Favourite Drink?
- Alcoholic would be either Baileys or Absinthe
- Non-Alcoholic would be a nice Latte

18 Favourite ice cream?
- Depends on the mood, though I do like Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough

19. Disney or Warner Brothers?
- Hmmm, Disney for depression, or WB for slapstick. I choose the Brothers

20. Favourite fast food restaurant?
- A decent chippy that sell decent BBQ Ribs.

21. How many times you failed your driver's test?
- None, since having crashed two learners cars, I kinda gave up.

22. Before this one, from whom did you get your last emai?
- Minge, actually - wishing us well for tomorrow!

23 . What do you do most often when you are bored?
- Play computer games or watch a DVD

24. Bedtime?
- If I am not sick, usually 11pm-12midnight - but they spend an hour or two trying to sleep.

25. Who will respond to this e-mail the quickest?
- If I were mailing it, it'd be the first person to answer the questions and send it.

26. Who is the person you sent this to that is least likely to respond?
- Erm, me I suppose, as it's going on my blog.

28. Who is the person that you are most curious to see their responses???
- Whoever is the most bored and fills it out!

29. Favourite TV shows?
- CSI (Las Vegas or Miami), or Lost

30. Ford or Chevy?
- Whichever is Crashproof

31 What are you listening to right now?
- Dutch Trance on RiseFM!

32. What are your favourite colours?
- Deep, Dark Electric Blue (At least, I think it is!)

33. How many tattoos do you have?
- Four so far - "Jaysen" on left forearm, "Tamsyn" on right forearm, "Bethy" across shoulderblades, and Fireball/Tribal thingie on right upperarm

34. How many pets do you have?
- 6 cats (free to good home or dodgy takeaway) (Trixie, Bast, Squeak, Sinny, Dipstick, Cosmo)
- 1 dog (Sally)
- 4 goldfish (Bob1, Bob2, Bob3, Bob4 - all interchangable names with one another)
- 1 woman (I forget her name)
- 2 kids (Sodbag and Mini-Sodbag)

35. Which came first the chicken or the egg?
- The egg. It just wasn't a CHICKEN egg, therefore, the "egg" came first, as the question does not imply "Which came first, the chicken, or the chicken-egg?" How's THAT for logic.

36. What would you like to accomplish before you die?
- World Domination would be cool, but other than that, just to see some more of the world...

Monday... Again

I've lost track of my week. I hate germs. Still, Monday, back to school, out in the freezing cold first thing in the morning - does wonders for my back and my legs hurt. Not to mention I still feel ill. Blah Blah Blah - broken record, Dan.

Course, my voice is back. Still sore as hell, but it's back.

It's only 9.30, and I am knackered already. When I don't HAVE to get up, you can bet I will be laying in bed awake at 6am debating on trying to spend another half an hour trying to sleep, or just getting up and getting on with it. If I NEED to be up, well, different kettle of dogs. But, try as I might, the alarm doesn't mysteriously shut itself off. Never has, but I keep trying.

Of course, I've pretty much cleared up the ground floor, had some tea, had some coffee, got the washing maching going (I assume there are clothes and not cats in there) and am done in. Did I mention I hate being poorly.

Meh.

Anyways - Christine, I've updated your link, and if you need some help with that coding, lemmie know and I will try and post a step-by-step jobbie for you. I just don't want you to click something and break your blog ;)

It seems that the blog is slowly becoming more popular, and visitors (aside from those looking for the previous post search string) are staying on average 5-30 minutes which means they are either reading, or leaving it open while they go hang themselves from boredom. I hope it's not the latter. And people are coming back. AND people are putting the feed into their news readers. My daily hits are roughly 40-100 people, depending on what I post, and these are people that are mostly coming coming from other pages where my blog is linked, or coming through from their bookmarks/history. Some are bumbling on thanks to the "Next Blog" button on the Blogger Toolbar (which I've removed as it's just ugly!), and others it would seem are coming from my profile that is posted on comments on other blogs.

So, if you're new, Hi, Morning, Welcome!

I would say "I'll start doing requests" but knowing some of the people that read this, I don't think I wanna make that offer.

Saying no names of course.

Holy Crap

Figured I would do my daily ritual of seeing Who-Comes-From-Where on my stat counting account. Quite interesting, seeing if I can guess who is who from their world location, seeing what countries people are reading in, how long they stay for, where they come from... And, if they come from a search engine, how they find me.

Well, imagine my surprise when I saw this on the report page:


Yeah - check that first line... I could not believe it!

So, detective hat on, I checked googled that phrase - no sign of my blog. Checked the info - and it came from MSN. So, I off I went, used their search engine...


Result NUMBER TWO on the whole list of over 250. I am SO glad I don't use AdSense (those annoying Google Ads) as who-only knows what it'll drag out on my blog!!

Pretty Much Done

Well, I think that is pretty much everything sorted. Laptop crashed on me twice, and my HTML editing is rustier than a rusty gate covered in rust, but I am 99% certain everything works. Have a play around, and if you find anything not functioning, lemmie know.

Had to change my profile picture as this template doesn't resize - which isn't an issue as Calvin is better up there than my mug.

Recolours the Tagboard thingie so it sort of blends in - but I'm not completely sure of that - another joy of colourblindness.

The rest of this post you can ignore - just checking the functions of lists, quotes, images and whatnot.

Numbered List:

1. One
2. Two
3. Three
4. Four
5. Five

Bullet List:

• Six
• Seven
• Eight
• Nine
• Ten

A wise man once said:

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A tiger's roar might be scary, but Australian researchers have found that the predator's poo is just as potent.

Researchers at the University of Queensland said Friday they had successfully tested a tiger poo repellant, warding off wild goats for at least three days.

"Goats wouldn't have seen a tiger from an evolutionary point of view for at least 15 generations but they recognize the smell of the predator," repellent creator Peter Murray said in a statement.

"If we can show this lasts weeks ... we've just tapped into probably a billion-dollar market. It's enormous," he said.

Murray said the repellant, made of fatty acids and sulphurous compounds extracted from tiger excrement, also worked on feral pigs, kangaroos and rabbits and might deter deer, horses and cattle too.

In an average year pest animals cause about A$420 million (US$311 million) worth of agricultural damage in Australia the government has said. Others put the cost in the billions, mostly from European imports such as rabbits, foxes and crop-choking weeds.

And a photo:

Sulky Pants

OK, if the blog mysteriously changes how it looks, if something vanishes, or if it goes pear-shaped in general, don't worry. I am hacking around with some code to change the look of it, and might break something.

Rather, I probably WILL break something, but don't worry - I'll fix it.

Gah!

You can tell I am grouchy. No matter how often I tell people, if an email message says "Send to EVERYONE" or is a virus warning that was "discovered yesterday" and "So-and-So says it's the most destructive ever!" then you can pretty much bet it's a big fat lie.

So, I check my email. NINE people have sent me this message - one person twice! And remember, what follows is a HOAX and not real!

WARNING

You should be alert during the next days: Do not open any message with an attached filed called "Invitation" regardless of who sent it. It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch which "burns" the whole hard disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list, that is why you should send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it. If you receive a mail called "invitation", though sent by a friend, do not open it and shut down your computer immediately.

This is the worst virus announced by CNN, it has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.

SEND THIS E-MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, COPY THIS E-MAIL AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS AND REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US

Now, people, please. This just *screams* Big Fat Lie. "Better to receive 25 times" "send to everyone" "announced by CNN" "Destroys everything"

Bugger off. If you get this crap, your best port of call is either Snopes - who have this up already - or one of the various anti-virus sites, like this.

PLEASE don't send them to me. I am pretty confident in my ways to not open anything unexpected from anyone. And hey even if I DO get it, the worst that will happen is that I will lose my windows install and a 10gb hard drive. Everything else is saved elsewhere :D

That's Enough...

I've lost count of how long I've been ill. I'm not even sure how many days I've been without my voice, but I am getting fed up with it. I want to feel better again dammit.

I can handle being ill for a couple of days, but like to feel better after the third. I can't remember what it feels like to be not-ill anymore, and now I am getting more and more grouchy. My throat is killing me (despite sore-throat meds), my nose is plugged, and this bloody head is driving me nuts. I'm grouchy and would be snappy were my voice intact. One minute I am hot and sweaty, and the next I am shivering - and this is usually dictated by "If I wrap up I get cold" or "If I open a window I get hot".

I've given up on the hot lemons and stuff - I drink em (and they taste like crap), feel kinda better for half an hour, then have to wait over five hours for the next one. So sod em. I'll go without the grossness.

Meh, you can ignore me - I'm going to watch DVDs all day. And joy of joy - Jaysen is back to school tomorrow, so I HAVE to be up early, which means that despite waking up at 6am all this week, I'll struggle to get up in the morning.

Still Sick!

Big surprise huh.

Stuart (school friend) came over last night with his wife Michelle and their little one Kieran (or Keiran.. the former, I think) who is 6 weeks older than Tam. Had a great evening even if I was 98% voiceless and sat around chatting for a couple of hours, catching up and talking about the kids.

Of course, the downside to this is that this morning, my throat is extra-ouchie, my voice extra-quiet, and in general I feel extra-poopie. Jo's knackered after Tam messed her around last night, so I am feeling crappy with a grouchy baby on my lap/desk. She's semi-entertained with my mobile phone, but I have to watch her with it as she played with Jo's the other day and dialled 999 (That'd be the same as the Americans 911). The emergency operater was calling down the phone "Do you need a Policecar or an Ambulance? Hello?!" hehehe Jo felt very foolish with the "Ahem, sorry, baby called you" excuse. For The Record: Despite a locked keypad, you can still call an emergency.

Anyways, half-term break is drawing to a close, with Jaysen back to school Monday. And I've been sick the whole time. Bloody marvellous.

Anyways, Emma has sent me one of these "Lateral Thinking" jobbies, and I will, straight off the bat, announce that I don't do lateral thinking, aside from the "Open the fridge, take the elephant out, put the giraffe in" one that always circulates my inbox. Anyways:

An American, who had never been to any country other than the US, stands on solid ground and looks at the Indian Ocean. How?

Now, I suspect it is something stupid like "He lives on an American-Owned island in the Indian Ocean, or there is a lake called "Indian Ocean" in the States somewhere, but I'm not fussed. I am sure some of you can figure it out. Of course, if you all just say "We don't know" then Emma can feel extra-smart today.

Still, being Saturday, I'm going to go find something to do. Like, I dunno, sit in front of my computer all day and hassle the world.

A usual day, really.

The Joys Of Sickness

So, yesterday I felt like crap, and went downhill from there. I went to bed at about 8pm, which isn't like me at all. I wouldn't mind if I slept through, but I had a really crappy night - couldn't get comfortable, aching from the germs, back giving me a hard time for sneezing and coughing all day, and generally feeling sorry for myself. Then at some point, I started having obscure nightmares, and at about 4am, I either had, or dreamed I had, an asthma attack. I'm *really* not sure if it happened or not which is kinda strange, no?

I remember sitting bolt upright in bed struggling to breath, I remember shooting downstairs, avoiding the cats the sleep in places that would break my neck if I fell, glancing in on Jaysen as I went past his room, getting to my desk, grabbing the pump and using it. I remember all of that. I DON'T remember going back to bed - I remember waking up again at 6am (and have been awake since) - but not going back to bed.

And I do feel all wheezy this morning, but that might just be my germs. My chest is sore like I had an attack, and my pump isn't where I normally keep it this morning - BUT Tam was on my desk last night destroying it.

I am really at a loss over it. I'll have to ask Jo if I woke her up in the wee-small hours.

So, today I am still germ-ridden (I had to cancel meeting up with Stuart last night - going to try again tonight) plus I feel ill with the (possible) asthma attack, AND added to all this I am knackered after a really crap night. Which in turn makes my back and legs feel even worse than normal.

And it's only half past seven in the morning! Joy!

I did achieve one thing yesterday though - I managed to strip out my entire desk and clean it up, dust it, and generally tidy it up. I tend to accumilate junk - odds and sods here and there, and they invariably end up on my desk. Well, it got to the point that everytime I moved one thing, three things fell off/over/down. So I spent the better part of two hours clearing it up and now it is nice and shiny and virtually junk-free.

Here is the desk in it's tidy state. The lamp ISN'T that blue, and the desk is actually MUCH bigger than it looks. But that's photography for you!

And, as to not break tradition after the last time I did this, here is a labelled version:

As you can tell, my life is as exciting as ever.

No doubt I will post later today once my various medicines have kicked in. Have fun!

And People Wonder...

...Why Trekkies have such a bad name.

I came across this link while reading a forum. It reads in a sad, loney sort of way and you can pretty much imagine what he tried to do. But what is really sad, is what he actually did. You really have to see it to believe it.

In other Web-Wierdness...

• Love Spud - The Perfect Valentines Gift
• Love Kitten - Oh my goodness. This is for the chicks out there.
• Bad Name - Really, you'd change it by deed poll, wouldn't you.
• Ultimate Trading - Goal: Start with a paperclip, and keep trading up, and get a house.
  
• More Ahhh-ness - Hmmm, more cuteness. I think I'm losing it.
• Video Editing - Wow. Music sucks, but top marks for doing it!
• New Cook Book - Not for those that like their food, like, normal.

I REALLY have far too much time on my hands...

Being Anally Retentive (Again)

I like things to be neat, tidy and ordered. All my mp3's are labelled in the same fashion (Artist - Title) with no exceptions, all my icons are the same size, my font is consistant on my desktop, email, and internet, and my Task Bar (at the bottom) and System Tray (by the clock) are kept as neat as neat can be.

So, when I saw Christines screenshot on her blog, I realised HOW tidy, neat, minimalistic and anal my desktop really is.

With Internet:

(Bum Alert) Without any screens:

And the only reason I have THAT many icons by my clock, is because my Trillian is open, I have a new mail, and I have WinAmp playing. There are usually TWO hidden icons down there - Antivirus, and Removable Hardware. That's it.

Oh, and yes, bare bum on the desktop. ;)

Still Icky

Title says it all really. The Voice (tm) is still no where in sight, er, earshot... Whatever. The head is still trying to turn itself inside out, and the nose is more clogged than a council house toilet.

Of course, only my body chooses to be sick when I not only have a week off from school runs, but also when I am being a social butterfly (well, moth) for once.

Tuesday, being Valentines Day, meant lots of smooching, but there was minimal smoochies to prevent Jo from getting Laryngitus. Score one for the cold, the bastard.

Of course, V-Day wasn't a total wash out. Jo's mum took the kids in the early evening, and Jo set to cooking a rather large italian meal. Luckily we both had Garlic, so it didn't notice when we DID get close to each other! We spent the evening on the sofa (without being BANZAI'd by Jaysen, without being BABBLEBABBLEBABBLE'd by Tamsyn) watching a movie (which we didn't need to pause, and without missing key-plot elements to BANZAI or BABBLEBABBLEBABBLE) and drinking. We saw Batman Begins on pay-per-view as we missed it at the movies. Cool film - don't go in expecting anything like the previous Batman films though, as it's not. THAT'S how I like my superhero movies - dark and gritty, not Tim Burton'ised.

Anyways - Wednesday (Last Night) we had some friends pop over and ended up playing Texas Hold'Em Poker till late. None of us have any real skill, we just play for laughs and the social aspect. Being unable to lie, everyone just assumed that I was lying every time I beefed the bets which did catch me out a lot, but I ended up winning stacks and finishing with the most cash. So yay me! Of course, playing poker sans voice is not the easiest thing in the world.

Tonight we're supposed to be meeting up with my old school friend Stuart who shifted off across the country a few years back and got married - that's where Gemma and her man Peter were reunited and "got it on" as it were. Poor old chap ended up marrying her too... So, got eight months of catching up to do with Stuart, and I have no voice.

Added on top of this, I am loving being back in my D&D email games, and everyone that is playing seems really keen as well - I haven't even LOOKED at World of Warcraft over the last few days, so something is on the right track! No doubt once people get into a posting routine, I'll be able to play games too, but for now, I'm happy just concentrating on getting things rolling again!

And in other minor news - I got my webcam hooked up again - but I can't get it to connect to Camarades at all, so I gave up. If you use YahooMessenger, then you can see it through there when it's on.

Time for another Hot Lemon... And maybe a shower.

Heeeeee's

OUTTATHERE!
Bye bye voice, we had fun. Miss you.

Yes, I thought it was happening yesterday, but finally it's GONE. Well, aside from some crackly sounds that replace my voice. Ouchie.

Anyways, I was awake at the crack of 5am once again. Feeling ill, back pressed up against a cold wall, and Tam trying her damnest to kick me out of bed. I gave up at about half six when the milkman turned up and I heard his morning mantra of "oops" *smash" as he dropped a pint of milk in the road AGAIN. Of course, the silly tit broke glass on our path the other morning and kicked it onto our lawn which REALLY has me pissed off, so he'll be getting words on Friday when he wants paying.

Tentative footsteps back into D&D have gone well. I was worried none of my players would respond after I dicked them around so much, but all in all, I think I am only waiting on about five or six out of the twenty of so, and in less than 24 hours too!

Valentines Day rolls around once more, and I have opted for the Homemade Card which looks like a child drew it. If she laughs at it, I'll tell her Jaysen drew it for me ;) Hopefully her mum is taking the kids tonight so we can have a quiet meal and evening together, but it depends on how she does for time, what with Chris (Jo's dad) being in hospital still.

Spammer update - seems the tossers are onto a new trick in trying to get onto Heart Support Groups, as I've had a couple of other moderators of different lists tell me they have had similar dealings - same spam, different username, same email domain name: @un.unhcr.co.uk - so I've filtered that email addy. I'm fairly sure the refugee agency don't need me anyway.

And can someone lend me some sandpaper - I think Jo's Buffy DVDs need a clean before she watches them...

Quiz

OK, generally I don't do quiz-things, but sometimes I find one that amuses me. I tried to post it up on here, but it didn't want to know. So I have pasted the results on their own page.

Check out that Sexuality Rating. Go me :)

Game On!

Despite the germs, the tumbler-induced humidity, and generally feeling icky, I've made a decision. I NEED to get back into my Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) email games. I used to live for them, posting daily, chatting with the players via mail or messenger, drawing maps, setting scenes - I think back and get a fuzzy feeling of how much fun it used to be.

Towards the end of 2004, I needed a break. I was running anything from seven to ten games, and it got to the point where it seemed to be ALL I was doing. Then obviously things went pearshaped last year which completely knocked the descriptive part of me aside. During the summer I put my toes back in the water, but wasn't ready for it - not by a long chalk.

The last few days, however, I've found myself dozing off to sleep thinking "I could do this and this in such-and-such game", and waking up thinking "So-and-So would find this interesting". Plus, Jo has been using her subtle female skills of subtlety on me with comments like "I REALLY want to start roleplaying again..." and giving me one of those looks that only a woman trying to force-feed you a point can make - arms crossed, one raised eyebrow, pointed look. You know the one, don't pretend you don't.

So today, I've spent the entire morning ignoring the snot streaming from my nose, I've been importing all my game mails into their own mail client, backing up address books, attachments, files - even reinstalling messenger software. I've gone through the lists, checked who is around, let them know I'm back, and have generally doing "paperwork" as it were, matching current players to current characters... OK, it sounds very geeky - and it is - but I like to be organised.

Now, I'm not diving straight into it in the next couple of days - I've pointed out to the guys that next week is the first anniversary, and will probably not want to do ANYTHING then. But who knows - it might be the idea distraction. I can only wait and see.

I've even updated Lyrass.com which my friend Shawn (Nice pic!) hosts and pays for the domain each year for me. He's a star.

Now I just have to hope I've not scared all the players away and that they do actually want back in! Fingers crossed!

Fircking Spammers

I hate spammers. With a passion. It drives me mad that some prat sits somewhere and sends the same crap out to four million people. I've even started getting spammers on here (leaving comments) as well as in the shout box on in the side bar. I've deleted most of them, but still, I know they are on to me.

Mail spammers I can sort of handle. I use Mozilla Thunderbird and Mozilla Firefox (and certainly NOT Outlook/Internet Explorer, thank you very much!) so don't see most spam mails or popups or Google Adsense crap or Banner Ads. It's all filtered out. Jo likes her Outlook/Internet Explorer, and wonders why she gets 150-200 spam mails per day. But meh. With Thunderbird, it automatically shifts the spam to it's own folder. I check it every couple of days to make sure no real mail is getting lost, but it is dealt with by the computer.

This morning, I am sitting here drinking my tea when I see a new mail hit the CHD-UK Yahoogroup I run (Well, own, I've been very quiet over there this year). The sender has a heart-related email addy at the UNHCR. To join the list, you have to be approved by either me or one of the moderators. Heart related addy, check. Approved.

Within two minutes, he's posted some crap about human rights breaches, how the UNHCR are bad people, go to these pages to show me your support, etc etc.

I couldn't believe it. I mean, to post shit on a support group is one thing. To LIE to get on there to post your shit... So I took a copy of the mail, copied the routing details, and reported him to the UNHCR and YahooGroups. Oh, and I banned him!

So, if you are a spammer, please, kindly bugger off to the pit you came from. Don't post your ads on here, don't mail me asking if I want more pills, a diploma, a loan, or a new wife (tempting as it may be). And if you wonder why YOU are getting spammed, Mr Spammer, that's because I collect all your email addresses, and sign you up to other spammers lists.

Ya bastards. Don't like it? Welcome to my life.

Still Poorly

Which is pretty much my lifetime theme. "Dan's Got Germs" and no one is surprised. Ho Hum.

Jo tried to kill me yesterday to, just for laughs. A couple of weeks ago, we shifted the tumble dryer into the kitchen so it is now beside the washing machine - no more lugging a basket of wet clothes through the house to dry, no sir - now you hardly have to move your feet!

Anyway, dear Jo sort of forgot to put the tumbler exhaust pipe out the window, so while she is upstairs doing whatever it was she was doing (probably stage two of Operation: Slay The Fat Bastard) I am downstairs trying to figure out WHY I was getting so hot, and how come it felt like I was breathing wet air. Conclusion: I WAS breathing wet air. Of course, I didn't realise this at the time. So the sore throat/bunged up nose has gotten worse since SHE tried to kill me. I had windows open, I was coughing, sneezing, and even resorted to my Asthma pump. Joy!

And now, here I sit on a Monday morning, blowing my nose every two minutes and coughing like an old man. I keep semi-forgetting it's Half-Term Break, and when i see the clock I think for the slightest moment "Crap, Jaysen's late for school!" then realise a nano-second later "No, wait..."

My brain hates me.

And of course, tomorrow is Valentines Day, and I am in a real pinch what to do. Last year, we "celebrated" V-Day at Bethy's bedside - Jo got the obligatory card, chocolates, flowers and balloon, but it was marred by the fact Bethy was very poorly at this point, and shot back down to Intensive Care the following day. Now, Jo hasn't made any mention of Feb 14th as yet, and we've not made plans to go out (all our baby sitters are sick, out, or hospitalised!). I don't know what to do, so think I might MAKE her a card (with crayons too, just for added childishness!) and see what happens. If she's having a pants day, I'll just give her my usual amounts of hugs and love, but if she is having a good day, then I will present her with the card, and maybe a voucher for a back rub or something ;)

As for our baby sitters... Ugh. Gemma (my sister) is "Up The Duff" and poorly with it, so she is out of the picture. Ruth (one of our friends) is having something done in hospital (I think it's one of those girly things, so didn't press for info!), Jo's dad had an ankle replacement last week (and the local hospital is causing him all kinds of hassle!) and is still in hospital, which means Jo's mum is out of the picture by default. Neighbours? Hell no. With a capital Hell. Jo's brothers? Pffft.

Guess I'll have to cook her something special then. Like a toasted cheese sandwich. Or a great big meal - and save the washing up for her.

And The Germs Go To...

Me. Arse.

OK, I don't have it anywhere near as bad as Tamsyn, but I still feel pretty crappy, and have done since Thursday. Sore throat, blocked nose, headache, coupled with the sneezing. Ugh. So aside from school runs and housework, I've been pretty much vegging out and doing nothing.

School is off this week (which is probably why I am ill), and Jaysen is in sod-mode overdrive. Yesterday he decided to cut some of his already cropped hair - so now he has four bald spots that are rather noticable. But tough - I'm going to make him sweat it out and leave it for the week.

Tam is virtually better now - still a bit snotty and sneezy, but otherwise back to her crawling-like-the-wind, escaping-from-the-walker, stealing-daddys-food ways. The girl likes chilli, by the way.

Managed to get a couple of movies in. Aeon Flux, based on the original (odd) cartoon that was on MTV. Pretty good special effects, some decent fight scenes and a rather, shall we say, odd plot. It didn't hold my interest that well, but meh. However, the kids movie did. Hoodwinked is about Little Red Riding Hood, but with a twist and with the other characters story leading up to the events in Granmas Cottage. Very amusing, and has Patrick Warburton as the voice of Mr Wolf. He's a very amusing chap - you've probably heard his voice in The Emperors New Groove as Kronk (and later in Kronks New Groove). Just a funny funny chap. Oh, and the soundtrack to Hoodwinked is excellent too!

Been killing time with a very addictive game called N Ninja, except I have the download version from the authors homepage. Plenty of levels to get you pulling your hair out and thinking "Just one more go..."

But otherwise - all is quiet ;)

Sleep!

Well, sort of. Last night, we decided to go back into the lounge (*gasp* Twice in one day!) and watch a movie. Cellular, written by the same guy that wrote Phone Booth (one of my favorite movies!) is similar in that a guy is stuck on the phone - but instead of being stuck in one place, he has to rush all over the city to save a kidnapped woman. Not quite as gripping as Phonebooth, but still a damn fine film.

Anyways, while we're watching this, Tam flakes out on Jo's lap - who is laying on the sofa - and we think "Great!". Plan of action - Jo sleeps on sofa with Tam, disturbing her as little as possible, and I go to bed. Well, who can argue with that logic. By bedtime I had a migraine coming on, and my lower body was just one lump of pain - which I suspect was due to exhaustion. I hit the sack and flake out. Only to wake up every half an hour to a large empty bed.

But, I slept - that's the key.

Of course, today I feel like I've run a marathon and can hardly keep my eyes open. AND I have a sore throat to boot. Jo didn't sleep very well - she only managed to doze and nap, as Tam kept waking up every half an hour for a little drink of milk, and didn't really settle properly at any point. So now I am struggling to keep my eyes open, Jaysen is being taken to school by Ruth (thank heavens), and Jo is asleep on the sofa.

But Jo has a sore throat too. Place your bets on which of us are ill first!

Dawn

OK, so real dawn here is grey, cloudy and, well, British.

However, while up in the wee-small hours playing Warcraft, I watched the sun rise over The Barrens, Kalimdor.


Purdy...

Oh, and if you look in the chatbox over there to the side, you will see Punya in Australia left a link of amusing stuff. I personally enjoyed the "Bacteria vs. Cats as Pets" listing.

Still not convinced cats are better, mind you.

Time Displacement

I blame sleep deprivation, but don't understand it. For as long as I can remember, if I miss a night of sleep - be it due to children, parties/alcohol, socialising (different to parties - less alcohol!), or running around the forest, my body clock decides to change it's inherrant time zone, despite being just 30miles from Greenwich.

Saturday Night = zero sleep (though caught up during Sunday).
Sunday Night = a couple of hours of disturbed sleep, followed by nothing.

Now, inside, my body is trying to make up it's mind. At half past two (an hour ago) when I usually get ready to get Jaysen from school, my body poked me and said "School finished three hours ago and it's now 6pm and you MISSED it! Quick, Run to the School! Jaysen is standing alone under a lamp post and the crazies are going to get him! Run, Dan, Run!"

Which of course, was incorrect. I had time to burn, in fact. On the way home from school, my body THEN proceeded to whisper to me, ever so subtle-like "You're taking him home at lunch time and you've got to take him back to school then go get him again as it's only just gone midday! Har Har you suck!"

Again, incorrect.

Maybe it's my body being oh-so-subtle and telling me to have a sleep. BUT if I sleep now, I know full well I will be awake all night trying to get back to sleep. Assuming, of course, that Tam decides to sleep tonight. I am not holding my breath.

Anyways - I entertained myself today with a trip to Asda, and it seems the pensioners of the world had the same idea, and dragged out their extra-heavy trolley things just to bump into me. And to stand in front of me in the queue and pay for their tin of dog food, can of spam and pint of milk with bloody pennies. So that was fun.

And to kill some time, I decided that I'd visit my sad, lonely living room that we neglect (as we don't watch TV) and actually *gasp* ordered a movie. Frank Miller's Sin City is dark, powerful and graphic. I've never been one for graphic novels (which, to me, is just what grown ups call their grown-up comics! It's a comic, not a "Graphic Novel") but I have flicked through a couple of the Sin City ones, and liked what I read. The movie is done in the style of the comics (sorry, "Graphic Novel" *cough*) and comes across really well. Violence, Sex, more Violence - it's a pretty good movie and one I often think "Why don't I own that?".

And so now, with heavy eyelids, a pounding headache, and my bodyclock trying to fool me, I think I will find something else to keep me occupied for 6-8 hours till I can go to bed with dignity ;)

Familiar...

So, here we are again, middle of the night, and I am sitting at my computer. Today is a school day, so Jo decided she would deal with the Baby of No Sleeping. However, unless Jo is outside, clad in chain mail, and battering someone to death with a latex sword, she can't stay awake at night. So just after 4am I took over.

We actually went to bed just after 8pm last night, and by ten, it was obvious Tam was going for a repeat of Saturday Night/Sunday Morning. Jo hit the sofa with Tam so I could sleep, but I sort of dozed. Large empty bed on my own is not conductive to a good sleep. Not to mention I could hear Tam crying from the room below. Two in the morning, Jo comes back to bed - Tam still awake. I doze on and off, between Tam crying and both of them fidgeting. And now, 4am, Jo throws in the towel, and I sit with Tamsyn on my lap.

She's still awake, I should point out, and really not well. I think it's the flu, but it might be exhaustion + screaming + non-descript virus. She screamed so much and so hard Saturday night, she has hurt her throat. And the snot from her nose is like a waterfall... Well, a green, sticky waterfall.

Hopefully I can get a doctors appointment for tomorrow. Er, today. Monday.

And the worst part is trying not to panic. With Bethy, if she was this poorly, we usually ended up in hospital with her for the "just in case" factor. Green Snot = Very Bad, and she went on strong antibiotics, extra paracetamol, regular fluid intake (want it or not), and an xray. Bethy would always put up with what she had to - no matter how crap she felt, no matter how gross the meds, she'd let doctors prod and poke her, and take the meds without complaint.

Tam doesn't like to be fussed with, will NOT take her medicine without a fuss, but, she "just has a cold" which is hard to get our head around. "Just has a cold" is an odd concept for us. If Jaysen got sick, then it was panic stations in case Bethy ended up with it. And she usually did. And usually got really sick in the middle of the night, when we'd head off to the local hospital.

But now, it's "just a cold" and we have to get used to that. This is the first time Tam has been really poorly - she had a cold when she was about two weeks old, but now at almost eleven months, this is the first ill period we've had.

Anyways, Jaysen has to be up in three hours, and Tam is actually dosing off on me now (guess even she finds my blog boring!!) so now to find something to keep me occupied till then.

Brits

It's no wonder a lot of people think us Brits are stuck up snobs...

NAPEAGUE, N.Y. - A sailor who sent a message out to sea in a bottle says he received a reply from England - accusing him of littering. "I kind of felt like no good deed goes unpunished," Harvey Bennett, 55, told the East Hampton Star.

The plastic bottle was one of five that Bennett placed in the ocean off Long Island in August.

Last week, he excitedly opened a letter from England, and was stunned by the reply:

"I recently found your bottle while taking a scenic walk on the beach by Poole Harbour. While you may consider this some profound experiment on the path and speed" of "oceanic currents, I have another name for it, litter."

"You Americans don't seem to be happy unless you are mucking about somewhere," says the letter, signed by Henry Biggelsworth of Bournemouth, in Dorset County.

Bennett, who has a picture of the queen of England in his Amagansett tackle shop, says that Poole Harbor is just a short distance from Weymouth Harbor. That's where the Bennett family embarked for America in 1644.

The New York Post carried the report on Friday, giving attribution to the East Hampton Star.

Bennett did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Friday.

Sure, it IS the definition of littering but seriously...

On Being Colourblind

Some of you that know me already know I am colourblind. It's never been something I advertise, and means I cannot be a firefighter nor a pilot (amongst other things). My teachers realised I was colourblind waaaay back when I was five or six years old, and back then (1981/1982 ish!) there was no routine testing for it in schools. The only reason the teachers picked up on it, was that my drawings and colouring in was crap. Yellow Grass, Green Sky, Red Tree Bark - that kinda thing.

I suffered a lot through junior school (8-11 years old) with people taking the piss and giving me a hard time about it, so I stopped telling people. You can bumble on well enough - avoid colour quizes, use Crayola penicils (which have handy-dandy labels on them with the colour name!) and pay attention to what you SEE and not what you are told. Electrical Plugs, for example, you are taught:

• Blue Left
• Brown Right
• Leftovers Up

Of course, I don't see a blue wire, it's an odd green. Brown is invariably red, and the leftovers don't matter, so you have to re-educate yourself somewhat.

Once me and and Jo started dating, I never told her for a while. Probably a year or so after we started seeing one another. Why? Because I was so used to being ridiculed for it, I kept it quiet. Stupid, I know, but that's what happens. I didn't want to tell people because I didn't want them to laugh at me. Anyways, I told Jo and her parents, and she and Fran were fine - Jo's dad still takes the piss to this day. Meh. Some of my friends that I've told over the years are either fine or they take the piss, but I think I've developed a thick skin over it. I let them take the piss till their heart is content, and then when they need something doing, they can wait - especially computer repairs! Hey, not my loss!

Board games - which Jo's parents love to play - are a nightmare for me, especially the ones that rely on colour. It's all well and good having to get the light blue cube into the box before the light green cube - but when they look the same, you can't plan a strategy.

Anyways - after a conversation on Minge's blog, it occurs to people how many people don't understand colourblindness. Even people that have known for years about me hold something in my face and ask "what do you see that as" and it's hard to respond. If they show me a field, I KNOW the grass is green, but how I see it, and how you see it are two completely different things. Colourblindness doesn't mean I don't or can't see colour, I just see them differently - my eyes and brain process them differently.

One of the tests they do these days is the Ishihara Test, which is a circle of coloured blobs. Now, if you're not colourblind and you look at them, you will see numbers in the circles. Different types of colour blindness will see either a different number or nothing but blobs. Yes, I will wait while you go and look at the dots...

*twiddles thumbs*

Have fun? OK? OK, here's another one over at Wikipedia with a different kind of test down the side of the page.

*twiddles thumbs*

And lastly, to get an idea of what we might see (though I am not sure how accurate it is) there is this site. The picture in the middle as some options down the side of it - hover your cursor over the different names and get an idea of what that person sees.

As for me, well, I've been told I have either Deutan or Tritan variations of colourblindness. Don't worry, it doesn't mean much to me either. There's no easy fix or quick cure, so I just get on with it. But, if someone you know announces they are colourblind - don't play the "What colour is this?" game, as you will either make them feel stupid, or make them angry. Just keep in your mind they might see:

• The Sun a different colour
• The Sky a different colour
• Your painted walls a different shade
• Traffic Lights different (Instead of Red/Yellow/Green, I see Red/Red/Blue!)
• Wiring a nightmare of colours
• The London Underground Tube map Hell on Earth (well, London ;)

And Suddenly...

..It's 3pm.

So, Tam nodded off around half three, four o clock ish, and I stayed up. Didn't even nod off, until it got to 9am (and I had been playing Jo's character in WoW all night) and it hit me.

I needed the loo.

So, I decided Jo had slept enough, trudged upstairs with Tam and kicked her awake. She'd had a crap night and didn't sleep much either, but there you go ;) After the call of nature was answered, I flopped on the bed with Jo for five minutes, intent on getting showered and keeping busy all day, and then, whoosh! It's 3pm.

So in an effort to keep awake, I'm drinking tea, trying to ignore Jo watching Buffy (which WILL help me sleep, though not as bad Charmed), and going through my bookmarks trying to find something to keep me amused...

• IP Spotting - OK, my IP address sucks and only scored 4.
• Geeks #1 - Always makes me chuckle - and the sort of thing Jo does every few months!
• Geeks #2 - D&D Players are NOT all like this!
• Google Earth - Yes, linked it before, but hey - more fun than a barrel of monkeys throwing poo!
• OneMoreLevel.com - Buckets of online games, some great, some pants!

You know, I'm sitting here staring trying to think of fun stuff - I might even have posted some of that more than once, but meh ;) There are other posts on my blog of "Things to Do" here and here.

I'm also adding some blogs to the links on the right that I've started reading and harressing the authors. I'm not one of these people that find a blog and leave a comment like "Cool blog, read mine at *this site*", as that (to me) is akin to spamming. I'll read a blog, and if I like it, leave a comment - if people want to follow me back to mine, all well and good, but it's their option, not me trying to force hits.

So howdy to the people that find me here!

Finally!

Well, I am STILL awake, and am STILL at the computer - however, Tam flaked out about 45 minutes ago. Oddly, I'm not tired anymore - I think my body pushed through tired, into knackered, then onto Second Wind. Thankfully!

And how am I passing the time? Playing Warcraft, as usual. Of course, at this time of the day, the Prat-Factor is somewhat lower, so it's rather nice to run around Azeroth without getting some dickhead hassling me!

Anyways - no doubt I will be staying up till bedtime. In theory ;)

Morning Has Broken

Well, not broken, more shattered.

"Why Dan, isn't it like 2am there?"

Correct. Well, 2.17am at this moment. Reasoning? Tamsyn is not the most happy baby in the world at this precise moment. Friday Night/Saturday Morning, it would appear, was the trial run for "Baby Refusing To Sleep" and "Baby Refusing To Sleep 2: The Screaming Revenge". Tonight is "Baby Refusing To Sleep 3: This Time, She's Pissed".

She is not a well bunny, and despite a dose of both Paracetamol and Ibuprofen, she is STILL awake, STILL screaming, and now, I've decided to give up on the bed, give up on the sofa, strap her into her buggy (that is as plush as a million-dollar limo) and just let her get on with it. She won't settle, she won't stop crying, no amount of hugs, drugs, space, motion, quiet or music will stop her, so here we are.

I had a long week last week, dealing with Sick Child #1, He Who Started It All Off. Jaysen, luckily, is at Jo's parents tonight otherwise HE would be looking after the little monster. Last week was filled with early mornings (6am starts), followed by sorting him out, followed by day-to-day stuff, on to fun stuff, on to whatever else happened, and finally "Oops it's 1am". Add on top of this a healthy (!!) dose of insomnia, which in turn dragged me back to the hospital with Bethy (thus further pushing sleep aside). This was my weekend of sleep.

You know what they say about the best laid plans...

Of course, this means I will be a complete bastard tomorrow. Er, today. Sunday. Sunday will be spent with me either keeping busy so I don't mess with the sleep schedule, or napping on the sofa. Either way, you can bet that come bedtime I will wake up, have a crap night, and low and behold, Monday = School Day, which means the early days start over for five straight days.

Easy Solution? Pffft, no such thing, I'm afraid. Grin and bear it, and heaven forbid anyone that crosses me this week - I am going to be a moody puppy, I know it!

And yes, she's still crying.

Blogger On The Fritz

Been reading blogs all morning, and have decided "It's not me" for once. Trying to post has been a nightmare, trying to post comments has been sporadic (Is it working, yes, no... *error*), and now I notice a few others have been having problems too, so it's 100% certainly not me. Some people are losing posts, some aren't getting any notification of a post (only to have twenty posts turn up), some can't post at all...

Unless I broke everything with the pictures of the two ape-children. Which is quite likely.

Like Chimps At The Zoo

Do Not Feed The Monkies (or should that be "Monkeys"?)

This was taken a few days ago, before both came down with "Random Virus #174-a". Both are hot, both are grouchy, and Tam decided last night to lay down, doze off, then wake up minutes later with a full-on strop. She got about two hours sleep, Jo about the same, me a bit more - but I got up with her at 6.30am as she would NOT settle.

She spent most of the morning asleep on my lap and dribbling, but meh - she slept. Figures, we're supposed to be going out tonight - guess that's off the cards!

Tattoo is healing nicely, thank you very much!

Got my webcam reinstalled too, which I've not used since I literally blew up the last computer, so maybe I will entice some of you over with Live Tam Shows. Assuming she can be convinced to A) Cheer up, and B) Perform on Demand. Don't hold your breath ;)

And to the two old gossips in the shoutbox (Nancy and Emma), YES my hair is fluffy with that manly "Just Washed" look. It was also tied up during the tattoo as it's currently 6-7 inches long, and hair in a tattoo = bad. And the posture is because I am sitting on a chair backwards so Grant can reach over the large lump that is me to reach my upper back.

Like a pair of old washer women, I swear...

Like, Owie

So, I went for it. Chose a font, chose BETHY, gritted my teeth, and voila! Two hours of pain, and here we are again.

Correction. I say "pain" but what I actually mean is "Excruciating Bloody Agony". I can handle pain, I live with it daily, I've broken most bones in my body, but nothing could have prepared me for this back tattoo. Now, when it comes to tattoo's, there is the Lining Needle (which is the outline), and the Colouring Needle (which is used, amazingly, for colouring). The liner is the painful one, the colouring a dull pain. Not this time, oh no. The liner felt like a soldering iron, and the colouring felt like sandpaper and rubbing alcohol. And it got worse.

But, being a man (and knowing I'd probably not have it finished) I wanted it done in one hit. The most painful part? The skin directly over my spine. THAT was bloody painful, but all in all, it hurt a lot. I make no bones about it!

It'd probably have been somewhat less painful had I decided on a less arty script, but none the less, I wanted it done. No, I NEEDED it done. I can't explain it, but it was just something I needed to do for Bethy.

"Work In Progress" Photo

Finished Work
Would I do it again? Not a chance. But it looks the business! The photo doesn't do it much justice, as it was taken on my trusty ol' mobile phone - once it's healed up (or tomorrow, assuming I remember!) I will get a decent picture taken.