| The Rules of Television |
[Nov. 25th, 2009|07:36 pm] |
1. Muuranker will see 4 channels, and one rather fuzzily.
2. The programmes Muuranker wants to watch will be scheduled for 9pm.
3. Rule 2 does not apply if there is no 'watershead' content: these will be shown at 11pm.
4. Rule 2 does not apply if there is a lot of trauma. These will be shown at 10pm.
5. If Rule 4 applies, at least one episode will be substituted in out-of-order due to co-incidence with current events, or one or more episodes will be rescheduled at short notice to 11pm due to someone mistakingly thinking that parents send children to bed at 11pm so they won't see really icky stuff.
6. If Muuranker is off sick, the normal daytime schedule, which she finds passible, will be temporarily replaced with one (or more) of the following
a) 24 hour wittering about a catastrophe which is not of the kind (such as flooding in the UK) where people might reasonably change what they do due to learning something from the television, but rather is purient interest in death and destruction which does not personally affect more than a handful of the viewers in the uk, and those are actually not being viewers any more, due to said tragedy, or if they are, have tuned into a movie channel for a bit of relief from thinking about the said catastrophe.
b) several major sporting events (or, several major sporting events and a gardening event)
c) one or more fund-raising events. |
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| British Overseas Territories |
[Nov. 23rd, 2009|08:52 pm] |
ExMemSec and I miscounted the British Overseas Territories as 15. There are either 14 or 16.
Anguilla
Bermuda
British Antarctic Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar (tickybox!)
Monserrat
Pitcairn Islands
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Cyprus)
Turks and Caicos Islands
The group (or 3) that complicate the counting are St Helena, and its (used to be) dependencies, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (the three islands now have equality). |
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| Matters Domestical |
[Nov. 22nd, 2009|08:23 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | bathroom, water | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Wome | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Overture, Sympony No 4, Boyce | ] |
The water bill has arrived. I mentioned when the previous six-monthly bill arrived that it seemed to be rather low. The new bill has all kinds of eco-friendly numbers on it. It compares this last half-year to the previous half-year, and the half-year before that. It compares us to average households of various sizes and typical water-saving households. I find that over the last three half years our consumption has gone thus : high eighties litres per day, low eighties, to 63 litres per day. When a low-consumption single person household uses over 200 litres per day.
The bathroom planning goes on. It really is going to be a squeeze to get the washing machine and tumble drier into a new little room at the end of the bathroom (because building regs say they can't be in the bathroom, as at present. An alternative solution is to remove the two immersion heaters from the immersion-heater cupboard, and put the laundry whitewear in there. So the question becomes: how do we heat water?
We looked into solar heating, but this would need landlord's permission before they'd give us a quote, and we know our landlords are well known in the industry for their helpful customer service, efficiency and low costs *ahem* (we live in the property - the hassles faced by those who are investors/landlords is quite something). So not solar heating.
We don't have gas, so it has to be electricity. It is to heat water for a kitchen sink, a bathroom sink, and a combined shower and bath hot water supply. Heating is from under-ceiling electric heating (!) so we don't need hot water for that. In consequence, we don't have much need for hot water, and then only for a few hours a day. And I've already established that I don't use a lot of water.
I am sidetracked into greywater heat recovery (maybe that's why we don't use a lot of water: allegedly 90% of hot water is shower water: so the dishwasher, sink use, occassional bath and washing machine are a small part of the water consumption. Cold water we use only for teeth cleaning, cooking and for giving to cats. I have very short showers - so perhaps that's why our water consumption is so low.
So ... should we abandon boilers altogether, and go for instantatneous water heaters (one under each sink, and one for the shower/bath supply?
My big idea of the day is to make a bath that is an immersion heater tank with a bath-shaped depression in it: always warm to get in, and space-saving!
Thoughts of those who have been here, done this, would be most welcome.
ETA: the shelf brackets have arrived (PootleFarce having failed to find our front door the first time they were delivered, in September). They are sturdy, and ExMemSec is glancing nervously at the size of the fixing holes. If it goes Horribly Wrong, it will be three big iron brackets, a scanner and a laptop crashing onto a printer, screen, keyborad, mouse, and me. |
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| Monopod / walking pole |
[Nov. 14th, 2009|07:41 pm] |
So ... I'm looking into a monopod, and probably one that will double as a walking pole.
Since I've never used either, I wonder if folks who have could give me advice on what to look for.
For example, I see lots of mention of 'quick release' - what's that? I was brought up on tripods and screwing the camera into the plate ...
ExMemSec also wants a collapsible walking stick 'like my mothers, but probably not with little flowers on it'.
ExMemSec thinks he's heard that walking sticks are not allowed in hand baggage. Does anyone know anything about that? (Obviously, sticks which are orthopaedic devices are allowed, it's the charging-up-mountain types which he thinks are't. And what about monopods)? |
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| I can cut things up! |
[Nov. 14th, 2009|04:07 pm] |
Today's knife skills course was excellent. I successfully got the leg bone out of a chicken, and cut fruit and vegitables into various sized bits. I now am a woman in search of a tomato knife (who knew such things existed, or that one could do such things to a kiwi fruit with one???), but pleased to find that otherwise, I have all the knifage I require.
I also need to get a second battery for my new camera, as yet again I found it was dead when I needed it, en route to the cookery course, as the sun came out and the light was perfect.
ExMemSec has been having, in my absence, a long conversation with the builder about the bathroom, involving much sucking of teeth, and realisation that it needs a space a little bigger than the floor-footage of TWO driers in order to put a drier on top of a washing machine. |
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| International travel has its downsides |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|09:50 pm] |
OK, so ExMemSec is working on the Caribbean bits of the Sunset tour ... and has worked out that flying in to Antigua is a cost-effective way...
Fair enough.
Except I now have the first word and a bit of a song stuck in my head!
It starts 'Antigua!' The second word might be 'Bermuda!'
Help! |
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| A series of unfortunate events |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|08:02 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | cats | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  I fail at psycho manipulation | ] |
This catalogue of woes starts the night before we flew to Gibraltar.
ExMemSec couldn't sleep, and the chief culprit was the hot water boiler gurgling aggressively, so he got up and switched it off.
We got back on Monday, and on Tuesday morning I found the water to wash in was chilly, but I was in a rush ....
Tuesday evening, I washed the first load of clothes, ironed some, and put them in the airing cupboard.
Wednesday morning, I wondered why the water was a bit chilly, but I was in a rush ...
Wednesday evening, I found the clothes weren't properly aired, the cupboard was cold, and the problem with the boiler not being on was discovered.
Yesterday evening, I forgot about the second basket of clothes needing to be aired, until I got to bed, and was too tired to swap them over, and left it for this morning.
This morning, Broggy decided it was Too D*mned Wet to go to the loo outside, and the next best thing was the basket of clothes waiting to be aired.
This is the point where I demonstrate I am unfit to own cats (I think I've already shown I am a slovenly housewife, so there's not much further to descend): I decided the best way to teach Broggy that the laundry basket is NOT a toilet was to put his dinner in it.
This has severely traumastised Broggy, who refused to eat his dinner when I took it out of the basket (the aversion therapy has worked, but not in the direction I intended it to). Liberated from the bedroom, Kiwi therefore settled down to a second breakfast. |
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| Trench Literature |
[Nov. 12th, 2009|08:13 am] |
Abe books just sent me this - perhaps of interest to Tolkienists and others on my flist:
"The literature generated by World War I - from A Farewell to
Arms to the poetry of Sassoon, Graves, Brooke, and Owen - serves
as a lasting reminder of this nightmarish conflict. But what did
the ordinary soldiers read in the trenches? The answer is almost
anything from the most famous writers to authors who are little
known today. Reading material was in such demand that soldiers
on all sides resorted to publishing their own trench journals.
"Discover the reading lists of World War I
http://newsletter.abebooks.com/1c85a9ffclayfousuabxczeqaaaaaabqk43sqfjcxfayaaaaa
PS Thanks for feedback on yesterday's rant
Campaign for Real Human Resourses, anyone? |
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| Rememberance Cat |
[Nov. 11th, 2009|07:34 pm] |
Created with roflbot, with permission from an original by Moocatmoocat (http://www.flickr.com/photos/moocat/206809337/)
I always like the silence at Surrey History Centre. It's the one time we open the big doors between the foyer and the search room: people in the meeting rooms and from the back offices come out into the foyer, the researchers stay in the search room, and we remember together. |
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| 1 of 15 |
[Nov. 10th, 2009|06:32 am] |
I am sorry that so many of you have had a completely lousy weekend, and so many of you a bleh weekend/week. May it all get much better, really soon.
* * * * *
The stuff you may be interested in first: I am fairly sure that I now have got my permanent email redirecting to the zen account, but can't acctually see the pure zen account due to mysterious non functioning of the login password.
I am still using 3G on the Acer: this evening's task is to get the old Dell laptop onto Zen broadband.
* * * * * *
We (in case you wondered) have been physically absent, not just e-absent for the weekend. We went to Gibraltar. To photograph the sunset.
For those of you who have not heard about this: we are going to see the sun set on the British Empire. There will be photos, soon.
There are 15 parts of the British Empire still left. We started with the easiest.
Things we have learned:
* there is a drink called a Pink Gin, and it is good to drink in 1930s hotels, watching the sun set on the British Empire (drinks called Banana Dakiris and Brandy Alexanders are also very nice in this setting).
* I really do need a monopod. For taking photographs in gales.
* it is good to find out what time sunset is, before you go to see it.
* it is good to get some idea of the weather, so you take your trip at a good time of year for sunsets (we had 3 going downs of the sun, but one was pretty murky, and one was 'just getting dark' rather than a sunset - thankfully, we did have one proper one, with the sun shining on Africa and Gibraltar)
* I need to practice climbing up mountains. On Saturday we walked from sea level to the Great Siege Tunnels (I am guessing it's around 300m). On Sunday we took a taxi to the Top Station of the cable car (because the cable car was suspended, due to the gale - bad joke is ExMemSec's) and walked from that high point to several other high points, which must have been another 150m or so up from low to high, and then back down to our hotel. The next two are Ascension (h. 859m) and St. Helena (h. 818m), so twice as high as the Rock's 426m. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 5th, 2009|08:04 pm] |
Yes, you can put me down for the Poem and a Pint event organizer.
Me, still physically here .... internets is still not so goods.
Cheers |
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| Somewhat better |
[Nov. 4th, 2009|07:50 pm] |
Apart from being incapable of doing anything from 3pm to 6pm, today has been much better. The virtual cold and real headache seems to be transforming into a real cold and virtual headache. I spent two hours at work, largely looking up the name of the Romany band who were so good in Slovenia (Alexian).
3G access keeps falling over. I have discovered a design flaw with the Acer: you can't tell it you want to access 3G if it is shut (even though the button that switches between wireless and 3G is on the outside).
Zen have until Midnight (according to the schedule they set themselves) to connect me. I suspect they've run into whatever little problem it was at the exchange that Demon couldn't be obliged to sort out.
What else?
I have a feeling that there are lots of things I want to think about. Too many, and all being pushed to the back of my mind by lots of 'must dos' and other stuffs, both at home and at work. |
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| Action Shopping |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|07:42 pm] |
This is something that happened before I discovered live journal.
I mentioned it on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) aliasse 's journal and she, and wytchcroft too (I think) said they wanted to know more, so here goes.
It starts with the concept of Action Learning. Action Learning is a philosophy/practice of learning that suggests that adults in particular learn best by critical reflection upon action (I particularly like the variety developed by Paolo Freire which arges that there is a cycle, do-reflect-do in which the second 'do' is transformative action, aimed at changing the world.
Action Learning takes place in particular social settings (as indeed do many forms of learning, such as the lecture). The action learning social setting is characterised by the equal nature of the participants, and multivocality, as Freire puts it (and I mis-translate) 'monologue oppresses, dialogue liberates'. Many people use a particularly structured form of action learning group, the Action Learning Set. This is a group of people who come together to help one another to learn. They do this not by offering advice, but by offering open questions which they feel, should the learner choose to answer them, will help the learner to reflect upon their experience, and thus find a new way of acting.
For example, I might describe (as I did) the situation at work I'd got myself into - making myself redundant - and feeling that I wasn't quite right for any of the courses of action immediately open to me.
I am a big fan of action learning, for learning some kinds of things. For example, reflecting on action has lead me to understand that I really would benefit from improving my knife skills (in many ways, from reducing my consumption of elastoplast to expanding the range of things I cook). However, I think going and seeing a demonstration and practicing in front of an expert is the way forwards, rather than answering open questions about how I feel about cleavers, and what Bilbo would have done with a filleting knife and a rabbit).
Back to the shopping .... so, there am I, answering questions about my career plans, and I finally 'get it' that I have a big problem with how I percieve myself, and what would really help is wearing a uniform.
Our Action Learning Set uses a model which ends each dialogue with the learner commiting to next steps (it is amazing how having told some people you are going to do something makes you do it), and I concluded 'and I'm going to buy some new clothes tomorrow'. One of the 'politenesses' is to ask after that 'how-can-we-who-have-been-asking-the-questions-help-you-to-do-that', and I said 'you can come shopping with me!'. So they did.
But this is Action Shopping, so there is no 'does my bum look big in this?'.
We started in Debenhams, with their t-shirt table, which has a zillion colours of t-shirts on it. All (were) folded up nicely. I was asked to hold each one up, and talk about how it made me feel, and how I thought it made me look (and answer other open questions). We proceeded with fabrics, and graduated to cuts.
There was coffee drinking in there, too. We didn't need to reflect on that. We're all pretty good at it already.
I ended up with two suits, and a new job.
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| I am somewhat |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|05:58 pm] |
More trivia.
Chiropracy when I have sinusitus is very painful.
I don't like getting management data on sickness in the workplace: I am tracking the current sinusitus and afraid that it means 1 day off for the resiliant, and week for the weak. I suspect I will need four days, and all of them spent in Gibraltar.
Whoopee, another guest has said 'yes' to Return of the Ring.
I have signed up to being in our Neighborhood Watch, and had a long door-step discussion about the need for a communal bike shed.
My shelf still hasn't come.
I submitted the application for a six month secondment to Policy.
I have brocoli cheese for tea tonight, but have spoilt my appitite by eating 3 left over sandwiches at work and some left over vegitable chips at home.
In the year that the First World War passed from living memory: we have made an exhibition.
Overall, I am feeling just somewhat
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| Various items of news |
[Nov. 1st, 2009|12:30 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Wome | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  busy | ] |
I see Time Team tonight is on WWII defence works.
I buy packs of 18 free-range eggs from Morrisons, which are much cheaper than other eggs, but do seem to be the rejects from other packs. Sometimes tough shells, sometimes a bit oddly shaped. We have just finished a box of 18 that were rejects from those very expensive double-yolkers packs. The first one was a surprise and a delight, by the end of the pack I was quite blase, but still happy to see double-yolks.
We have bought massively seduced [Alcock-speak=reduced] Hebridean crab from Waitrose for lunch. ETalsoA and very nice it was too!
I have given in, admitted that the measly and limited range of UK-grown flowers is now at an end until the early daffs come in from the Scillies. I wasn't going to buy flowers, but did. Fair trade, which seems like a reasonable compromise. Someone who really cares about the planet would find out who _is_ growing green stuff suitable for selling in cheap bunches in supermarkets November - January.
I made the mistake of confusing the waste and recycling department of Woking Borough Council with people who care about the environment.
I have five things left on the list of 17 things to do this weekend for Return of the Ring. Also one job application, a bit of archives, a large heap of non-TS stuff, and a nagging feeling that I have forgotten to do something important.
ETA: it is my Disabled Student Award application. |
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| More remembrancing (or, how history comes round in a circle) |
[Oct. 30th, 2009|05:41 pm] |
This has been a week for speed-writing the communications plan, which meant we had to work out what we're going to do that we need to communicate.
2010 is the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, which has a special link to Surrey, because we are home to the RAF memorial.
In popular imagination, the battle is entirely aerial: plucky spitfires vs bullying Junkers (see http://www.raf.mod.uk/Bob1940/bobhome.html for some history behind this). The Bob site is quite an old view of the battle, since it (naturally enough) fails to mention the role played by military intelligence (particularly the Enigma decripts) in the battle. As some of you know, I worked for a time at Bletchley Park, so thinking about this battle isn't something new.
This time, with a Surrey focus, rather than a military intelligence focus, I'm more aware of the targets of those bombers. I had a fuzzy impression of the targets being airfields, but hadn't grasped the change in tactics early in September, when aircraft factories were targetted - and among them, the Vickers works at Brooklands. I knew about this, but hadn't connected it to the Battle of Britain. Over 80 people died, and over 400 were injured as the canteen took a direct hit, at lunch time.
So, there we are, thinking about who we might approach to see how they are commemorating the battle, we start talking about the various nationalities present, including various central European countries, which leads us back round to the heritage of mental health, and the significant number of Polish patients at Longrove Hospital. Same old story: displacement and estrangement is not good for humans.
I wish history had fewer bombed canteens, and more Hindustani Coffee Houses. |
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Fevered from flu jab
I was up!
sympathetic