Wet Wet Wet: No Blank Cheque: Climbing Crocs: Columbian Cast-orfs: and Palin makes 50.

Usual at the Castle this morn, much lack of warm, oodles of atmospheric movement, bags of skywater and fuck all solar stuff.

It's been an "interesting" last seven days or so, as the old saying goes-no good deed goes unpunished which turned out to be more than true last Thursday.

I pottered over to B&Q in Farnborough to suss out some underwater gardening stuff and saw an old fart (about the same age as me) struggling to get four 6x6 foot fence panels onto one of their stupid trolleys which ran away every time he approached it so I lent a hand and grabbed one end of each and the stuff was loaded in less than no time.

Unfortunately it was pissing dahn with wet stuff and the tanalising stuff ended up all over my hands, later that day large welts started to erupt all over my poor old bod, I spent four days scratching and four dark things not sleeping until I finally managed to acquire an appointment with a general medic (not my usual one) who after being an hour late decided to discuss the pros and cons of wood treatment (apparently arsenic is  no longer used, but a copper thingy is now the in thing) while I sat there scratching parts of my body until they bled.

I finally got the script for some antihistamines and some cream and am now on the mend (again).

 

And His Maj has been getting some unwelcome visitors-a couple of scruffy flea ridden moggies that seem to enjoy stealing his food and pissing all over the kitchen.

So I had a gander at the interweb thingy and found a "smart" cat flap, which has a built in scanner and only opens to His Maj's identity chip, bloody wonderful, took minutes to install, seconds to set up and now he can come and go with impunity, have all his food to himself and sit by the flap giving the equivalent of the finger to said moggies.

I would recommend this do-dah if you have similar problems, the only snag is that it cost almost £60, you can get cheaper "magnetic" flaps but it means that your pussy will have to wear a collar and if like His Maj they don't like things around their necks that can be a prob as well.

Since fitting it there have been no raids and the kitchen smells nice again.

 

 

Apparently the endless skywater is causing quite a few mishaps for many, many people

 

After more than forty light and dark things of rain apparently most of Blighty is submerged, Dickhead Dave has been touring sodden parts of the country to "see" the water and "reassure" the blighted people of Blighty that all will be well and "money will be no object" when it comes to sorting out Noah's puddles.

Yeah right.......

 Unfortunately

 

 

The Secretary of transport, someone named Patrick McLoughlin reckons that there is no "blank cheque" for flooding relief despite Dickhead Dave saying money is "no object".

The Transport Secretary said that the Government would “use every resource” but refused to say that new money will be made available.

Violent winds of up to 100 miles an hour are expected to batter Britain as storms sweep across the country and bring further flooding to some areas.

Forecasters have warned that the storms could bring the strongest winds seen this winter and a month's worth of rain is expected to fall by Friday.

 

So that's sorted that out then.....

 

Somewhere in the Reptilian world

 

A University of Tennessee, Knoxville study has found that reptiles can climb trees. The study concluded that at least four species of crocodiles climbed trees, but how far up they went varied by their sizes. The smaller ones were able to climb higher and further than the larger ones. Some of them were observed climbing as far as four meters high.

The crocodilians seen climbing trees, whether at night or during the day, were skittish of being approached, jumping or falling into the water when an approaching observer was as far as 10 meters away. This response led the researchers to believe that the tree climbing and basking are driven by two conditions: thermoregulation and surveillance of habitat.

 

Better cut the trees dahn around the moat then.

 

Left a lot and dahn a fair bit

 

 Hundreds of people in nothing more than underwear walked through the city of Medellin and gathered at River Park for 'No Pants Day' on Sunday.

New York performance art group Improv Everywhere started No Pants Day in 2002, but it has since grown into an international craze, which is being used by Colombians as a statement for their freedom of expression.

 

What a pants idea....

 

And finally:

 

Left a lot and up a fair bit

 

Allegedly Sarah Palin turns half a century today.

And to celebrate here are some Palin Twatts:

 

"Refudiate," "misunderestimate," "wee-wee'd up." English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!

1.    Sarah Palin ‏@SarahPalinUSA Feb 6

Happy Birthday, Ronald Reagan! February is a month for great presidents. This month we celebrate the birthdays of... http://fb.me/2JcqTtCRj 

 

"But obviously, we've got to stand with our North Korean allies." --Sarah Palin, after being asked how she would handle the current hostilities between the two Koreas, interview on Glenn Beck's radio show, Nov. 24, 2010

"What the federal government should have done is accept the assistance of foreign countries, of entrepreneurial Americans who have had solution that they wanted presented ... The Dutch and the Norwegians, they are known for dikes and for cleaning up water and for dealing with spills." --Sarah Palin, on solving the Gulf oil spill crisis, Fox News, June 15, 2010

 

Here's to the next fifty years....

 

That's it: I'm orf to drive some cells

 

And today's thought:

 

Blighty's future

 

Angus

 

Sorry guys

But I have returned from my epic trek to Fareham down in darkest ‘Ampshire, showing fortitude and even fiftytude in my gallant attempt to brave the worst that Jack Frost and Mr. Snow threw at me after having to stop every ten miles to wipe the salt from the windscreen due to the washers being frozen up I arrived safely, and even found a free parking space. Without the sat nav directing me into the sea.

I arrived a little early and as most men do scouted out the nearest toilet, which happened to be almost in Portsmouth, but lighter by half a gallon and having had a three mile walk I decided to imbibe in a coffee and a sausage roll, and sat down to enjoy my feast when a Jazz quartet turned up and managed to make my ears bleed with the volume.

However I did finally get to meet four very attractive ladies, from the blogosphere and a couple of hours was spent shouting over the background noise at Cafe Nero, email and phone numbers were exchanged and a well spent morning sadly came to an end.

And as I battled my way back to the car with jacket zipped up and collar erect (the only thing that was) I passed a pub called.....................the Brass Monkey-very apt.

So it looks as if you will have to put up with me for a while longer.


Angus

AnglishLit

Angus Dei-NHS-THE OTHER SIDE

Angus Dei politico

The Rain In Ampshire

These pics were taken 6 minutes ago.

Don't you just love a British Summer.

FINALLY!

The sun isn’t out, there are rain clouds above and, most importantly there is a breeze for the first time in a week.

Don’t get me wrong, I like sunny weather, within reason, and this week it has been most unreasonable, muggy, very hot and very humid.

The temperature upstairs this morning is a balmy 82F and it is only 75F downstairs, and as I sit here the rain has just started, not a lot, in fact it is evaporating as soon as it hits the patio but I live in hope.

I don’t know if it is the weather (well I must blame something) but I am having increasing difficulties accessing certain blogs and keep getting-“Internet explorer cannot” etc, is it just me or is there a problem with the Blogger network, any ideas?



First up:

Climate change makes sheep shrink apparently the sheep on the uninhabited outer islands of the Hebrides are shrinking by 3.5 ounces a year.

Over nearly a quarter of a century the sheep, one of the oldest breeds in the world and already half the size of a normal domestic sheep, have dropped in weight and height by five per cent.

Researchers believe that the hotter weather means that the weaker, smaller lambs that are usually wiped out by harsh winters are surviving – bringing down the average of the 2,000-strong wild flock.

The milder weather is also allowing younger, smaller mothers to have children early, meaning they give birth to smaller offspring.

Well I’ll be flocked.




Staying on the animal theme: Fat monkeys put on diet The Macaca mulatta monkeys were given bread or even leftovers from their meals in their enclosure in Ohama Park, in Sakai, western Japan.

It left about a third of the 50 monkeys kept there overweight, with the group's top five leaders weighing in at 2.4st (15kg).

The heaviest male tipped the scales at 3.6st (22.9kg).

The average male Macaca mulatta monkey weighs around 1st.

However, the monkeys have managed to shed much of their fat after the zookeepers stopped visitors from feeding them and they are now nearer their 1st target weight.


Maybe they should give them a holiday in the Outer Hebrides that may shrink them.





Not quite nature but au naturelle: US flight diverted after naked man refuses to dress Keith Wright of New York disrobed on Tuesday while sitting in his seat in the back of the aircraft on the cross-country flight, said Dan Jiron, a spokesman for the Albuquerque airport.

The 50-year-old man refused to co-operate when a flight attendant asked him repeatedly to get dressed. When a flight attendant covered him with a blanket, he threw it off and attacked the attendant.

His wife, Debra, told the New York Daily News that her husband had left the family home on Tuesday without telling her after spending days without eating or sleeping.

The FBI said Mr Wright had been charged with interfering with flight crew members and attendants.

The aeroplane from North Carolina continued on to Los Angeles after Wright's arrest.



Wish I had thought of that this week, but then again-not a pretty sight.







Land Rover can build a car that breaks down every five minutes, but have managed to produce a mobile phone that has been hailed as the world's strongest phone after it survived being dropped from a tall building, stood on by an elephant and roasted in an oven.

The car giant teamed up with phone manufacturer Sonim to build the 'indestructible' device, which is intended to appeal to builders and workmen.

During testing they ran over it with a Land Rover, submerged it in mud and had an elephant stand on it to test its durability.

The S1 features up to 1,500 hours of battery life, a 2.0 megapixel camera and an extra loud ringtone to be heard over the sound of heavy machinery.

Tesco, who launch the phone today at a retail price of £249.99, are so confident it can't be broken that it comes with an unconditional three year guarantee.

But staff at The Sun, who laid hands on the S1 a day before it was released, managed to crush the gadget under the weight of a three-tonne forklift truck.

Before it was finally broken, the phone had survived being roasted in an oven at 150 degrees centigrade, soaked in a pint of lager and tossed from the second floor of a building.

The S1 is available for £25 a month on a contract with Orange and is being sold exclusively by
Tesco.




Every little bit helps, but my question is WHY?



And finally:



I don’t drink but if I did I would need to be mindful of the top 20 barmy booze laws from around the world

1. Remarkably, it still remains illegal to be drunk in a pub or club in the UK.

2. In Ohio, it is against state law to get a fish drunk.

3. In Houston, Texas, somewhat confusingly, beer may not be purchased after midnight on Sunday, but can be purchased anytime on Monday!

4. Royal Navy ships that enter the Port of London must provide a barrel of rum to the Constable of the Tower of London.

5. In San Salvador, drunk drivers can be punished by death before a firing squad.

6. In Scotland it is illegal to be drunk and in possession of a cow.

7. In Alaska it is illegal to give alcoholic beverages to a moose.

8. In Texas it is illegal to take more than three sips of beer whilst standing.

9. The entire Encyclopaedia Britannica is also banned in the Lone Star state, as it contains a formula for making beer at home.

10. In Switzerland, although it is illegal to produce, store, sell and trade absinth, it is legal to consume it.

11. In Nebraska it is illegal for bar owners to sell booze unless they are simultaneously brewing a kettle of soup.

12. At Dublin’s Trinity College, students can demand a glass of wine at any time during an exam, provided they are wearing their sword.

13. In North Dakota beer and pretzels can't be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant.
14. Although the French wine, "Fat Bastard," is freely available in 22 states in the US, both Texas and Ohio have banned its sale within their borders.

15. In the US the word "refreshing" is banned from use in adverts to describe any alcoholic drink.

16. In Pennsylvania, no man may purchase alcohol without written consent from his wife.

17. Anyone under the age of 21 who takes out household rubbish containing even a single empty beer bottle can be charged with illegal possession of alcohol in Missouri.

18. It is illegal to sit on any street curb in St. Louis, Missouri, and drink beer from a bucket.

19. In 2008 an Iranian court sentenced a 22-year-old "hardened and incorrigible drinker" to death for breaking the country's ban on drinking alcohol for the fourth time.

20. In Iowa, a husband may not take more than three gulps of beer while lying in bed with his wife, or holding her hands. It’s also illegal to start a tab at a bar.


And a little note for DD, hope the back gets better soon.


Angus

NHS Behind the headlines
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Angus Dei-NHS-THE OTHER SIDE

IS IT ME OR ARE WE BECOMING WHIMPS?

Over the last four days schools have closed because of “the weather”.

“Hundreds of schools have closed in England, Wales and Scotland following the latest heavy snowfall.

Worst affected is Wales where 600 schools have shut, and as much as 5 - 10cm (2 - 4in) of snow is predicted to fall across southern and mid-Wales.

Around Bristol 200 schools were also reported to have closed for the day.
Other counties affected include Shropshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Devon, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire, and Leicestershire.

Snow has also hit the north of Scotland, where many schools have closed and roads are blocked.

In Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen, more than 150 schools are shut. Grampian Police have warned people only to make essential journeys.

Powys council said it took the decision to close all its schools after taking weather advice, and to "remove any uncertainty".”

This has led of course to thousands of parents having to take time off work to look after them, and has cost hundreds of millions to businesses.

Are they closed because it is too dangerous for the children to walk to school or too dangerous for the parents to drive the kids to school, or too dangerous for the teachers to drive to work?

I may sound like on old fart but, when I was at school we walked a mile or so in snow much deeper than it is now, the teachers all managed to get to work and the parents managed to get to their employment.

Has the “nanny society” finally managed to crush any form of initiative and pride of kids, parents and teachers?

Or is it just that the “I can’t be bothered” ideology is pervasive among children and adults?

After all it is easier and safer to walk in deepish snow than it is in just a scattering, countries such as Alaska, Norway, Sweden and other northern states manage, and their weather is far worse than ours, and over a longer period.

Have we become defeatist, no buses running in London, no trains running, motorways blocked up, main roads impassable and side roads unusable?

Are we wimps or is it a basic failure of local councils and Westminster?

I don’t know, but I would like to.

“Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen.” - Willa Sibert Cather


Angus

NHS: Angus Dei blogs


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