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The good morning, good night thread

Started by Ed, October 22, 2007, 03:49:05 AM

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desertwomble

Ramadan starts tomorrow here in the UAE and our boss (who everyone moans about) has given us all the day off work. This will allow the students to spend the first day of Ramadan with their families before driving back to our remote desert location. It'll also give me time to get any business done in Abu Dhabi.

Ramadan's a great time here. Work hours are reduced to six and I get the desert camp to myself all afternoon since everyone else is sleeping till sunset. So there's plenty of writing time available.

DW :cheesy:
http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/

www.paulfreeman.weebly.com
 
Read my most recent winning Global Short Story Competition entry:
http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

Ed

Sounds good, Womble :afro: I can't help but think how different your life must be to mine, and to how you were brought up. How do you make such a transition from one life to another? Must be a pretty cool journey.

Pharo -- I went to a couple of school reunions, but I won't go to any more. The first one, ten years after school finished, was all the uncool kids trying to prove they were cool now, a bunch of 'look at me -- I'm so successful' types, and just a few ordinary folks I could relate to. Mostly those I had kept in contact with, strangely enough. The second one, ten years later, was worse than the first, and I found out the organisers had purposely not invited a whole swathe of people they didn't like. That's not what it's supposed to be about. Besides, as you allude to, if you liked any of these people you would have kept in touch with them. Personally, I hated school -- couldn't wait to get out of the place and start earning a wage.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

fnord33

 :2funny: It's nice to know I'm not the only one. I didn't even bother to go to graduation. High-school is a gauntlet. I ran it. I'm done.

I've been away mostly because I've been getting my PC upgraded. It's been bumpy, but I'm back now.  :cheers: I don't know why my last one was so decrepit. My wife built it 2 years ago, but couldn't chew bubblegum and fart at the same time. My stats are about 4X better now, so hopefully it will hold up for a few years.   :grin:   
Life is an entanglement of lies to hide it's basic mechanisms. - William Burroughs

Pharosian

Quote from: fnord33 on July 30, 2011, 05:14:21 AM
:2funny: It's nice to know I'm not the only one. I didn't even bother to go to graduation. High-school is a gauntlet. I ran it. I'm done.

I liked school well enough--at least the part that involved learning and teachers and being on the men's cross-country team with my friend Kim  ;) . The part about feeling awkward and ignored and never ever cool is something I wouldn't care to relive, though. I went to the 5- and 15-year reunions, and while I didn't feel that anyone snubbed me and I even had some decent conversations with people from a variety of the old groups (jocks, smarties, unpopular, etc.), I can't say I felt any real connections, either.

Rook

Quote from: Ed on July 29, 2011, 06:07:25 PM
What are you going to do with the new dog, then -- sort out the ticks and then take her to a pet shelter, or try to re-home her yourself? I suppose it's possible somebody's tearing their hair out looking for her.

I dealt with the ticks and gave her a bath immediately. The plan's to find her a home, and keep her out of the shelter as long as possible. Though she's a young dog, she isn't a puppy, and being a pit, she wouldn't have much of a shot at adoption when there are purebred everything in the shelters because of the economy. If things get pushed to the edge, I'll try to find a pit rescue. But my mom talked to the woman who works at the local feed store (we've been acquainted for years) and she showed some interest-- and she said she'd ask her three rowdy (grown) sons. The police and the shelter know we have her, and there's a sign in the feed store now, so if anyone comes looking, they'll know where to find her. But the eighty-one-year-old man who owns a house near where she was running said she'd been hanging around for three days. (He has old hunting dogs outside, (used to breed them), and we suspect he'd been feeding her--she's the fattest stray I've ever met!) I think she was a drop off. Not a kind thing in this weather, but I can see where if you are being evicted, etc. you would be hesitant to send your dog the pound knowing the percentages. :/ There are A LOT of pits in need of homes--and she was terrified for the first few hours, so I doubt she'd show well to families.

But somebody loved her--she's a sweetheart, for all her lack of training.
I think, Sebastian, there for I am.
Say Hi! on Twitter: @rookberg

LashSlash

#3260
Cooked homegrown chicken Sunday. ..... did it run around without its head, after it was chopped off? i love when that happens...

re:  the found mongrelette: - there's this dog-traing fellow who explains how you have to show her who the dominant 'bitch' is. then she may behave better....[i should know, being the son of one ]

Ed

I suppose the trouble with pits is the amount they eat. You add that food bill on top of vet's bills and I can imagine it soon mounting up so that a family fallen on hard times can't afford it. I couldn't just abandon anything in my care, though. At least I can't imagine times so dire that I'd have to.

They're a banned breed over here, though -- you can't even legally own one. The law came in after a string of high publicity cases where children got mauled, some to death, by the family pet. I can see how it happens, too. My wife went to drop off our eldest at his friend's place yesterday, and their Staffordshire lunged at her, jumped up, bit her throat, then kept bouncing up snapping, bit her left forearm and clawed the hell our of her right forearms while she was trying to fend it off -- and that was because the dog was pleased to see her!!! She's got red marks and scratches from teeth and claws that are going to take a week or two to heal. I'd hate to think what the damage would be if the thing was trying to defend its territory.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Ed

Cuh -- was just moving the piano around in the nipper'sbedroom, prior to decorating -- got it to where I wanted it, an inch at a time, no problem, using lever and fulcrum. Lifted up one end to put the casters under the wheels and the damn thing tilted. There wasn't a thing I could do to stop it going over. It took a huge chunk out of the wall before slamming down on its back. Bits of wood snapped off all over the place. Keys all at funny angles to one another -- knackered it. Managed to get it back upright again. Had it apart, put the keys back on their pins, etc. Ran my finger across the whole keyboard, and would you believe it -- it still works, and it's still in tune :scratch:

Still a bloody great hole in the wall and loads of bits of wood to glue together, but it could have been a lot worse :afro:
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Rook

#3263
Quote from: LashSlash on July 31, 2011, 03:06:55 AM
Cooked homegrown chicken Sunday. ..... did it run around without its head, after it was chopped off? i love when that happens...

I believe my dad holds to the neck-wringing method. Family tradition. My paternal great-grandmother used to do them two at a time.

Quote from: Ed on July 31, 2011, 04:55:03 AM
I suppose the trouble with pits is the amount they eat. You add that food bill on top of vet's bills and I can imagine it soon mounting up so that a family fallen on hard times can't afford it. I couldn't just abandon anything in my care, though. At least I can't imagine times so dire that I'd have to.

I can see where someone with a pit would think they have a better shot being picked up by the right person than being adopted in the shelter--and when the cages are full, our shelter has a history of putting animals down without assessing them (though they've changed management, so that may not be case anymore). But no, you can't abandon a dog--it isn't fair. A pet doesn't have the experience to survive on their own, and are too easily hit on the road.

Quote from: Ed on July 31, 2011, 04:55:03 AM
They're a banned breed over here, though -- you can't even legally own one. The law came in after a string of high publicity cases where children got mauled, some to death, by the family pet. I can see how it happens, too. My wife went to drop off our eldest at his friend's place yesterday, and their Staffordshire lunged at her, jumped up, bit her throat, then kept bouncing up snapping, bit her left forearm and clawed the hell our of her right forearms while she was trying to fend it off -- and that was because the dog was pleased to see her!!! She's got red marks and scratches from teeth and claws that are going to take a week or two to heal. I'd hate to think what the damage would be if the thing was trying to defend its territory.

Pits can be problematic, but almost any large breed can be--it's about training, IMO. Their terribly smart, and very loving, if you handle them right. But I've seen more than one owner who were clearly afraid of their puppies (not bad dogs, mind you, just rambunctious pups), even before they've hit their full weight and potential aggressiveness. That doesn't bode well for the dog, or the owner. Fear of your own dog is not a good thing if you want them to behave appropriately.

Of course, the breeding hasn't helped, and some are too violent to be rehabilitated, no matter what you do, but there's a German Shepherd down the street I wouldn't trust as far as I could throw her--and she's just territorial. It's sad, because a lot of great dogs get painted with the same brush as the bad eggs--or the abused, bad eggs. It's horrible what humans can do to their pets.

My dog, though--he was clearly abused before my dad found him running down the middle of the road as a six-month-old. He already had a healed (awkwardly) broken bone in his hind foot, a wonky rib, and was this skinny little thing with no muscle. But he's the sweetest thing in the world, and has no aggression. Great bark though--you'd be a fool to come through our front door unannounced! :grin:

That said, I'd never volunteer for a pit--they are more of a problem statistically, and people assume they will be violent--that leads to unpleasant complications I worry about with my Sam. And he's good with people, despite his tendencies towards overexcitement.

Quote from: Ed on July 31, 2011, 06:46:56 AM
Still a bloody great hole in the wall and loads of bits of wood to glue together, but it could have been a lot worse :afro:

Much worse, indeed. At least you were already planning on decorating. :afro:

Can't believe it still works though!  :scratch:
I think, Sebastian, there for I am.
Say Hi! on Twitter: @rookberg

Ed

Yeah, it's strange how things change -- we originally went to a rescue centre hoping to get a boxer dog, but came home with a Jack Russel with lots of hang-ups, thanks to his previous owner. We've had another two since, and I'd never consider having a bigger dog, now. The little ones are so much less trouble in loads of different ways.

That piano's had a hard life. It used to belong to a sea captain, so it's seen its fair share of storms over the years. Still can't believe it survived that prang, though  ::)
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Ed

Another hard week over. One more to go before I can switch off my phone for a fortnight. I can't wait. Really, stick a fork in me -- I'm done :idiot:
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Geoff_N

I had to duck to avoid being hit by a flying half-naked woman. 
Gale blowing today so I rode against it into Wales in order to enjoy being blown back home. Riding over a bridge a huge sheet of paper sailed at me from Wales, and landed, briefly, on a Tesco lorry on the A55 below before taking off again. It was that Lynx advert of a beach babe taking off her top. It's probably over the Pennines now.

desertwomble

Quote from: Geoff_N on August 10, 2011, 07:34:20 AM
I had to duck to avoid being hit by a flying half-naked woman. 
Gale blowing today so I rode against it into Wales in order to enjoy being blown back home. Riding over a bridge a huge sheet of paper sailed at me from Wales, and landed, briefly, on a Tesco lorry on the A55 below before taking off again. It was that Lynx advert of a beach babe taking off her top. It's probably over the Pennines now.


As the saying goes, "Fact can be stranger than fiction."

DW :cheesy:
http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/

www.paulfreeman.weebly.com
 
Read my most recent winning Global Short Story Competition entry:
http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

Rev. Austin

My computer (or something in it) is on its last legs - it keeps rebooting at random moments, which wouldn't bother me too much if I wasn't a) writing or b) video editing at the time, which I have been this last week. I save often but it's still bloody annoying, plus I'm terrified I'll lose some data - but when I try and back-up, my computer reboots hahahaaarrghhhh  :cheesy:  :bangh:

My chum says he can take a look at it, but not till Monday. I'm hoping it keeps going till then  :( it's doing okay now, but it could crash at any mom
facebook.com/waynegoodchildishaunted
Stay in touch! I don't mean that in a pervy way.

Ed

Sounds like it might be overheating, Rev. Take the cover off and look at the heat sink on the CPU -- it's probably clogged with dust. Clean it, but whatever you do, don't remove it from the board to do it, otherwise you'll need to reapply thermal paste and all that rigmarole. You can remove the fan to clean it if you want -- that shouldn't cause you any problems.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]