Be Excellent To Each Other

Not excellent news for you.

Today I will be banking a cheque for almost £600 for a PPI claim from a Black Horse car loan that goes back about 10 years.

I wrote one single letter about 5 years ago and they replied saying "nah" but then they wrote again recently and said "Yeah we shouldn't have done said that thing - have cash"

So if you did ever get any out then it's still worth pursuing and definitely in a less half arsed manner than I did.

I have to admit I'm still a bit baffled by all this. I don't blame anyone at all for taking the refunds but I had loans years ago and always refused the PPI on the basis that I didn't need it, even when they were quite persistent. Same as extended warranties or any other crap people try and sell me that I don't need.

I never bothered with PPI either, so I've got no surprise windfalls coming my way. I just wish everyone else would hurry up and get theirs done so the PPI phone calls will stop.

It's brightened my Monday.

I can drive again tomorrow!

Excellent news. That came around quickly.

Great news, Z!

Your recovery seems to be taking place at an amazing pace. X

<adds notes to "Reasons to suspect Zardoz is not human" archive>

Presumably number one is "His Avatar"?

Who said you could drive in the first place

If you look at it, he steals your Nintendo stars.

Looking at my forecast accuracy numbers on one account, I am up 5% for the year on last year (when someone else had the account) and 10% in the past six months on last year's total number. You can see this step change on a graph, so I have included this on my appraisal form and the real world benefits this brings. The other account is pretty static, though, but I am yet to move my methods over to that one as you need a control. I shall wait and see what this brings.....

Flying to Beirut this evening for a friend's wedding, really excited to go, never been there before (and it's the first break from work for an absolute age).

Yay!

Some of the providers built them into the loans so it wasn't completely visible to the customer. Or they worded it so it made it sound like it was mandatory. Some real shady nonsense.

I've used what I consider to be the best mouse ever made (The MS Trackball Explorer) for the last 10 years

MS Stopped making them some years ago and you can see from the link below people want £500 or more for them these days.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-D68-0 ... B00004YV5X

To watch my son (2) develop is a joy, he loves to watch stuff on YouTube and had started to try and start clips by using the trackball when shouting for me to come into my own PC room 20 times didn't work!!

Today my wife told him no Youtube and he chucked my Trackball on the floor, breaking the right click button in the process

I was gutted, until I found another one in one of my draws that I think I used at work then stopped doing so for some reason

So hopefully another 10 years of trackball goodness now, although I suspect I will be back in the same situation by the end of the month!

Had my hospital review today. All is really well. Breech baby is no longer breech (or never was - it's hard to be sure but the consultant thinks the midwife has mistaken baby's bony bottom for his head (or, as he said, baby has two heads), so he took us for a scan to be sure and right enough he is head down. Ah, much relief! All other tests and measurements are good.

That's not the Yay, though. The Yay is that our consultant's name was Dr Pepper.

Also, he was tall, tanned, young and rugged, and charming. Just like my husband, who is some of those things. Like, at least one. Maybe up to three.

Brilliant news. When's the due date Mimi?

10th September, which both seems really soon and aaaaaages away!

I guess soon, because I guess you are never really ready, but also ages away because more than anything I really, really want to meet him.

Not that I want him to come early. Or at least not until September 1st Because, yes, I am already thinking abut school year admissions

Also, Dr Pepper!

We were a bit confused as to which waiting area he had directed us to after the consultation. I said to Russell that we had 'so misunderstood'. He didn't laugh. I don't even think he got the joke. It was the most disappointing moment of my year.

It was the worst thing that could have happened.

There you go.

See, I'm allowed to like you again now.

I used to have a GP called Dr. Pepper. I used to say that to him every time I went to see him. He never laughed.

Wonder if it's the same guy.

Head of Maternity services. Almost certainly. You womb-haver.

Waa he both suave and beautiful? If so, maybe.

And impossibly helpful? To the extent that one could say

He was always at your
<sunglasses>
Cervix?


YEEEEAAAHHHH!!!

Hahaha! Actual laughing, with sounds and everything.

All the bananas.

MrsA's student midwife had the same name as baby spice. Which entertained me for the 53 hours before Shitpants deigned to arrive.

Yay!

That's lovely news. Phew.

My driving instructor had the greatest name ever, 'Giles Tempest'. My driving examiner also had an odd name, 'Bob Fudge', which was amusing because he was very large and thus made looking out the left hand side tricky. when parking.

Also, on one of my first visits to Cardiff during Uni it was Halloween, and I and some others was dressed as a zombie. I pointed at a pump of Brains Brewery SA Gold and said, "Braaaaains!"

Nobody even so much as smiled.

There were some strange names flying about on the news last night. Sean Memory, talking about the Ted Heath snafu.

Sean Memory, second only to Johnny Mnemonic.

Wilf Weeks, talking about something or other.

Wouldn't have been surprised if Charlie Brooker's hard-bitten detective, DCI John Shit, turned up.

Though of course, the best name still belongs to Feed The Poor's ROBIN MAHFOOD.

Working for a large company you often have employees around the world with interesting names. Two personal favourites have been Tossaporn Legpetch and Hwoarang Poo-Alarm.

A friend working for an oil company claims the crown though. They have a chap working out of Germany. He works in their lubricants division. His name is Berndt Minge.

We had a student named Wei Wee. She just graduated.

*giggles*

Hopefully not in their product testing department.

None of those are as funny as that person with a silly first name for a surname you invented and had us all believe was real.

That's 5 weeks, if you are on time and he doesn't arrive early. 7 weeks before they will induce you. My wife was getting stressed about did we have everything etc at this point and I just said no we have Amazon Prime so it doesn't matter:)

Hehe, I'm not stressed about having stuff. We've got clothes, some nappies, somewhere for him to sleep. We can keep him clean and warm and loved. I guess I just mean more mentally ready for the labour and birth, recovery and the rest, and all the Clangers and worry those hours (or days) can bring.

7 weeks before they can offer to induce you. "will" suggests Mimi isn't allowed bodily autonomy....

well said.

I thought there was no choice in the matter when one's two weeks over? I don't remember Mrs Fop being given a choice at any rate.

They should offer you a consultation to recommend induction, but can't force it. There are reasons that 42 weeks is when they may prompt and maybe even pressure you (more chance if baby passing myconium, placenta stops being so efficient) but toy can refuse. It will be how they word it that probably made you feel as if you had no choice: 'if you go beyond 42 weeks we'll have to induce you' but that's part of the hard sell, you don't have to accept.

One of the girls in my NCT group was booked in for a sweep at 40weeks and 4 days, and the date at which they start suggesting induction either through sweep, hook or IV differs between local wards.

Look who was listening at the NCT group that day *shines lapel badge*

Riley - My wife gave The Nod for Le Mans

I believe a new thread is in order.

You have choices at EVERY step of the way. You can refuse all tests, blood draws, monitoring, scans, interventions etc. (With #1 I did as I was told, with #2 I was far more stubborn & selective...)

I know of women who were bullied and scared into induction at 42 weeks through "you're baby is going to die" tactics and it's completely ridiculous. I can't remember the stats off the top of my head but the risks only go up very gradually for each day you wait.

That said, plenty of women are that fed up by 42 weeks they wouldn't wait even if it was presented as a choice..

True dat. I think Mrs Fop was in no mood to argue. Get it over and done with, was her thinking.

My friend refused every test until a blood test two weeks before she was due which she only did as they threatened to refuse her a home birth attendance if she did not agree

Jesus.

Think it was a home-birth, not a stable.

brilliant!

I suppose I can understand some people refusing things like testing for Down's syndrome, etc if they know that whatever happens they will keep the child (though, I think I'd personally like to know to be mentally prepared for life with a baby who might need extra love and attention in whatever form), but I think for her it was a case of nature deciding what would be for her and her child, and the birth. I don't know how much forward knowledge helps in terms of preparing for difficulties in the long run, whether it is a significant amount in Western cultures with good health care provision, but some people choose for as little intervention as possible. I'm just naturally cautious, and like to be prepared so my mind is organised, so I knew I wanted to know the baby's sex, for example, because it has helped me to prepare for the idea of life with a little boy, life with a son. It's helped me bond in that way, too. Some people just want nature to provide though, and on the day whether girl or boy, with perhaps some genetic condition that may or may not have been picked up with screening, well that is the life they will still love whatever happens.

I don't know: I think it's almost like different personal beliefs in this respect almost feel as if brains are wired differently so it's very hard to put yourself into the opposite mind set, but I admire both ideas, and only know which one suits the person I am at the moment. Luckily my husband is of the same mindset in this (and pretty much all) situations. I suppose it would be very difficult if two parents had fundamental disagreements on things like that, though, if unwilling to compromise.