Be Excellent To Each Other

Explored the "vibrate" function a bit too thoroughly.

Left it in my jeans pocket and it got washed.

Might try taking it apart and cleaning it up but I think being washed and spun for over an hour might have mega borked it. Loved that phone too (K800i) and now all I can see as replacements are either proper cheapo shite or mega expensive smart phones.

You might be surprised. Separate it into easy 'bits' (don't go mad unscrewing things) and leave it in the airing cupboard.
If it doesn't work when completely dry (which might take a few days), try borrowing a battery from someone to see if that is the only problem.

I've had a 360 joypad and my DS chunky go through the wash and survive.

Well this turned out to be fun. "it shouldn't need any anaesthetic" she said.

Largest thing I've accidentally washed was a memory stick (it actually went through two or three till I noticed it was stuck on the inside of the door - still works though), but a 360 joypad? How would you not notice it going in in the first place?

Beer, I suspect.

I've had it apart for a day now, the battery was 'puffed up' but Mrs Z had her old battery that works. I tried it and it just makes my k800i vibrate, nothing else. I'll keep trying for the next few days and see if it starts again.

I've heard old wives' tales about drying damp electronics by leaving them in a box of rice. If anything, you can make nice risotto afterwards.

I always say to use it if they offer me the choice. Were you being a brave soldier? Was the nurse tasty?

The dentistress was pretty fit, but really I just hate the needle it's usually the worst bit. Except for having a drill shoved into your nerve with no anaesthetic.

I don't mind the needle at all really. Worst thing at dentist for me is when they take an impression, fucking horrible that putty stuff.

Eugh, when they pull it out and it feels like all your teeth are going to come with it.

I'm pissed off that my bosses have been texting me "You're not required today sorry lol" for most of the past week, and now that I'm massively hung over and have just awakened about half an hour before the start of my shift it's "OMG ALL SYSTEMS GO COME IN COME IN COME IN".

Chemical fire.

When you took employment as a fireman, you probably had to expect this sort of thing.

That does, to use modern parlance, suck.

Had to have our cat put to sleep last Thursday. He was 20 years old, blind in one eye, pretty much totally deaf (well, we think he was, but he might just have been ignoring us when we spoke to him, although that would have been very much out of character) arthritic back legs, a metal plate in one of his front legs from an accident about 10 years ago and several teeth missing. His memory also seemed to be fried, as he'd want to be let out, then come back in 30 seconds later, do a circuit of the coffee table, then want to go out again. Repeat several times per hour.

He was the most sociable cat imaginable. He got on with all our neighbours and even the local dogs, cats and foxes. He was always tolerant of children unless they really gave him a hard time and always socialised with any visitors. We'd been thinking that we couldn't keep him with us much longer, but as he was nearly run over in the road last week and hadn't heard the approaching car at all, we couldn't face the prospect of him coming to an unpleasant end. At least he went painlessly and with someone he knew in attendance. All the family will miss him very much.

On top of that, Mrs W is freaking out because of an impending OFSTED inspection of her child minding service some time this week. She has a 24 page self assessment report to complete beforehand that would challenge experienced teachers. Could really have done without that this week.

And finally, I have to decide whether or not to apply for an early retirement package by Wednesday. Chances are they won't approve it anyway, as they have very limited funds, and will make me wait for the next scheme which will run in the new year under which I'll be guaranteed to be approved but will be under the new conditions (the ones that could potentially cost me £50k deducted from my lump sum after 35 years of employment with the same organisation). Tricky call, but I think I'll apply anyway, I might just be one of the lucky few.

OK, so who used to live in a shoe box on a motorway hard shoulder and ate gravel if they were lucky?

Warhead wins the Nay thread.

Poor Warhead.

Poor Warbot.

Poor Warhead

[MASSIVELY SWEARY RANT STYLE POST DELETED]

Poor Warcat

I have a nay thing today (quelle surprise), only for once it's not about me.

I still keep in fairly regular contact with a girl I used to work with. She's a lot younger than me (23 - 24, something like that) and is quite a strong Christian. In fact I've actually been to her church with her once and discovered that she's actually an evangelist, so the church is not only stuffed to the rafters with people holding their hands out and swaying as they sing their happy-clappy hymns, their services are also all filled with talk of their 'mission' to spread the word and essentially try to indoctrinate as many as they can to their faith.

I'm a pretty easy going guy myself and actually a former Christian (my beliefs would best be described as Agnostic these days), but that place made me feel incredibly uncomfortable and I never went back.

Anyway, to the point of this story: she's been in a relationship with this absolutely top-notch bloke for the last 3 years or so and the pair of them love each other to bits, but her fellow Church goers have apparently been quite vocal in their disapproval of the relationship on the basis that the guy is not a Christian himself. More recently her parents have also been dropping hints that the relationship has no future, since she should be with a fellow Christian for them to get married, have kids, etc.

And so, she's finally buckled and dumped the guy. And is now incredibly down in the dumps. I've been trying to gently suggest that maybe her fellow church people are arseholes, but she doesn't see it this way. She seems to feel there is nothing she can do, she wants to be with the guy but she can't due to her faith.

So grrrr... bloody religion, etc!

You got her preggers didn't you?

Well that's pretty sad for both of them, though I think that unless she were to change her faith then it would have been a difficult relationship. I can't imagine trying to negotiate some of life's dramas and challenges with a fundamentalist for a partner.

Wow, that's almost an archetypal example of religious conceit.

'Your relationship has no future because your boyfriend doesn't believe in the same ancient Zombie Myth that we do'

Funny how the guy was able to tolerate the evangelists probably trying to enlighten him at every chance they got.

Top paraphrase Jon Stewart: "Religion provides hope in a world torn apart by religion"

I know a bloke who has been in virtually an identical situation. He was happy in a relationship but his fellow cultists, er, Christians frowned upon it, saying they should sleep in separate rooms when she stays over etc. In the end, he broke the relationship up due to the peer pressure.

Ah, religion.

A friend's sister had a child recently, and she's just had her christened*. The mother's family are Protestant, while the father's Catholic, and the whole ordeal was planned behind the mother's family's back to be a Catholic ceremony.

‘Peeved’ doesn't quite capture the tension in the air on this one.


* I think.

Heh... my ex and her whole clan are Catholic. She wanted Zioette christened and I absolutely insisted that if it was happening at all, it was happening in a bog standard CofE church. No way is my daughter being indoctrinated Catholic.

They buckled on that one, but I know she's planning on sending her through the local Catholic schools when the time comes, and that won't be happening either if I have anything to do with it.

Edit: in fact, this one is more important to me than the Christening. I can deal with a one-off religious ceremony, but religious educations are another matter entirely.

Holy shit.

I'm fairly sure I have two operational k800i phones in my house. They're a bit battered, but if your casing is in better nick you could always swap shit over?

Thanks mate, but I've just bought a HTC Wildfire.

Fuck you! I'm charging you 12 quid for my time anyway.

I'll collect it from Grim...

I've just dropped a printer!

Has it been 9 months already?

I banged my head on a desk earlier. I'm obviously rusty at fumbling at cables under people's desks.

I like to bang my head on the nearest desk from time to time.

Was moving a load of junk that I'd forgotten about and a newish printer. I'd piled them all up on the trolley and figured, in my 'bull-in-a-china-shop' way to tackle the two steps down from the lab without assistance.

It did not go well

There is a lift...

Quiet you. In a stunning design twist, you have to go down two steps to get to the lift.

Take that, cripples!

Indeed. Also, half of the building is completely inaccessible to the disabled, but as that's the Dance side, it's 'ok'

Stupid Chrome is giving me the following stupid JS error:
IT IS FUCKING DEFINED!
Even IE can make it work

Heh! In fairness, I can sort of see the logic of that one.

The textiles department is also up there. Up 50 steps.

.. although obviously it's not "ok".

Have some bananas

I wasn't going to post anything here but I reckon it'd do me good to get a few things off my chest.

My wife had a miscarriage last Friday. We went into hospital, they did the scan and everything and she ended up having an operation that evening. It wasn't the best day of my life as you can guess.

We're both a bit out of it now and trying to carry on as normal. She's still sore and a bit slow but she's getting there but I've got to say, the hospital staff were excellent. Every last one of them were comforting and really sympathetic.

Then today, we took our hamster to the vets and it turns out he has cancerous lumps in/on him. We've got to take him back a week on Saturday but it doesn't look good for him. We probably won't bring him home.

I'm trying to put a brave face on it all but you know... sometimes life is a bit shit.