Month: July 2003

There is a team of men (all 3 of them) cleaning the walkway outside my office window. They are using a power cleaner thingy, and I’m amazed at the difference it is making to the slabs. They’ve gone from a dark dull grey to an off-white colour. Sort of.

Thing is, they’re not doing the greatest job. I watched one yesterday, working slab by slab, blasting away the dirt only to find that he obviously couldn’t be bothered as some slabs are cleaner than others. The difference in colour between these cleaned and ‘sort of cleaned’ slabs is very obvious and I just don’t get it. It’s not like he got bored towards the end of a row or anything, it seems to be a completely arbitary choice. Some slabs got the full treatment, others got a quick once over and that was it… very odd.

Wonder what his supervisor will say, it’s not like he can cover up his laziness.

Now I should really be leading up to a comment about work ethic, jobs not getting done properly and so on. But I’m sure you get my point.

First public gay high school to open in NYC.

This story is all over the place at the moment, but when has that ever stopped me throwing in my tuppence worth…

The main question: Is this a good or a bad thing?

Well I think, short-term, for the kids involved it is a good thing. It will allow them to attend school in a fear-free environment.

Long-term this is bad (well not bad, more … wrong) on a few counts. The kids are not experiencing a real world environment. Prejudice will greet them when they leave school, unfortunately that’s just fact. The protective environment the school will offer will leave them unprepared for the harsher realities of real life.

I also fail to see how this school will help tackle the key issue that underlies this whole matter.

What really bothers me the most about this, if I may focus on myself for a moment (hey it’s MY site), is that I should really be supportive of this kind of thing, but more and more frequently I find myself almost, almost, reaching for the ‘positive discrimination argument. That really worries me.

I do hope that this school works, and I realise the driving issue behind it is a good one, and I really should stop over analysing these things. I think I’ve been reading too much Vaughan…

Much harder than I thought it would be, but great fun. Raised £214 for Amnesty, and in total the Blogathon will probably break the £100k barrier for the first time (£97k and counting at the moment). You can still sponsor me (lines close in about 24 hours).

The posts will remain archived here (also includes 25 photos for my 26 things entry).

Thanks to everyone who dropped by with a comment, or popped up on Messenger, I really couldn’t have done it without you guys. I’m gonna pull together a few links of the sites I visited the most during the 24 hour period, and the Blogathon site will be update over the coming days with the award winners and some choice links.

Ohhh and did I mention my ugly mug made it onto the front page twice!! (you have to scroll a bit for the first one…)

So what did you all do at the weekend?

Are you sick of all those sales people cold calling you? Or those phone calls that tell you that you have been picked and have won a new kitchen! or a holiday!, or a ‘style makeover for a room of your choice’! … etc etc ad infinitum.

In short, do you want more control of YOUR phone?

Do you have this problem, and no-one else will help, maybe you should hire … the A-Team … BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!!!!

Errr… hang on..

Sorry, what I meant to say was try the Telephone Preference Service. The blurb:

“The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) helps you to make sure your telephone number is no longer available to organisations who may telephone you with offers and information you do not wish to receive.

Under Government legislation introduced on 1 May 1999 It is unlawful to make unsolicited direct marketing calls to individuals who have indicated that they do not want to receive such calls. “

Worth a try if you ask me.

A couple of work colleagues are leaving. Off to try the luck at other companies/ventures. It’s always sad to see people leave, especially people you like, and trust, and are a pleasure to work with.

Why is it that the complete arseholes never leave? I digress …

In the time honoured tradition, a ‘Sorry you are leaving’ card has been purchased and everyone has been invited to proffer best wishes and good luck messages. And there lies the problem.

What do you write in these things? I realise it depends on the person involved, and your working (and social) relationship with them, but I always struggle.

All the best … with your … no … Best of luck, you’ve been fun … no … This place won’t be the same without you …

Cliche follows cliche follows cliche. Then I try and think up something ‘witty’ or something that was shared, a standing joke maybe, or some little work related incident that is still talked about (staying away from anything deigned ‘risky’ of course). In the end I usually plump for “All the best”. (Sidenote: this little phrase covers many types of event, leaving, new baby, promotion, redundancy 😉

What do YOU write in leaving cards? Or, better still, what would you LIKE to write in a leaving card if you had the guts?

A few impromptu beers after work yesterday turned into a dash for the last train home. I also discovered Kronenburg makes me feel ill (or maybe it was the lack of dinner…).

Today we collected several photo’s for my 26 things entry, and I’m hoping to get a picture of the sunset tonight. Mind you I’ll probably be able to get a sunrise one as well as we are running my sister-in-law and her four kids to Edinburgh Airport for their flight at 5 a.m. We’ll have to leave Dumbarton at about 1:30 a.m. to make sure we get there in plenty of time for the 3 a.m. check-in.

It’s the first time they’ve flown, and the kids are all very excited about it. Their mother, on the other hand, is likely to be a nervous wreck by the time they get there, but our oldest niece and nephew (14 and 16 respectively) are sensible enough and will make sure they get on the correct plane…