AMLinington

It was lovely and sunny here until about 10 minutes ago when an entire lake-full of water fell from the sky. The thunder is now rumbling away and the rest of support won't let me turn off the lights to enjoy the lightning. Spoilsports

Oooo it might actually LOOK like July on my birthday

My eyes! My precious precious eyes! *vomits* I can now only see in stripes. Thanks for that.

LeBoyfriend is allergic to cats and we're getting a kitten. When I was growing up my dad had the same problem until we got two kittens, after that he was fine - apparently if they grow from kittenhood people that were allergic grow out of it or are no longer allergic to that cat so we're hoping the same applies to LeBoyfriend. I threatened to get a Sphynx but he called them 'Nasty hairless rats' and claimed it was 'unnatural'. So I said 'we get a kitten or a sphynx'. I collect Enzo on 21st July

LOL True, but my mother would never have tolerated that from my sister or I and indeed did not. That being said, I believe I will fight a losing battle as their father (aka LeBoyfriend) is much more liberal than me and the rudeness I've seen Mother-in-law tolerate from her Grandson does not fill me with confidence that my strict stance on respectful behaviour will in any way be supported. My disciplinary model will be the leaning tower of Pisa - undermined before I even finish building it. *sigh*

LOL I laughed too. I was more disgusted by the fact that he was asleep on top of a pile of fish and chips and that his other half wasn't angry with him AND kissed him. The dog shaking the spit off was gross though. Those Haribo adverts drive me nuts - that kid is so precocious - same with the Oreo advert. I would never allow my child to behave so disrespectfully towards either myself or their father! I like the Dulux advert with the parents - they paint their bedroom red, then several kids later repaint it. I love the look on the womans face. It is the subtlety of the implication that makes this a good advert. Kids are blissfully clueless on why this is good and funny but the message is clear in a totally appropriate way.

I only realised that they weren't properly graffitied when I saw two of the exact same poster with the exact same graffiti and I realised that if it was properly vandalised the paint would not have 'run' in the exact same way on both posters and the vandals would most likely have put their 'tag' on it along with some choice swear words and a couple of painted penises for good measure. That annoys me too - there are LOADS of skin conditions that can account for half of those and aging is only one: 1. Fine lines and wrinkles 2. Rough skin texture - Acne? Scars? Eczema? 3. Uneven skin tone - Chemicals and make up do this to your skin too. 4. Skin dullness - Pollution and poor diet. 5. Visible pores - Isn't this what teenage skin treatments claim to fix too? 6. Blotches and age spots - Blotchy skin is not unique to aging either. Age spots are but they don't mention Cherry angiomas too. 7. Skin dryness - eczema, psoriasis? Even babies have this!

I have an irrational hatred of those god-awful Skoda ads with the little green car on the rolling road. Ack it's annoying. This is not unique. All the posters have been 'defaced' - they are actually printed like that (printed to look like they've been defaced by graffiti - wow what a way to make a town look tatty in 1 easy step). It seems to be part of their new stupid campaign - they are now trying to 'kill off' the Go Compare man. Presumably gearing their new marketing campaign around how annoyed people are by the opera dude. Personally I am MORE annoyed at stupid posters that look like they've been defaced by vandals - don't we have enough vandalism and degeneration of the high street in this country as it is without deliberately hanging a poster that makes the place look worse? I hate it hate it hate it!

The Fosters ads are funny. I'm not keen on the new Go Compare ones - they have an iconic and memorable character who they are now trying to kill? My favourite ad has to be the Specsavers one with the Farmer shearing his sheep then he reaches for his sheepdog. The look on the dogs face as it runs out of the pen sans fur is great. I love that it's in black and white and I love the music. It's so serious and atmospheric until you see the dog. LOL.

Fabric does break down faster than plastic. Is it 'decent' - could it be appropriated for home use or is it that rubbish cheap fabric you get on the bottom of cheap mattress protectors?

Ooooooooooooh shinies... This thread IS full of Win. Although TBF, with the Windows7 KB shortcuts, searching 8 pages of shortcuts for a function is slower than doing the task the 'long way'. It's great for reference though. I love cheat sheets. I have written my own. When I first joined Smoothwall Support the learning curve was precipitous and every little nugget of information went into the cheatsheet. It used to be open all the time, now I reference it maybe one or twice a week for an obscure file location I don't use all that often. I <3 reference lists so much.

Zumba is really popular among my facebook friends and I feel a bit bad for Helen (my aerobic instructor) because her classes are really good - 'classic' aerobics moves. The routine changes each month and we have a 'focus' for that month - It was 'Madonna arms' in march where we did work with weights, then in June it was LBT's - we all looked like Ballarinas working our inner thighs while holding onto the wall! LOL. I think this month is a heavy cardio focus. Luckily she has a 'day job' and works with LeBoyfriend, but the Zumba classes are leeching her clients. That being said, it is really nice to go to a class that isn't PACKED - there are usually about 6-8 of us to a class on a Thursday and more on a Tuesday (the higher impact class).

I met Matt Letisier when I was a kid - he came to my Primary school summer fete I ran into Hugh Dennis in Gunwharf keys (Dr Piers in 'My Hero') And my personal favourite - I have met and hugged (and had a photo with) Marco Pierre White - he is SUCH a nice man. We were eating in one of his resturants on Fathers day last year and he came in. It was really cool.

Aerobics is a bit out of place tbh. Aerobics is living torture. I go to a class twice a week and I sure as hell wouldn't go on holiday to do it! It's like PE at school all over again. That being said, LeBoyfriend and I don't do 'beach' holidays - we get bored. We like things to do and places to see. We're planning a second trip to Malta next year to do the 'Game of Thrones' tour (unofficially). But our 'main' holiday is always at the end of January and involves throwing ourselves down the side of a snow-covered mountain with two bits of plastic strapped to our feet. The more tired and achy we are the better the time we're having (that spa afternoon on day 2 is heavenly but the 3 day blues and associated agonies are never fun).

I can't say I'm a massive fan. I echo Aerospacemango - it's too bright. It's really hard to tell the difference between read and unread threads. I like the colours and I like how different parts of the site are in a different set of colours but find the tab font hard to focus on - the letters are too 'slim' (it's probably kerning or some such technical term but I don't know much about fonts) and the forum page itself being white is an assault on the eyes. I preferred the more muted shades as they were easier on the eye. Reading posts makes me squint a bit Overall, yes to the 'main' colour scheme but can you do something about the white pages - they be eye hurty

Be grateful they only sold it to another mobile provider. When I was with O2 I used to get loads of marketing crap come through - mostly about mis-sold PPI. As soon as I left them it stopped... funny that.

Oh Dear. Another case of bad customer service then. We british are too meek - blindly accepting the rudeness of shop staff without having the spine to stand up to them then saying THANK YOU when they shaft us! Good god people grow a spine! Also, if you disagree with a person's view, they still have a right to express that view and you disagreeing with them doesn't mean their opinion is worth less than yours. I can appreciate the frustration that drove that man to perform acts of criminal damage - his actions will have far-reaching consequences for his life - he'll probably lose his job. But he still remained calm and did not lash out or otherwise behave violently towards shop staff so I think that deserves recognition.

It is ridiculous the way people choose to interpret the rule to make life difficult for you. There is a world of difference between people buying wine in the supermarket and barely-legal people buying alco-pops in an offie! I've seen people banned by supermarket managers when they complain about the overzealousness of the cashier. It's ludicrous. If the person buying the alcohol is over 18 then responsibility and consequences of supplying that alcohol to under-18s then becomes theirs. I appreciate that the shops are trying to stop the supply of booze to underagers but two people in their 30's buying a few bottles of White Zinfandel for a BBQ are hardly going to be supplying it to kids are they (except at the BBQ but then a completely new rule applies where kids can have X amount of booze under parental supervision in the family home)? Kids are more likely to want Vodka or Bacardi that they can pour into an innocent-looking bottle of coke or lemonade.

I agree - I LOVE the idea of a national Identity card scheme, I'm less keen on the paying for it - I thought we already paid for it in our excessive tax and NI payments! That being said, I also love the idea of Microchipping everyone at birth... lol Having read Richard Morgan's Takashi Kovacs series the idea of having data uplinks hardwired into the body is pretty awesome. But then I'm a bit weird like that.

I don't think it's a bad idea to put a blanket 'We card anyone under 35' as this is bascially an excuse to card everyone and the chances of catching underage drinkers increases. I've been in a lot of pubs before the 'Think 21' initiative where barstaff would card a bunch of lads and they'd get lairy about it - this way the barstaff have their backs covered. That being said, I haven't been ID-ed since I was 20 I am a little sad about that as obviously they think I'm an old fart so they don't need to bother.

It's been getting steadily hotter and more humid here over the last week. The day starts off hazy and grey then brightens up into blasting sunshine by the afternoon. So this morning I decide to get my favourite gypsy skirt back out. Temp in the car was 18 degrees on the way in at 8am, at 9 the rain was horizontal. One of our motorcycling support engineers got caught in it on his way in and squelched his way soggily into the office looking like a drowned rat. The sun is now out again (vaguely) and the temps are in the 20s again. Wouldn't think it was nearly July would you?

My first car was my mother's old Vauxhall Cavalier 1.8. K reg (she bought a new car), after that I bought the Y-Reg Vectra. when I bought it it was the usual '1 careful owner' jobbie - some old bloke bought a 2.2l Vectra to nip up to Tesco in.... It only had 18,000 miles on the clock when I bought it. It has 70,000 odd now lol. I know many people will replace their car every few years because they get bored or whatever, but in our family, because cars are so expensive, we work them until they quite literally fall to pieces then worry about a new car when we NEED one not because we WANT one. That being said, my Steering column and clutch plates are both going which takes the repair costs over my 'worth it to me' threshold so now it is just a case of hoping we find something in the £2000 range on death row before one or t'other of the dealbreakers dies permanently. In other news, WTS Y-reg Vauxhall Vectra, 70,000 miles, Good bodywork condition, FSH, Heated seats and air con, electric windows throughout, Alloy Wheels, Sunroof, Petrol. £750 ONO.

I'm driving a 2.2l Y-Reg Vectra (the model with the sweepy wing mirrors). It's not the nicest car in the world and a nice new sporty focus would be lovely but I think that determining your relative worth by the car you drive is a bit pointless. Cars are expensive. They are far more expensive than they should be for what they are and they cost a FORTUNE to run. IMO you should not judge your car by how 'cool' it is but by how cheaply you can run it! My car costs a FORTUNE to run, but not as much as some. Tax is the biggest killer. The insurance isn't too bad. 11 years no claims helps mind you. But I have no loan to pay on it, I owe nothing on the car so because I own it outright I only have to pay for consumables. If I bought a new car I couldn't afford to pay for it outright so I'd have to get a loan - say you buy a £2000 car, loans for cars are 3 or 5 years. 5 at the absolute most, so repayments are about £100 a month, plus tax, plus MOT, plus running costs. I plan to drive my car until it falls apart underneath me or something goes that is over £1000 to replace. LeBoyfriend has occasional flashes of great wisdom (only occasional mind you) and probably the wisest thing he's said to me that has stuck with me whenever something marginally expensive goes wrong with my sorry hunk'o'junk (a full exhaust system was moderately expensive - I hyperventilated a little when I paid that bill) is that 'It is not about what the car is actually worth, but what it is worth TO YOU.' So whilst the car may only be WORTH £750 in real money, it is WORTH TO ME over £2000 as that is what it would cost to replace. So when £500 worth of stuff goes wrong with it, sure, it SOUNDS uneconomical and it would be if I was planning on selling it, but since I plan to drive it into the ground, a £500 repair is money well spent as it is £1500 less than a new car.

Thats a good question (hopefully it wasn't rhetorical). When we were at school, everyone knew everything about everyone. We all knew when and where the parties were, we all knew who was going out with who and who had a pregnancy scare. It was immersive and social. You didn't even necessarily need to speak to anyone, you just 'heard' things. To me, that's what facebook is like for disconnected adults. In this day and age of long commutes and little free time, we don't have as much time for socialising as we once did. We don't live and work near our friends so we rarely see them. Facebook is the 'grapevine', it's the same as the collective consciousness that we experienced at school. It's about being connected without actually having to connect. That being said, having my news feed full of videos of schoolfriends' children playing in the park is a little tedious. But equally I know all sorts of stuff that no-one wants to actually ask. You hear your mate Bob has left his wife to shack up with Sheila, but you don't want to ask his wife if it's true as she's probably going through a lot of pain at the moment (as evidenced by her man-hating, violent, weepy or miserable status updates). You also don't want to appear to condone him by asking him about it (Bob has changed his relationship status to 'It's complicated'; 'Bob' is in a relationship with 'Sheila'). But you don't NEED to ask, because you already know. So before you send a Christmas card to Bob, Jane and the kids, and get a vitriolic rant back from Jane, you have Facebook there to keep you up to date. When a friend is looking a bit fat but you're not sure if she's fat or pregnant? Facebook is your friend - Status updates about her diet and gym routine will help you realise that she's just put a few pounds on. Status updates about buying a cot and redecorating the spare room gives you the confidence you need to say 'I heard about your happy news; congratulations'. I wouldn't say 'Life enriching' per se, but certainly useful and informative. It's also slightly voyeuristic - watching a person's relationship fall apart on Facebook is the same as people rubbernecking at an accident. You know you shouldn't be seeing it but you can't help but want to.

That is a good point, and 'intercepting communications meant for me' is a valid and important observation, but it does not take into account context. The context of this is that [PERSON] has a Facebook page. This person has a bunch of 'friends'. One of these friends wants to send a communication to said person. They have a choice of options. As a facebook friend, they COULD post on the wall, but lets say it's 'personal', they COULD send a message. Both of these are intercepted and 'owned' by Facebook already. More than likely, the only way this friend has to contact the person in question is via facebook so why would they go to the additional hassle of going to facebook to find an email address, then send an email - a distant friend will more likely just send a facebook message as it's easier. If they were a 'close' friend they would have a mobile number or they would probably ALREADY have [PERSON]s personal email. If they are a close friend it is more likely that they will call or text. If they are not a close friend they will be more likely to send a quick facebook message. The only reason they might send a 'proper' email is if they want to add attachments, but how often will a 'distant' friend send attachments? We are generalising the function without considering the context or nature of the relationships between people on Facebook and the implications thereof. As a facebook user, if I want to contact a person I don't have a phone number for I will Facebook message them. If I have a phone number I will text or call if it's 'personal'. As a Facebook user, this change will not affect me as I rarely email people from facebook.