 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FOLLOW SUITSo familiar are most of our everyday phrases from games that we have lost almost all sense of their gambling origin. To throw your hand in, poker-faced, to hold all the aces and to have an ace up one's sleeve, to call someone's bluff, to turn up trumps, to play one's trump card, to show your hand and to lay your cards on the table -- these are all commonly used without conjuring up any image of card players, though their origin is obvious when you stop to think about it. Sometimes the origin is not so obvious, however. If you say of a businessman or fugitive, for example, that he has had his chips, the reference to gambling is not immediately clear. But what the phrase would originally have meant was that the person in question had used up all his gambling counters -- and that for him the game was over. In a similar way, the phrase to cash in one's chips became, in American English, a slangy way of saying 'to die'. A related use of chip occurs in the phrase to chip in, meaning either 'to interrupt' or 'to make a contribution'. Originally, to chip in was to place one's stakes -- in the form of counters or chips -- on the table in a poker game. If a friend doed something adventurous, you might be tempted to follow suit, or else you might decide that adventure is not your strong suit and choose a safer course of action instead. Both phrases refer to suits in a pack of cards: to follow suit is, literally, to play a card of the same suit that has just been played. In business dealings one is advised to do everything above board and not to stack the cards against one's competitors. To stack the cards here meant originally to arrange the cards in a specific order, rather than randomly, when shuffling or dealing them. And above board probably originates in the card player's careful practice of keeping his hands above the table -- to avoid any suspicion of switching cards. Tags: expressions, reader's digest, trivia
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood:  productive
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FLASH IN THE PANThe original flash in the pan occured in the flintlock gun. This was the old, unwieldly kind of musket used before the development of the percussion cap or cartridge. The charge that propelled the bullets, in those early days, was in the form of loose gunpowder, which was carefully measured and placed in the pan or flashpan of the gun, where it was ignited (or, all too often, failed to ignite) by a spark from the flint. If the gunpowder was damp or insufficent, it might fizzle or flash rather than explode effectively. The three related phrases are to hang fire, a damp squib, and lock, stock and barrel. To hang fire is to delay, to put off one's decision, to wait and see. Originally, a flintlock gun was said to hang fire if it took a long time for the charge to ignite. A damp squib, something that fails to live up to expectations is, literally, a firecracker that hisses promisingly but through being damp fails to generate the climatic bang. As for lock, stock and barrel, these are the three main components of a musket or rifle: the barrel out in front, the stock -- the heavy wooden handle or support -- at the rear, and the lock -- the mechanism designed to explode the ammunition charge -- in the middle. So to buy up a business lock, stock and barrel, for instance, has come to mean to buy the whole thing. Or, as Australians would say, the whole kit and caboodle. Tags: expressions, reader's digest, trivia
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood: productive
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FEET OF CLAYThe King James Bible of 1611 has had a deep and lasting influence on the development of English. One of its more easily recognisable legacies is the set of everyday expressions that it has given, directly or indirectly, to the language. In some cases, the allusion is obvious: forbidden fruit, a good Samaritan, the writing on the wall, to turn the other cheek. In other cases, the quotation or allusion may not be immediately apparant: a thorn in the flesh, at the eleventh hour, a fly in the ointment, a voice in the wilderness, the powers that be, filthy lucre, the way of all flesh, spare the rod, pearls before swine, a drop in the bucket, to give up the ghost, and the skin of one's teeth. The slangy phrase kingdom come, as in The explosion blew the guards to kingdom come, is a cheeky adaption of a line from the Lord's prayer. Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done... The phrase feet of clay, referring to a flaw in the character of an otherwise highly regarded person, derives from the Book of Daniel (II 31-45). King Nebuchadnezzar's dream is recalled and interpreted by Daniel: the king had dreamt of a huge statue with a gold head, silver arms and chest, brass midriff and thighs, iron legs, and feet partly of iron and partly of clay. Just as the iron and clay in the feet do not mix, Daniel explains, so some future kingdom descending from Nebuchadnezzar's will be divided, and just as clay is easily broken, so that kingdom will crumble. The term as understood today relies on the simpler idea (not really justified by the Biblical passage) of a large stone or metal statue with fragile clay feet -- a small weakness relative to the whole, but enough to cause the whole statue to topple over when the feet give way. Tags: expressions, reader's digest, trivia
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood: productive
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DRESSED UP TO THE NINESWhy is a smartly dressed person sometimes referred to as dressed up to the nines? One theory suggests an allusion to a very high standard, nine marks out of a possible ten. This does not sound very convincing; nor does the theory that the expression refers to the nine Muses -- a group of sister godesses in Greek mythology who each protected or sponsored one of the arts. A more likely explanation is that the phrase was, in early English, something like dressed up to then eyne -- that is, 'dressed up to the eyes' (much as we might today speak of a businessman as being up to his eyes in debt). Plurals in earlier forms of English were sometimes indicated by an - n rather than an - s ending -- eyne for eyes, rather like kine for cows -- and the word the sometimes took the form then. In more recent times, the old phrase then eyne was misheard as the nines, and written down that way. This slurring has affected the form of many individual English words in Middle English a nickname was originally an ekename (an 'also' - name), and a newt was an ewt. By the reverse process in Middle English, an umpire developed from a noumpere, and an apron from a napron. Tags: expressions, reader's digest, trivia
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood: productive
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DEAR ME!This exclamation of surprise or mild dismay is perhaps no more than a euphemism for Damn me! -- a phrase that in more prudish times was considered profane. Many other common exclamations originated as euphemisms in this way. Cor blimey! is a milder cockneyfied form of the traditional oath May God blind me! The expletives Gee whiz!, Jeepers creepers!, Crumbs! and Crickey! are all distortions of the disrespectful oaths using the name Jesus Christ. And Dash it all! is a toning down of Damn it all! -- possibly deriving from the prissy practice in past times of replacing the word damn, when written or printed, with a hyphen or a dash: Why sir, confound your ----ed insolence! you might read in in an 18th century novel. Or: Oh, ---- it all! I've lost my horse. Anybody reading those sentences out loud, and anxious to preserve propriety in the home, might render them as Why sir, confound your dashed insolence! and Oh, dash it all! I've lost my horse, sounding out the name of the punctuation mark. The adjective blankety-blank developed in much the same way in the 19th century. Suppose this last sentence had read I've lost my ---- horse. This might, when read aloud before the family, emerge as I've lost my blankety-blank horse. There is, however, a different account of the origin of Dear me! The phrase may be a layman's awkward attempt at beginning the Latin prayer Dio mi salvi -- 'God save me'. Tags: expressions, reader's digest, trivia
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood: productive
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CUT AND THRUSTSport, of various kinds, is second only to seafaring as a supplier of common idioms to the English language. Think of such familiar phrases as to know the score, 'to know what's what', to be on the ball, to play ball, 'to co-operate', to play a waiting game, to play for time, to be top of the league, to kick off, 'to begin', and to watch from the sidelines. From tennis comes the expression the ball's in your court; from wrestling, no holds barred; and from rowing the phrase to pull one's weight and also (though just possibly from swimming or golf) to put someone off his stroke. From archery comes such severyday phrases as to hit the bull's eye, two strings to one's bow, wide of the mark, and to fall short of the target. (Note the common use in business circles nowadays of the phrase to exceed the target, a somewhat slapdash expression; the object in archery or marksmanship is surely to hit the target, not overshoot it.) The art or sport of fencing, finally, has come to share a large part of its vocabulary with the art of debating. The verb to fence has itself come to mean 'to argue or debate skilfully'. You parry awkward questions or accusations in the cut and thrust of debate, and counter with a riposte. And if this counter-argument is effective, your adversary will say Touché (French for 'touched') -- in fencing, an acknowledgement from your opponent that you have succeeded in touching his body with your sword and have thereby scored a hitTags: expressions, reader's digest, trivia
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood: productive
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CATCH-22 SITUATIONStrictly speaking, to be caught in a catch-22 situation is more complicated than having to chhoose between two evils. It is more like having no choice at all, since the only apparant way out of the situation is prevented or cancelled by some other element in the same situation. An all too familiar example is the predicament facing a young job hunter: you cannot get a job unless you have some relevant experience; you cannot acquire any relevant experience unless you get a job. The phrase comes from the novel Catch-22, by the American writer Joseph Heller, published in 1961. The catch here is the only way to get out of flying on military bombing raids is to be declared insane, but to apply for exemption from such dangerous missions is obviously a very sensible thing to do and therefore clear proof of one's sanity. 'Orr would be crazy to fly more missions', the book explains at one point, 'and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to.' Such mad logic is used throughout the book to satirise war and military thinking. If it were not for an accident of publishing history, we might today tend to talk of a catch-18 situation rather than a catch-22 situation. Joseph Heller originally called the paradox catch-18, and intended calling the book that too, but the bestselling Mila 18, a novel by Leon Uris about the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto during the Second World War, was published in the USA slightly earlier in 1961, and Heller and his publishers decided at the last minute to change catch-18 to catch-22 to avoid any possible confusion between the two books. Tags: expressions, reader's digest, trivia
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood: productive
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AS SURE AS EGGS IS EGGSHow did this peculiar way of saying 'without a doubt' originate? In all probability, eggs is a deliberaty comic distortion of x. In algebra, a basic equation is that x always equals x. If anything is accepted as true by all mathematicians and logicians, it is just that -- that x = x. So if you want to give a guarantee of the accuracy of a prediction, for example, you might emphasise that it is as sure as x is x or as eggs is eggs. Tags: expressions, reader's digest, trivia
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood: productive
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As I've previously Blogged, my New Klingon Armour is all but a 'Lost Cause' at the moment.... As such, one of the Current Costumes that I am contemplating for The World Kohn (:-D) next year will be a Jedi To that end, I can use some Help with some Aspects of the Uniform....specifically, at the moment, in regards to the Boots I have the 6 Movies, but they don't seem to show the footwear very clearly So....my question at the moment is thus.... Could I utilise the Black Boots that I was going to be using for my Klingon Armour (the Knee-High Windsor Smith ones), and instead use them for a Jedi Costume instead? Or....do they wear something more like Sandles or similar? I'll be getting the rest of the outfit in bits and pieces (most likely through EBAY), but would welcome Suggestions along the way :-) Tags: costumes, jedi knights
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood:  creative
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This was Forwarded to me by Actress Girl, and I thought I'd share :-) HELL EXPLAINED BY A CHEMISTRY STUDENT The following is an actual question given on a University of Arizona chemistry mid term, and an actual answer turned in by a student. The answer by one student was so 'profound' that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well: Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)? Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following: First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving, which is unlikely.. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added. This gives two possibilities: 1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose. 2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over. So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,' and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct, leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting 'Oh my God.' THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+ Tags: hell, humour, religion
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood:  amused
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Ten Office Commandments Moses: The Lord, the Lord Jehovah has given unto you these fifteen... [ drops one of the tablets] Moses: Oy! Ten! Ten commandments for all to obey! I............Thou Shalt Have No Other Life Besides Work II...........Thou Shat Not Download Any Craven Image III..........Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of The Manager Thy God in Vain IV..........Remember the sabbath Day to Work and Keep it Holy V...........Honour Thy Punctuality and Confidentiality Agreements VI..........Thou Shalt Not Kill Time VII.........Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery On Office Furniture VIII........Thou Shalt Not Steal Thy Employer's Yellow Sticky-Notes IX..........Thou Shalt Not Wantonly Photocopy Thy Posterior X...........Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbour's Cubicle, Nor His Stapler, Nor His Three-Hole Punch Performance Review Are your work colleagues driving you nuts? You're not alone. here are just some of the ways employees annoy each other, in your own words: "Employee eats all the good biscuits" "Employee's body is magnetic and keeps deactivating my access card" "Employee's aura is wrong" "Employee wants to check a co-worker for ticks" "Employee is too suntanned" "Employee smells like road work" Hello, is that....? In cyberspace, they make fun of companies that automate the path to customer service. Here are some suggestions that would never pass a test for political correctness: If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5 and 6 If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want; stay on the line so we can trace your call If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9 If you have low self-esteem, please hang up. Our operators are too busy to talk to you If you are menopausal, put the gun down, hang up, turn on the fan, lie down and cry. You won't be crazy forever Tags: customer service, humour, reader's digest, work
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood: amused
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Did some Shopping this afternoon, and as the Check-Out Chick was Scanning the Items, she asked me if I had one of their Rewards Cards That in itself was kinda surprising, because a lot of them don't seem to bother Anyway, I told her I had and passed it over to her so that she could Scan it "Would you like any Cash out?", she asks "Can you get Cash out with these?", I asked....knowing the Answer anyway but wanting to hear what she had to say about it "No, but if you have a Bank Card you can" While I was *VERY* Tempted there to say "Bank Cards don't exist any more", I let that one slide, and instead said, "Well, if I was Paying by a Bank Card maybe, but I'm not, so why ask me that Question?" Remember, this is merely a 'Rewards' Card, for a Points System (like FlyBuys), and isn't Linked to a Credit Card, or a Debit Card, and definately not to a 'Bank Card', so there's no way that I could have used this to get Cash out If I could, I would have Paid with this Rewards Card instead of the Cash that I actually Paid with Granted, she didn't know at the time that I was going to be Paying with Cash, but, you would think, would you not, that it might well be better to wait to see if the Customer is going to be using a Credit Card or a Debit Card *before* asking if they would like any Cash out, huh? Her Response, though, was, "People often mistake these for a Credit Card or a Debit Card, so that's why I asked" Obviously she was one of them, as this Rewards Card is *not* a Form of Payment in any way, and *nor* is it Linked to any Stupidest part was....instead of realising her mistake, and moving on, she kept right on acting like I was the Idiot by my daring to argue the point about trying to get Cash out of a Rewards Card Afterall, it's not like I was trying to use my Points to Pay for anything Of course not....they'd have to actually give you more than the 1 Point for every $5 to do that....or even 2 Points, for that matter But frankly, even if I got 2 Points for every $1, it probably still wouldn't really be worth enough to actually Pay for anything Tags: rewards cards, shopping, stupid people
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In recent weeks, I have been made aware that there is a New 'V' Series In light of this, and because I was a Fan of the Classic one (amongst others....there's quite a number of Shows that I grew up with....'V' is merely one of them), I placed an Order through Amazon U.K. for The Complete (Classic) Collection, which arrived today :-) In this Collection is The Mini Series, The Series, and The Final Battle Here it is in Amazon Britain for those that want to check it out for themselves http://www.amazon.co.uk/V-The-Complete-Collection-DVD/dp/B001G8NV1K/ref=pd_ybh_11?pf_rd_p=138755991&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=1501&pf_rd_i=ybh&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=12NQ5MP5B3WKM3CBVG9AStarted watching The Mini Series this afternoon, and it has already brought back a few Memories :-D I'll be placing an Order through Intergalactic Trading soon for the 'V' Technical Manual now http://www.intergalactictrading.com/product.cfm?pid=VVMN001Haven't seen any of The New Series as yet, but, I've heard mixed Reports about it so far Chances are, though, that I won't be able to see much (if any) of it anyway, if it's on Free-To-Air, as it will undoubtly be on at some Outrageous hour, or when I'm otherwise Working anyway (gotta love Rotating Shifts, don't ya?) Just remember, though.... "The Visitors are our Friends" :-p Tags: television, v
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood:  nostalgic
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Saturday, I did what Packing I needed to do, and then watched a bit of T.V. before we headed off at 10:00 Went out to see my God Mother in Laverton while I was 'in the area', and couldn't help but notice how much of a Pathetic place to be it has become The Shops that I knew are almost non-existant now Thought for a moment that even the Police Station had closed down, until I saw a Police Car down the street....which granted, might not have come from there The Air Force Base is still there, of course, but they're just living in Denial at the moment and will no doubt close down once the New Suburb - Williams Landing - opens up in the next 10 to 15 years, as, you just can't have an Air Force Base without an actual Air Force, and you can't have *that* without an actual Air Field....which they haven't actually had since 1995 or thereabouts So....The Air Force Base there is just living on 'Borrowed Time' at the moment, as, when Williams Landing opens up, they'll find that you *simply* can't have a Military Base so close to a Residential Area....no matter *what* they might think to the contrary Sure, it worked for us, but *hello*....we were Air Force Personnel anyway In any case, they were working on Upgrades to Laverton Station (adding an Elevator System, apparantly), and they were also doing some kind of work on Footscray Station (yeah....right....like when are they *not* doing some kind of 'maintenance' at Footscray Station??), and thus, had a Bus Service between Laverton and Footscray Finally got home, after all that, at 15:30 Of that last part, I am definately grateful :-) Tags: air force, geelong, home, laverton
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friday morning we headed over to Werribee to get that Internet Kit, and the Computer Sales Clerk was VERY Rude, so I'm just glad that she just got one of the Counter Staff to help us once we had found the Kit that we were looking for They just got a New System on their Check-Outs, so, it proved to be....'Interesting' when Mother tried Paying with a Cheque from The Senior Citizens Club who we were getting the Kit for They had no Problem with it being a Cheque, they just hadn't sorted out the Bugs with the New System yet About an hour later, after entering in the Information three times, checking the Manual twice, and finally Calling a couple of people, we eventually managed to sort it out, but, we had all of the Staff gathered around at one point....each offering Suggestions, as well as being eager to find out what the Problem might have been :-) From there, we headed back to The Senior Citizens Club to Install the Internet Kit After following the Instructions, I still couldn't Install it properly, so we ended up having to Call them (Dodo)....good thing it was a Friday and not a Saturday, huh? Got through to one of their Reps, and from there I let my Mother speak to them, as she would have all the Particulars for what she wanted, and would be better suited to Choose an E-Mail Address as well, as it was for the Senior Citizens Club Got a little annoyed when Mother kept on calling out the Letter 'O' instead of 'Zero', when she was giving the Code Numbers to the Rep on the Phone....insisting that there's no difference (and supposedly having the Rep agreeing with her)....even though I told her that there *is* when it comes to Computers....again, from the one that supposedly wanted me there for my 'Computer Expertise' Anyway.... Supposedly got that Sorted....Rep said that they would send through a Varification Code (Standard Stuff), but would have to wait between 30m to 4h for the Set-Up to take effect We weren't planning on being there that long, so we just went back home and yes, watched T.V., and played that Card Game again Tags: cards, computers, geelong, senior citizens
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On Thursday, we headed over to Officeworks to get a PrePaid Internet Kit ($129 from Dodo), but they were out of Stock there, so we made Arrangements to get it at another Branch While we were still at that Branch, however, and still waiting to be served, there was a Customer asking which Printers would run on Windows 98? Sales Clerk then said that most would, and they'd just need to Download the Drivers for it I piped up with, "Just make sure that it's 98SE, as nobody will Support the Basic 98 any more" Sales Clerk thanked me for my assistance (no, really....he wasn't being Sarcastic, he knew I was being helpful), but Mother didn't like me butting in and offering an opinion that wasn't asked for, until I later explained *exactly* why I did so Do you really think I would have done so unless I thought it was necessary?? This kind of treatment from someone that wanted me there for my 'Computer Expertise' More on that in the next Installment Anyway.... From there, we went off to The Senior Citizens Club, where I had a quick look at their Computer (Compaq, which is good, but with VISTA, which isn't so good), before they got me to join them with their Carpet Bowls (like Lawn Bowls, except inside on a marked out carpet) Did okay on that....better than I was the last time I played Ten-Pin, anyway :-) Did that for a couple of hours before heading back to their place to again watch T.V. before Dinner Also got introduced to a Card Game called 'Phase 10', where the number and type of Cards you need to Score changes from hand to hand....not entirely unlike FIZZBIN in that regard :-p Tried watching the C.S.I. Special, by the way, but only managed the first two parts of it :-( Tags: cards, computers, fizzbin, geelong, senior citizens
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On Wednesday, Mother and Step-Father went out to Re-Cover a Pool Table, and gave me the opportunity to go with them if I wanted to.... Nope....been there before....so, given the choice of being Bored for 5 hours while they did that, or being Bored for 5 hours at their place, I chose the latter During which time I tried to make a start on some Drafting I wanted to do, which alas didn't get very far, and then I just alternated between watching T.V. and playing Games on the Computer, as well as checking my E-Mails on occasion as well (Mother is on a Plan with Limited Downloads, so I didn't want to use her Net too often....as it happens, on Thursday, she made a passing comment that I had used up half of her Allotment in just two days They came back about 2pm (after going out at 9am), and again, we just watched T.V. until Dinner (Mother is Hooked on Soaps, and doesn't often miss them if given the chance to watch them) Tags: computers, geelong
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A couple of months ago, I mentioned to my Mother that I had some Leave coming up, and she said, "Oh, how about coming over for a few days?", and so, over the past week, that's where I've been This started on Tuesday when I took the Geelong Train from 'Southern Cross' Station (nee Spencer Street) Not exactly easy to find where to get the Tickets since they 'Upgraded' the Station, I must say.... Went to where they *used* to be (granted, a number of years ago, as it's not like I use 'V/Line' a lot), and while there was a V/Line Ticket Counter in that general area, they were Closed, so I asked at the Baggage Counter, and they said, "At the end and to the right" In other words, just beside the area that I had come from in the first place Definately need better Signs in that place then, that's for sure Anyway.... Managed to get my Ticket without too much fuss (aside from there being a lengthy Queue, and them only having 3 people serving), and Boarded the Train for the Journey Journey took roughly an hour, and I was met by my Mother and Step-Father, and from there we checked out some of the Stores (like the Rivers Outlet Store) before going for Lunch Mother and Step-Father are Members of The Local Senior Citizens Club, and as part of that, they get a Free Lunch twice a month, and they invited me to join them....thus making me an 'Honorary Senior Citizen', I guess Well.... According to a Test on Facebook, I *am* 52, afterall :-p Introductions were made, and a few of them said, "Oh, you're the one that's coming to set up our Computer for the Internet" Obviously, Mother has been telling them about me then From there, we just went back to their place and watched some T.V. before Dinner Did a bit of work on Mother's Computer as well, like Defragging it for a start, as well as cleaning the Keyboard (took some 'Air-In-A-Can' with me for that one), and Downloading SpyBot: Search And Destroy for her as well Compter is still a tad Sluggish, but, that's what happens when you keep it on 24/7!! Tags: computers, geelong, senior citizens
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
About a week ago, a guy started his Journey from Katherine, in The Northern Territory, with a Team of 8 Camels, and is scheduled to be in Melbourne today (about an hour ago, actually, in Federation Square....I haven't gone to look, but I can only presume he'll be there sometime today if he isn't already there) He did this, from what I've briefly heard on The Radio, for Cancer Research....any Donations he might have gotten along the Journey going towards that Seems to me, though, that he missed out on probably the best Sponsership he could have tried to get, as, as I said, he had a Team of 8 Camels with him.... There's a Chain of Bottle Shops down here in Victoria known as 'Thirsty Camel'.... Would have been a good Sponsership Deal, I would have thought :-) Tags: cancer research
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back in 1998, I did a Security Course (Paid for by the Job Network Agency that I was with at the time), on the thinking that, as I had done Security or Crowd Control at a few Conventions, it might be an Idea to actually get Paid for it That was in about September or October of that year, but I didn't get a Crowd Control Job until February of 1999 - at a Dragon Man Party, as it happens In 2003, I was again with that same Job Network Agency, and I decided to do a Security Course again That was in about September or October of that year as well First Job I got was with a Company calling themselves 'Security Resource Management Australia' While I was with them, I did Security leading up to The Melbourne Cup, Security at The Q.V. Site, Crowd Control for The Octoberfest, and Crowd Control for The Werribee Cup....doing anywhere from a few hours in a Shift to 12 hours Alas, they kept on stuffing me around with Times and Addresses (often giving me the wrong Information on both accounts), and stuffing me around with Notifications as well (not to mention my Pay) So, rather than continue to let them stuff me around like that, I Quit When I *FINALLY* got my Pay from them a few months later, it was only half of what I should have gotten....but....when I got my Group Certificate from them, it 'Claimed' that I had been Working for them for 6 months, and not the week that I actually had been Avoid them at all costs if you get the Chance to do so A few weeks after my Quitting there, I got a Job with a Company called Abtourk, who was doing the Security for Channel 7 at the time, and was Employed there for two months, doing 12 hour Shifts, before finally getting Fired for, as fas as I can tell, doing my Job and Following Procedure I got two Complaints while I was there, both in the course of my Following Procedure....either one of which may have been the one that got me Fired, as the Manager said when he sacked me, "I've been hearing Reports about you" First one was when I was escorting some of the Production Crew to one of the Storage Crates so that they could get some stuff that they needed However, they had to move a number of boxes out of the way in order to get what they were after, and were fully prepared to leave those other boxes piles up in such a way that they could have easilly fallen over So, I asked one of them to re-arrange the boxes to make them a bit safer All I got was, "I don't have the time" So, rather than leave it like that (in which I too would have been Liable should they have fallen), I took some time to re-arrange them When I got back to The Security Station, I found that one of them had already made a Complaint about me to my Supervisor I explained the Situation, and he seemed Content with that Second one was when one of the Staff wanted me to open the Gate for them, rather than going the longer way, simply because they had a number of Bags with her and through the Gate was quicker I did so, yes, but I also told her that we're not actually supposed to do that, as it's against Policy (we're generally only supposed to open the Gate if there's a Vehicle going through, or someone with Heavy Equipment, or if we ourselves are going through on one of our Patrols) Again, when I got back to The Security Station, I was told that she too had made a Complaint against me Turns out that she was an 'Associate' Producer of a Series that, Ironically enough, got Cancelled only a few weeks later....'What Not To Wear' That aside, it was obviously one (or indeed both) of these that got me Fired Gotta love it when you get Fired for doing your Job, huh?? After that, I didn't get another Job in that Field until one day early May, when I got a Call on my Mobile from someone from Paragon Security saying they had a Shift for me than night Turns out it was a 4 hour Shift at a Gay Bar (Divas in the South Melbourne/St Kilda area....I didn't really notice where exactly), but, Work is Work, afterall Normally though, I don't like doing Casual as there's just not enough Work in it, and even when there is, with the Notice that you're given, as in, "I've got a Shift for you tonight", it's just not worth it From there, I got that Records Management Job a couple of months later, which I had for more than three years, and in which time my Licence had Expired (plus they brought in New Laws anyway) When I got my 'Redundancy' Pay from there, I took a few months off before starting to look for another Job, and finally getting the one I have now Looking back in Hind-Sight, yes, I may well have done well to have done another Security Course when I had the Opportunity to do so....at least then I would have the Option of just Quitting this Call Centre Job in the 'Hope' of getting some Regular Work as a Security Guard with again But....looking back at the Work I had done in that Field, with all the Problems associated it....lack of Notification....lack of Continuous Work....the 12 hour Shifts....not to mention the Complaints when you're actually following Procedure....sure, as I said, it would be nice to have a Current Licence to fall back on, but frankly, I don't think it would be Worth all the Hassle Not that it wouldn't be better that the Job I have now, in many respects.... But then, so too would Retail Work!! Tags: security work
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood: contemplative
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Continuing on from my last Post, I kinda wondered how many Movies I have in my Collection that depict a Relative of mine in some way.... The Adventures Of Robin Hood - King John I - Ancestor
Braveheart - King Edward I - Ancestor
El Cid - Rodrigo Diaz De Vivar - El Cid - Ancestor
Excalibur - King Arthur Pendragon, King Uthur Pendragon, Mogan Le Fey, Mordred - Relatives; Duke Gorlois of Cornwall - Ancestor
Henry V - King Henry V - Relative
Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown - Queen Victoria - Relative
Granted, it's not a particularly *long* List, but, I'd like to think that it's kinda Impressive, nonetheless :-D Tags: family, genealogy, movies
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I was watching Henry V last night (himself a Relative of mine down the Line, but not an Ancestor), which had the likes of Derek Jacobi and Ian Holm - both of whom would later become Knighted, as well as Judy Dench, who would later get the Female variant, and would become Dame Judy Dench, but it got me wondering....what Movie had the most Knights (or similar) in it? Other Examples are The Man Who Would be King, with Michael Caine and Sean Connery, and Without A Clue with Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley All have since been Knighted, but they weren't Knights at the time However, there was, of course, The Lord Of The Rings, which had Sir Ian Holm and Sir Ian McKellen So.... My Question is thus.... Would anyone know which Movie had the most amount of actual Knights who were Knights at the time that they were in the Movie?? Just Curious, is all :-) Tags: knighthoods, movies
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood:  curious
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Today was of course Rememberance Day Now, while this Day is known by different Names in different Countries - Armistice Day, Veterans' Day, or just simply, Poppy Day - the Sentiment is the same for all of them....that is, to remember those that have Fallen during times of War Specifically, of course, it is to Remember the Signing of the Treaty that would mark the End of World War I....11:00 of the 11th of November....or "The Eleventh Hour of The Eleventh Day of The Eleventh Month" Alas, while I naturally wore a Poppy today, as did a few of my Colleagues at Work, I noticed very few other people today wearing one :-( I guess, if they remembered what today was, they did so in their own way ****Raises Glass to Remember those that have Fallen**** Tags: remembrance day, war
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood: thoughtful
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I was out getting some Brunch this morning, and on the way back, I saw someone wearing a 'Save the Planet' T-Shirt Umm.... For who, exactly?? Okay, so The Earth (or Terra, to use its Correct Name) is not exactly in the best of shape these days Whether that's because of Global Warming or some kind of Natural Cycle for Terra, is probably up for Debate, and I'll let the Scientists and Greenies deal with that one But....who are we actually saving Terra for?? If you take the Point Of View that it is us Humans that are Destroying Terra (and I admit that we are to Blame there in a large degree), then what is the answer?? Trying to Reduce our Consumption of Resources (and the By-Product thereof) won't really work in the Long Term, not with a Population of almost 7 Billion People (and, let's face it, they're just the ones that we know about....there's bound to be anything up to double that with the ones that we *don't* know about....you think they bother to Count the Nomadic Tribes or the Tribes in the Outback of Australia or the Tribes in Africa or the Eskimo Tribes or the remaining Native American Tribes or the Tribes in Central and South America??) So clearly, the 'Best Option' is to remove all the People, if we want Terra to get back to something resembling Normal So again, who are we saving Terra for?? As Humans, alas, we seem Intent on Destroying not only ourselves, but also our Planet as well John Connor: We're not gonna make it, are we? People, I mean. The Terminator: It's in your nature to destroy yourselves. John Connor: Yeah. Major drag, huh? So, what's the answer?? Alas, short of being able to go to another Planet (and Destroying that one as well in probably less than 100 years), is the answer to simply stop Consuming Resources?? In a 'Perfect World', maybe, but to *really* do that, I feel that we would have to revert back to 'The Old Ways'....before Technology There's a Series of Novels that I'm reading at the moment....The Books Of Swords by Fred Saberhagen, which are set so far into The Future that they refer to Old World Technology, and describe it to the extent that we have it today Indeed, at one point, they mention that it's at least 50,000 years in The Future, and....with the Help of a God, have gone back to living as they did in The Middle Ages This may well be the Best Option Failing that, should we all become Amish, and do away with All Technology?? While that may well be the Best Option for everyone concerned, I doubt that we would actually be able to Survive without Technology of some kind, as we've all become too used to it being around Indeed.... I doubt that anyone would be able to say that they could go for a week without Technology of some kind That is, no Telephones (Land-Line or Mobile), no Computers, and therefore, no Internet, no Lights, no Dishwashers, no Washing Machines, no Television, nothing So....am I saying that we need to go back to how we were during The Middle Ages?? Well, that's certainly an Idea, definately For myself though, I see some point between the 1800's and today, with the Living Style (and the Main Technology) of that era, but, maybe with Computers and Internet Access?? Not that the same for The Middle Ages wouldn't be good as well :-) Alas, personally, I can't see us doing anything like that, and will continue to Destroy this Planet to the extent that Movies like The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 are no longer Science Fiction, but have instead become Reality :-( Tags: global destruction, technology
Current Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Mood: thoughtful
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
kohn's journal
Previous
sad