You live and learn

No matter how bright you are or how much you know you can always learn more. I had a lesson this weekend on my presentation, and how to think like your audience and not like your peers. The message does not change but if you are polarised in your approach the potential pupils just switch off and ignore you. I found it easy to adjust and hope the results are now better as I'd reached the point where I'd given up expecting a single change from the vast amount of material I now have at my fingertips. And despite creating a short but incriminating summary of overt statements declaring global warming was indeed created by an elite to divide and control the masses, nothing, not a reply, reaction or surprise except from a radio presenter. But despite being on a national programme only 10 people checked the website. But I know now and so do they, and if any fucker says 'Why would there be a conspiracy?' as they still do whenever it's mentioned, I just say 'Club of Rome 1991'. It's not isolated of course, it's been repeated by Gorbachev (1996), his second in command and Ottmar Edenhofer, and the Bilderberg 2010 agenda included 'Global Cooling'. Of course we now know the solar minimum is both expected to wipe out the total warming since 1850 and explain the sun does drive temperatures and not you and me. We are still expecting the first new minister for tide control probably in the UK, but that always ignored the evidence and no doubt they'll also be naked except for the wonderful suit of invisible clothes. It all relies on enough twats accepting it, so don't be a twat and they'll eventually go away.

After my eyes, teeth, blood and finances were all inspected and passed fit my house now needs a builder, electrician, plumber and boilerman. The promised deadlines for the electrician and plumber have been and gone with no electrical or plumbing activity (it would be more surprising if it hadn't considering), the builder is Polish so if he says he'll come next week he'll come next week or possibly even sooner, and the boilerman comes from the neighbouring dimension where time is a few months shifted from here. My boiler is in fact virtually no more than a metal box on the wall. I somehow tricked it into providing the hot water for a bath on Thursday, but that was a one off and the system is fucked both heating and hot water and less than four years old. 

I do still try and read other blogs when I get the chance, but every time I add one to the list they pack up within months, and any new ones I find aren't active. I use another site where they are now so still get comments, just not usually here. But the quality and unique opportunity to write is still specific to these sites and maybe people are too busy fighting and showing off on Facebook to do something more creative and personal any more. I have in fact now been mentioned in two national papers (no photo so barely noticed) simply by being the only person to complain against a road trap for motorists a few years ago in a local paper. It generated three weeks of letters and stopped. Then a member of staff went national and carried the story with him, it's had no effect on the council who steal money from innocent people, but the media love it. It's been on TV, the radio and mentioned in other articles, but despite the local paper now wanting to campaign against it no lawyer has arrived and unless a case is built in the High Court Camden couldn't care less. But it's growing in awareness and if anyone comes on board to work for nothing we'll be off.

 I've barely got any plans now, I've been busier than I have for years, and needed a break, and just a couple of long photo runs to do for the site which need the time and energy. But now I know all the usual suspects for any symptoms I've had are absent I can pretty well get on with things and just be careful.

I am actually still here

Wow, I've just found the background colour button, this is fun. I haven't given up blogging but due to the apparent decline of Blogger have been using another one I have where I know people read it and comment, while in 2004 this was all the rage and now seems to have been left behind. But it costs me nothing and will keep updating here in case anyone reads it.

The main issues since last visit have been the optician found two aneurysms in my retina, nothing in themselves and often go away, but needed to know the cause and diabetes was the possible one. Otherwise it's random but had to have a blood test for anything else as well and thank goodness that all came back clear so can now relax on all the other potential health problems I thought were possible as well as the diabetes. The stronger reading glasses are costing me a month's income or so but what can we do when quizzes are being spoilt online by misreading words?
I also got a photo printer for my birthday, late as it took me that long to decide what I wanted. It was a total mistake for many reasons. The research I did didn't raise a photo printer at all, so when I went to the local superstore (plus I wasn't paying except for the extras) I bought the best one my research had identified, which produces wonderful photos but so far appear to be costing me about 65p each at the combined price of ink and paper compared to 5p plus postage (now 1p) online. The convenience of printing as soon as I've taken the photos is wonderful but talk about a luxury and ongoing cost.

So it turns out I bought something totally useless. I have a very old and good printer and scanner, and have no need for others. Of course you can buy photo printers but are specialised and not sold in large stores, and only discovered their actual existence by chance. I now have a huge photocopying machine (I may use a few times a year) as well as combined printer and scanner, I can't keep it in the same room as the PC as it's like trying to fit two cars in one garage, but thought I'd use the portable memory option in the new conservatory. No way Jose, the Sale of Goods Act states all goods should be fit for their purpose, this only reads 1000 photos and memories store 3000 plus. As I'm not spending months on a court case for an irritation the final option is to leave the printer there and use its wireless facility to receive the photos by a network connected to my PC. I went back to the shop and told them I wanted to do this and they sold me a USB dongle, which appears to be to connect a laptop to receive wireless, it seems they should have sold me a router.

I am now in correspondence with the printer people and the shop as if they've sold me the wrong hardware they have to sort it out, and if not then the company have to explain how to connect it up. I emailed and the first reply told me to use my wireless router via an ethernet cable. As I'm connected via a cable modem I had to reply and tell them what I had and how to connect with that. If they confirm I need a router then it's another potential court case (for £35 or so this time) to swap a presumably useless dongle (I can't carry the PC around to use in the park with a generator) for a probably far more expensive router. I'm not going wireless at home as besides the printer I don't want the computer open to all and sundry and losing speed, as well as paying Virgin for a wireless router, and if not will end up carrying the printer in every few weeks from the spare room to make more prints. If I'd done my research then I'd have spent about £30 (plus the same 65p per photo) on a photo printer I'd have bought online (the superstores won't touch them for some reason, probably as they sell mugs like me photocopiers they don't want or need hoping they'll never realise) which is so small it could sit on the desk next to me here. So for the benefit of a few potential photocopies a year I've got a huge useless printer which won't read memories or connect wirelessly. The prints are bloody good which is why I bought it, but would be identical on a photo printer and I'd have £100 plus left over. How they rip us off as they know we don't know as much as they do...