Friday - May 15, 2009

Canterbury, the city that simply isn’t queer enough (according to equality campaigners)

HAS TO BE MY LAST POSTING FOR TODAY and so I am leaving you with this loony tune bit of whatever it is.
It’s another one of those ... I couldn’t make this up story.  And why not in PC England?

Yeah, another queer story but this just could not be ignored or avoided it is so G--damn over the top.
Not satisfied with all the other crap these abnormal folks have been given, one group now wants a CITY to be more queer friendly.
Hey .. didn’t I say it was loony tunes?

This is what occurs when blackmail is in charge. First it’s a parade and then it’s acceptance and then laws to protect, and then it just goes on and on.
I can’t imagine what’ll come next or what new fangled demand we’ll read about. But here’s the latest.

Apparently some folks think a city should announce how friendly it is to a particular group. Maybe every city in the country should be required to state how friendly they are to these people. Then extend that to muslims, the flat earth society, oh heck. Pick one.

By Beth Hale
The Daily Mail

With its ancient cathedral and literary associations, you might regard Canterbury as one of Britain’s most cultured cities.
But for one section of society it seems, it is quite the opposite.
The campaign group Pride in Canterbury has condemned it as a ‘cultural wilderness’ because it has no gay bar and fails to extend a proper welcome to the homosexual community.

Historic: The city has an ancient cathedral, but is a ‘cultural wilderness’ for gays
Every year millions of people visit Canterbury Cathedral, a haven for pilgrims since the Middle Ages. The city’s place in literary history was secured by Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
But Pride in Canterbury is concerned with more present-day issues.

The local council, it says, has failed to ‘send out signals’ that gays are welcome.
As well as the absence of a suitable bar, a play staged at the city’s Marlowe Theatre presented a gay character in a ‘stereotypical’ way.

The group is awaiting the outcome of an official complaint to the local government ombudsman.
Spokesman Andrew Bretell said: ‘We do not believe the council wants a thriving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in our city.

‘They’re more interested in ticking their equality boxes than they are in dealing with the real issues.’

More...Blackpool bids for French visitors with ‘sophisticated’ new tourism campaign: watch the video here

The nearest gay bar is 17 miles away, in Margate, he added.

‘Unless they are sending out signals that they welcome gays, then they are not creating conditions where there is likely to be a gay bar.

‘We are not trying to turn Canterbu
ry into Blackpool or Brighton, but we do think it’s important for the gay community to have a focal point – somewhere they can go to and see LGBT culture.
‘The area doesn’t send out an image that it’s OK to be gay. We’re trying to work with the council to do this and don’t feel we have made big demands, but we have had no success.’

Last year, the group complained to Canterbury City Council. When that failed, it went to the ombudsman, which rules on the complaint next week.
The council’s chief executive Colin Carmichael said it refuted any suggestion that it does not want to engage with the gay community.

‘The council has provided Pride in Canterbury with funding of more than £4,000 since 2005 through our grants system to help them identify the needs of the gay community and promote their concerns.’
A source added: ‘No council in the land would set up a bar – gay or otherwise. It would be seen as a colossal waste of taxpayers’ money.’

There was also sympathy for the council on the streets.

Bernard Makin, 41, who runs a fast-food stall, said: ‘I can’t imagine a gay American bloke saying, “Well, I’d love to see one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world – but let’s go somewhere else because there’s no gay bar”.’
The ombudsman has already told Pride in Canterbury its key complaints are unlikely to succeed.

MAIL

“The nearest gay bar is 17 miles away, in Margate,” he added.

Well so what?  It isn’t like you’d have to walk all the way in your ballet shoes. There are cars ya know. Jeesh.

Posted by peiper     on 05/15/2009 at 11:35 AM   
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   Wednesday - May 13, 2009

Hero father wrestles armed raider to floor… and makes him cry. Score one for the good guys!

‘How dare you point a gun at me!’ Hero father wrestles armed raider to floor... and makes him cry

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:01 PM on 13th May 2009

BOO-HOO CRIES GREMLIN. LET ME GO.

This is the moment a have-a-go hero reduced an armed robber to tears - by grabbing his gun and pinning him down until police arrived.

Leslie Shott, 34, confronted the hooded youth after he burst into a shop brandishing an airgun.

The yob pointed the pistol at Leslie’s face but the brave welder simply grabbed the barrel, wrestled him to the ground and told him: ‘How dare you point a gun at me!’

I guess the guy couldn’t have smacked the gremlin around a bit first.  The photos are not too clear.
I’m just posting one of the two here. 
I guess the gremlin will now sue for being ‘humiliated’ no doubt.

As they waited for the police the 19-year-old started sobbing and begged forgiveness from shop owner Mohammed Ullah.

Leslie said he was ‘just acting on instinct’ when he tackled the thug at Staverton Convenience Store in Trowbridge, Wilts.

The father-of-one - who lives above the shop - said: ‘I just acted on instinct and would do it again if I had to. Every man should have the right to protect the area where he lives.

‘I have family here and I don’t like the idea of people like this causing trouble and thinking they can get away with what they like.

‘It was quite scary and was a dangerous situation as the lad was swearing and putting up a fight. He seemed willing to fire the gun.

‘But once I got him on the floor and told him the police were on their way he started begging and crying.

‘It was pretty pathetic and he was pleading for me to let him go but people need to know they cannot do what they want and get away with it.’

Posted by peiper     on 05/13/2009 at 09:01 AM   
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Another Busy Day

It’s the busy season in the window cleaning world. I’ve got a bid in on a nice sized house, that hopefully will give me work for next week. I’m on my way over to the other side of the state right now to put in a bid on another home. I’m really loving those map pages on the internet, because their street level and bird’s eye view features let me get a general idea of how big a project is before I even go there. Nice.

So I’m not blogging that much right now. I’m earning a living instead. I’ll put up something when I can. Kill the pirates, smash the Taliban, Obama sucks, buy a gun. There ya go. 4 posts in 11 words.

Summer bowling league started last night. Hey, fun! It was the typical screwed up mess, with one of our teammates in the “maybe, maybe not” category - he wasn’t there, and we’re not sure if he’s going to even be on the team, so we used a vacant score for him. The other guy on our team is on vacation in Hawaii [green with envy], but at least he prebowled. And the team we were playing didn’t show up. Typical. So my wife and I got the Bye, so we had to Earn The Points. So, after watching how Team Anthony did things last winter on our Monday league, we decided to try some tactical bowling. That means you go for the win, but just barely. This lets you get the points, but keeps your average down. And we did it. We won the 3 games by 17, 24, and 6 points respectively, so took the wood too and we earned all 7 points. Positions are determined by Points Won first, and then by Pins Bowled in the case of a tie. So we probably won’t be in 1st after this week because of Pins Bowled, but the Points Won carries so much more weight that it isn’t worth worrying about.

The bowling alley does all the work for summer leagues. Right down to providing the bylaws. So, of course, those bylaws have a line in them “The legal lineup shall consist of two regular bowlers. A vacancy counts as a regular bowler.” GRRRRRR. So they didn’t accept what I said about that rule, even when I showed them the words from USBC, and gave them the name of the person on the national rules committee who made this clarification. “That’s how we’ve always done it” trumps The Law here in liberal land. But I didn’t say anything. It’s not worth it.

I hope my wife can find a little time to pick up her new gun tomorrow. It’s been sitting at the gun shop for 2 weeks now waiting for her. Her job keeps her hopping, and the gun shop is only open 9-5 M-F when she’s at work. Not the best way to run a retail business, but it’s their decision.



UPDATE: I got the contract. It’s a 70 window job with storms and screens, so it looks like 2, maybe 3 days work. Washing windows for well heeled homeowners pays just as well as writing computer programs in the corporate world. I just wish it was as steady as working in the corporate world.

And one nice thing about the state I’m living in: driving halfway across New Jersey is only a 40 minute ride, and that’s with traffic.  I stopped in on my way home and said Hi to my old audiophile equipment pusher over in Verona. The guy is totally into analog and tubes. Sweet smooth sound, but a bit dull for my tastes. When I went digital I went for the details, and got the smooth part via first class Class A amplifiers. Still, it was nice stopping by and saying hello for a couple minutes. John Rutan is good people. Maybe that’s why he’s always getting covered in the audio magazines.

Posted by Drew458     on 05/13/2009 at 08:42 AM   
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   Tuesday - May 12, 2009

Council says ‘you’re not disabled enough for meals on wheels’. How’s this for contrast to next story

Elderly couple live on cornflakes and sandwiches after council says ‘you’re not disabled enough for meals on wheels’
By ANDY DOLAN
Last updated at 3:23 PM on 12th May 2009

An elderly couple who are too frail to leave their home have been refused meals on wheels after a council ruled they were not disabled enough to qualify for the service.

Wallace Rowley, 91, and wife Lillian, 89, live on cornflakes for breakfast, ham sandwiches for lunch and a cup of Horlicks in the evening because they are unable to cook for themselves.

The only hot meal they receive during the week comes courtesy of a neighbour who provides them with occasional ready meals which she warms up for them.

Today, a former councillor who is backing the couple said it was ‘obscene’ that elderly people could be left ‘starving to death in their own homes’ because they did not meet ‘restrictive’ eligibility criteria.

The pensioners, who have been married for 68 years, asked for help from Coventry City Council in December as their failing health was leaving them increasingly weak and unable to cook.

Mrs Rowley suffers from crippling rheumatoid arthritis in her arms and legs which means she can barely carry a plate, open the microwave door or push the button to start the kettle boiling.

Her husband has high blood pressure - causing dizzy spells and fainting which could be potentially dangerous in a kitchen if he were to attempt to cook - and ulcerations on his legs, meaning he can only stand for minutes at a time in any case.

Both need Zimmer frames but claim a council worker who assessed them said they ‘were not disabled enough’ to qualify for meals on wheels because they were capable of dressing themselves.

Mr Rowley, a former factory worker who served with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment during World War II in Northern Ireland and Holland, said: ‘I am old and haggard and fought for my country but I feel like I’ve been thrown on the scrapheap.

‘We’ve paid our national insurance contributions all our lives but when we need help in our old age, the state turns its back on us. We’re desperate and feel abandoned.’

He said the social worker who was sent to assess them at their bungalow in Potters Green, Coventry, laughed when they explained their predicament and joked about sending somebody to teach them to cook baked potatoes.

Mrs Rowley, a retired cleaner, added: ‘If I keep eating microwave meals and sandwiches, I’ll go mad.

‘All we can do now is look at these four walls. It’s not safe for us to cook as we don’t have the strength in our arms and legs.’

Guidelines for Coventry City Council social care were tightened in 2005 to exclude meals on wheels for people whose needs were rated ‘moderate’ or ‘low’.

A social worker now has to class the couple as having a ‘critical’ or substantial need for help.

Former Labour councillor Brian Patton, who has taken up the Rowleys’ plight, said the move was purely to save money.

He said: ‘It’s obscene in this day and age that you could have elderly and disabled people starving to death in their own homes who have money and can afford to pay for services but can’t get them because the eligibility criteria is too restrictive.’

Neighbour Lynn Brooker, 46, who brings the couple meals such as cottage pie or roast chicken, said the council had treated the Rowleys ‘appallingly’.

She added: ‘They can’t even get a meal out the oven without dropping it.

‘I just can’t believe they don’t qualify for help.’

The Rowleys have one son Les, 57 - a web developer who lives on his own 15 miles away in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire - and no grandchildren.

Leslie doesn’t have a car but takes meals when he visits each weekend.

Today he said: ‘Social services have let mum and dad down. It’s an outrage that old people can be left to rot in their own homes. What exactly is social services for?’

The council recently raised the cost of the meals by 40 per cent to £4.10 a meal as part of multi-million pound budget cuts.

It said the couple wanted to try meals on wheels out of choice, not necessity.

A spokesman said: ‘A social worker visited Mr and Mrs Rowley and found that both were able to meet their own needs for shopping and hot food and wanted to try home meals as a choice.

‘The outcome was that their needs were assessed as moderate, and did not meet the criteria in terms of being critical or substantial.

‘If their circumstances change through health problems, then a further assessment could take place.’

FOR PHOTOS GO HERE

Something isn’t quite right about this.  I feel sorry for them.  Their son is 57 and has no car. ? Visits them on wkends.  They say they have all these ailments but someone assessed them and found that they were able to go shopping. ??? How they manage that?
Hey, if the old boy is 91 I can well believe he needs help and his wife too.  Even if things weren’t really,really as bad as they say they are, I’d rather give a hand to help them then give the cash to politicians so they can live in a lifestyle I can’t afford. Of course not. How can I afford it when I’m helping to pay for theirs?

Posted by peiper     on 05/12/2009 at 10:34 AM   
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   Friday - May 08, 2009

Mallet-wielding mugging gang jailed over five-month crime spree that claimed 56 victims. Just Yoots.

Just another group of fun loving Negroes out on the town.

Something very wrong here when at age 18 and 19 they can get sent to a “Young Offenders” institution. And as for the younger ones, I think the whole gang should be given a very slow death or at the very least, do to them what they did to their victims. And then bragged about.

But no.  Short terms as ‘young offender’ and they’ll be out looking for the next UNARMED victim.
Oh mustn’t be overly critical of em or that’d be racist.  Never mind what they’ve done to earn the hatred. And boy, have they ever earned it. Probably the only thing they ever did earn and chances are good they won’t earn anything else as they get older.

Read what one of the vermin did but can’t be named because of his tender age.  He’s 17.  There were youngsters who lied about their age and joined the military once upon a time.  And fought as well.  But today you can’t name the creep unless the crime is exceptionally heinous.  Far as I’m concerned, any crime like the ones committed by this group are heinous.

Read what these bastards were up to.

Mallet-wielding ‘G-Block’ mugging gang jailed over five-month crime spree that claimed 56 victims

By Beth Hale
Last updated at 4:38 PM on 08th May 2009

A gang of teenage street robbers who targeted young professionals in a chilling five-month crime spree have been jailed for a total of 32 years.

Calling themselves G-Block - after the street in which several of them lived - the gang of eight young thugs hunted for victims like a ‘pack of dogs.

They single-handedly sent the crime rate in a small area of south-west London soaring and are thought to have been responsible for more than 100 vicious muggings.

Brandishing mallets, knives and metal rods the violent teenagers, one just 13 at the time of the attacks, wore scarves and balaclavas to cover their faces, pouncing on their unsuspecting victims under cover of darkness.

Gang members posed for photographs in their robbery attire and used street slang to brag about their attacks on the internet.

Chilling: G-Block gang members Jordan Rattray and Abdi Nur stare down the camera by the sign of their street, Gearing Close in Tooting, in a photo they posted on the internet

They called their crimes ‘eats’ and dubbed Hallowe’en, when some members donned masks from horror film Scream as disguises, ‘suckin’ (robbery) season.

Selecting a victim, often returning home after work or a night out, they would split up to surround their target before attacking with ‘extreme
violence’ - sometimes for nothing more than a mobile phone.

One woman feared she would die after she was pushed to the ground and the then 17-year-old ringleader, who cannot be named for legal reasons. stamped his foot on her neck and chest before making off with her bag.

Another woman was hit 30 times in the face with a mallet and another victim was left with a bruise in the shape of a footprint on her face.

Sentencing the gang members at Kingston Crown Court yesterday Judge Nicholas Price QC said they had ‘gloried in notoriety’, adding: ‘You all hunted like a pack of wild dogs intent on seeking out your prey and treating them without mercy.

(right judge. like that’ll make em feel something. PROUD.  they are not human and so feel nothing that real humans do. they aren’t even animals. they haven’t gotten that high on the evolutionary scale. most unfortunately though, they breed more of their kind. like the insects they are.)

‘A very disturbing factor is that as time went by, the attacks grew even more vicious. It appeared you derived more pleasure from gratuitous violence than from the robberies themselves.

One detective involved in the case said the gang had operate like something out of Lord of The Flies, egging each other on and getting kicks out of violence.

‘It started off with one person recruiting people he knew who lived nearby,’ he said. ‘Their initial attraction was the easy cash - iPods, mobile phones and things they couldn’t readily afford themselves.

‘Very quickly it turned into a power trip where they liked controlling adults and beating them up. The vast majority of the victims were professional victims in their 30s. ‘

Police believe the gang was responsible for at least 113 robberies, starting in the summer of 2007.

In the first attack, on July 18, 2007, Carolyn Doughty and Quinton Newell were confronted by the gang as they walked home from a night out.

The pair were separated from each other before the ringleader attacked Miss Doughty, who was unable to breath as he stamped on her neck.

After one particularly brutal attack which left a woman student needing hospital treatment, the ringleader boasted on internet messaging service MSN ‘almost killd da woman 4 nothing.’

He went on: ‘I stamped her face out an bust her head open coz she was getting me mad.’

Describing how she resisted he added: ‘She said why, so boi she had it comin 2 her...blud she got me so vex I wernt showin any mercy.’

Chillingly, just three days before they were arrested in an exchange about concerns the police would catch them soon the teenager said: ‘*** it im still gonna eats (rob) its jus now im gonna *** the person up so dey cnt even describe wat we look like or even know der location.’

As police came closer to cracking why street crime had soared in the area, the gang revelled in being told that robbery was up 15 per cent.

They were finally caught after targeting Alex and Caroline De Groote on Wandsworth Common. After robbing the couple one gang member turned, made a gun shape with his fingers and said ‘bang, bang’.

But the couple called police and were able to point out some of their attackers, still in the area.

When police arrested the thugs they found an array of stolen property in their homes. Text message, SN messages and postings on social networking sites were all used as evidence, along with photographs gang members had taken.

YOUTHS

Posted by peiper     on 05/08/2009 at 12:40 PM   
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Travellers invade pitch just before Cricket season begins. Here we go again! killin’ is the answer.

As I have said on an occasion or two or three.  And of course quoting Al Capone.

You will get more done with a kind word and a gun, then you will with a kind word alone.
And I really do believe that to be true. Especially where these vermin are concerned. 

Hit em hard, hit em for keeps.
Pile up their bodies in heaps and heaps!

Once that’s done, this particular problem will go away.
In fact, any remaining should be deported.  If no other country will take them, then camps in some desert will do until there aren’t any more of their kind left.

Village cricket club in shock as travellers invade pitch just before season begins

By Beth Hale
Last updated at 1:59 PM on 08th May 2009

The pitch had been carefully tended, the wicket was in fine form and all was set for Roborough Cricket Club’s first home game of the season.

But that game was in jeopardy last night after some unwelcome pitch invaders took up residence near the boundary line.

Travellers arrived at the sports field, in Roborough, Devon, on Monday and set about making themselves at home.

This morning ten caravans were illegally parked up in a corner of the field - with perfect views for watching the game against a team from nearby Honiton, but not so perfect for players, who fear the match may have to be postponed.

Cricket club officials say the group of travellers have ruined the wicket, by driving up and down on quad bikes, leaving a trail of tyre marks.

Mike Gaylard, treasurer and groundsman for the club, discovered six caravans on the site at the beginning of the week, and with growing dismay watched as one by one more vans arrived.

Contemplating the damage to the all-important wicket yesterday during a urgent pre-game inspection he said: ‘It’s got even worse now, there are tyre marks over the wicket where they have obviously gone round in circles.’

He said he had seen children riding quad bikes up and down the pitch, while he said travellers happily drove their vans across the field.

‘I’m going to have to get the roller out now and see what can be done. It is all cost and expense to the club.’

He said he was concerned over the time it will take to evict the travellers.

‘We are law-abiding people who pay our taxes and we cannot do anything about it.’

(oh yes you could. see my solution above.)

It is not the first time there has been a pitch invasion, travellers have moved in several times in recent years, with field owners having to resort to a writ to evict them.

Mr Gaylard, who says the gates to the ground had been padlocked prior to the group’s arrival, was unimpressed with assurances that they only planned to stay until the weekend.

‘They just think they’ve got a God given right to be there,’ he said.

There was, however, one glimmer of hope. Mr Gaylard was hoping the police might take action because there had been damage to the wicket.

One of the travellers, Jane Lee, said they tried not to damage anything when they stayed somewhere.

She said: ‘We’re just passing through; it’s our way of life. It’s the only way you know when you’ve been brought up with it.’

Miss Lee, who said she’d lived in a caravan all her life, added that they would not get in the way of a cricket match.

The playing fields are owned by Bickleigh Parish Council.

Chairman Bill Hitchens said: ‘Quite understandably the cricket club are upset and I’m supporting them, but I can only move as fast as the law allows. We’ve taken it to the police but they are unwilling to take action.’

DAILY MAIL

“ it’s our way of life. “
Don’t ya just love that?  So the rest of the world has to put up with her and her kind just pulling up and staying for awhile. Sometimes for a VERY LONG WHILE!

Posted by peiper     on 05/08/2009 at 09:33 AM   
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   Friday - May 01, 2009

and back home again

I had to run for a couple days to do some unscheduled family stuff. Back now. Except right this instant I have to grab a shower and go do my Friday night job. Must remember to bring a power saw and an extension cord; I’ve got some huge packing crates to chop up.

Back later.

Posted by Drew458     on 05/01/2009 at 03:42 PM   
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THIS OLE HOUSE AND WATER, COOL,CLEAR, WATER. HOLD THE GAS!

OMG, the instant I saw the title I thought maybe it was you or your neighbor!

How’s that gas leak situation going?

[ Peiper’s neighbors are rebuilding the whole house, so they have the lawn torn up, and all the pipes and wires are breaking. Extra extra fun to live next door to! ]
Posted by Drew458

Drew posted that yesterday and when I saw it this morning the idea came to me that perhaps I should tell everyone what’s been happening the last couple of daze.  No, I’m not trying to be arty. DAZE is what we feel like we are in.  Pay attention. There will be a test when we come to.

This olde house is named Avalon. All houses on the street have names. No numbers. Avalon is one of three dormer bungalows built between 1923 and 1926.  Ours was the second one built and the last, in ‘26 was called Roydon. It still is.  That bungalow was knocked down last year and there’s this large red brick eye sore in its place now.

Avalon was owned by a wonderful old fellow, a glass eyed veteran of the first world war. He passed away some 23 years ago and the MIL looked after the empty house and kept it looking lived in.

There was always the worry of squaters or travelers who could have easily moved in and just taken it.  They do that sort of thing and as most of you already know, are quite successful in getting away with it.  I guess mostly because nobody has the guns to just shoot the bastards graveyard dead. 

Well, the lady who was raised in Avalon married a Harley Street heart surgeon. Yeah. Think MONEY in caps.  She just could not give up her girlhood home and so it was maintained all these years until her own passing a bit over a year ago.
By maintained I mean they kept and paid for heat,gas,electric and water.  If repairs were needed, they got done and the bills went to the doctor and his wife.  The lawn was done every other week even if it didn’t need it. Hedges were trimmed etc.  When the MIL fell too ill to continue, the wife took over once we’d moved here.

Washing was done in our house but in winter as I discovered when I came here, the wet laundry was carried next door to the vacant Avalon, where it was all hung to dry usually overnight but sometimes perhaps another day.  That was because Avalon had central heating and the temp. was kept at around 70 degrees all winter. Day and night.
Electric here btw VERY EXPENSIVE.  MIL had no dryer nor did she want the expense of one. Hardly anyone has air and windows open outward almost everywhere and so NO screens on windows in summer.

Well, the old Avalon is now gone. The lady who grew up here passed away and her husband and granddaughter sold the place a bit over a year ago, at the very top of the market. Money to money.  The place was sold to a local dentist and his family and two freekin dogs and yes they do damn well bark, for very near one million dollars if your thinking in American terms.  It has a very large lot in back, longer then ours but I don’t think quite as wide though I could be mistaken. Anyway, it’s bigger. 

So this all brings me down to the last couple of stress filled days.

See that tree to the right? Yeah. That one.  Well, it’s large ok and its roots deep AND ..

it sits right on top of the main gas supply.  Long before demolition started, gas and water and electric to Avalon were cut off.  Ah but …. our house and Avalon have shared since the homes were built, the same water main.  Right. Should the water be turned off in one house, the water gets turned off in the other two.  Gets interesting huh? Hope so.

They did something so that our water wasn’t touched and all was fine.  I guess they were able to cap Avalon and leave ours in place.  When the house on the other side of us was built last year, they got a direct water line and were taken completely off the old system. But they are also on a water meter now.  We are on the old flat rate system.  There were no meters when this place was built.

So, the day before yesterday I wasn’t feeling too well, didn’t post anything and at one point had a headache but didn’t detect any odor. At first.  I’ve been taking photos of the demolition as it goes along and went next door and stood in front of where the old gate used to be.  There was a hole in the ground, the tree was gone, a pipe was sticking out of the ground and the guy who’d been running the digger that took the tree out, was then using a gas powered saw to cut up the fallen tree.  Two years ago that tree had been pruned because part of it fell across our front yard in a heavy wind.  So there he was cutting and suddenly it caught us.  Wife had come over to join me by then and we both suggested that there was a gas leak.  But the fellow doing the sawing suggested it could also be just earth and rotted vegetation as there was a bit of that about.  But no, we insisted it was gas and sure enough, it was.

When the tree came up, it tore a pipe attached to the main below.  Where that yellow paint is.  Gas company was out there and four guys walking around with clipboards etc.

About 7:15 that night, a two man crew from the gas company came out and started to dig out the main pipe. At 8pm there was this cloud of gas, of course ya couldn’t see it, but as my wife’s room is downstairs she caught almost the full force of it. Her room is in front and not that far away from the exposed pipe.

It passed and she almost did too but just ended up with a ripping headache and a bit of nausea which I’d caught earlier.  By 8:15pm they had it capped, but for now it’s temporary as they have to come back at some point and do something else and so the hole remains but is covered for now with a couple of metal sheets or planks. Whatever. It’s covered till they come back when ever that is. ? 

That was all the day before yesterday.  You’ve heard that when it rains it pours?  Yeah well, sometimes it ain’t rain.  Sometime ya just get pissed on. Like during political elections but I’m not going there. For now anyway.

So the nice man and his digger are doing what diggers do and all is well.  We thought.

I was tired and needed to stretch and went out on the front porch and as his machine turned and he saw me, he cut the engine and asked me if we had running water.  Huh?
Oh no.  I don’t wanna hear that.  Everybody from the new owner to their architect and the builder were advised on more then one occasion about the water supply.  Which our friendly digger guy had managed to run over and broke a pipe below ground.
Doesn’t end there however.  Wouldn’t you think it would?  But no.

First of all, the digger says he wasn’t advised of where exactly the water pipe was but only that it might be somewhere under what was once a driveway, long grown over with grass and weed.  Also, it turned out the pipe was not buried all that deep.  Only about 8 inches under the top.  He was digging a foot down and caught a small pipe out of which water flowed.

We are talking very old very original lead pipe, I think it’s lead.  So he called his boss who called a plumber who got there about 20 minutes later. BUT … no parts that would fit anything that old.  Photo.
Old pipe off to left, blue is new but it isn’t pipe at all as it comes rolled but I guess it’s what they use. I shot this from upstairs room.

Posted by peiper     on 05/01/2009 at 06:53 AM   
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   Thursday - April 30, 2009

Heart attack patient told to be quiet by paramedic.  Great system huh? Medic told to retrain.

Yeah. Can you believe this? Retrain?
Toss the bum out on his ear.
Take a look at this.

Heart attack patient ordered to clean up own vomit
A paramedic ordered a heart attack patient clean up his own vomit and be quiet as he writhed in agony on a hospital floor, a disciplinary hearing heard.

Last Updated: 8:03PM BST 29 Apr 2009

Ambulance man Colin Shields failed to carry out basic checks and did not recognise the tell-tale signs of a heart attack - mistaking the patient’s symptoms for toothache.

He was given 10 months to retrain or face being struck off on Tuesday after the Health Professions Council ruled his fitness to practice was impaired.

The panel heard the victim dialled 999 because he was suffering severe jaw and lower back pain - classic symptoms of heart attack.

But when Shields arrived at his home in Manchester he failed to carry out even the most basic medical checks, and did not provide the patient - a diabetic - with any treatment.

It was only when the man demanded to be taken to hospital that Shields drove him to the nearby Manchester Royal Infirmary, the panel heard.

Shields did check the patient’s medical history, so did not know he also suffered from high blood pressure and high cholesterol, making him a prime candidate for a heart attack.

Laura Napley, for the HPC, said: “Mr Shields did not carry out any medical assessment of the patient, made him walk to and from the ambulance unaided and did not complete a patient report form.

“At the hospital, Patient A followed Mr Shields into a treatment room and was told to sit on the bed and wait for a doctor.

“Due to his intense pain, the patient said he preferred to lie on the floor. When he subsequently vomited, Mr Shields told him to be quiet and clean up the mess.”

Doctors later found he had suffered a massive heart attack and was minutes from death when they started treatment.

Shields admitted most of the allegations against him, saying he was ‘distracted’ on the day of the incident, July 30 2007.

The HPC panel, sitting in central London, ruled his fitness to practice was impaired and imposed a Conditions of Practice Order which requires Shields to complete training if he wishes to continue in the profession.

MORON MEDIC

Have to wonder what kind of training if any this medic-moron got.
Don’t they have to take any sort of test?
Scary stuff this.

Posted by peiper     on 04/30/2009 at 03:38 PM   
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Man set house on fire while trying to kill a spider with a lighter .

A man had to be rescued after setting the front of his house on fire while trying to kill a spider with a lighter.

Firefighters say the man, in his 40s, had been trying to set fire to the spider as it crawled up the front of the semi-detached property

But sparks reached material behind the cladding and caused a fire within the walls, shortly before midnight.

Three fire engines raced to the scene in Portsmouth, Hants, and found the man trying to put out the flames with a garden hose.

Firefighters in breathing apparatus removed the cladding and spent two hours putting the fire out.

Watch manager Steve Pearce said: “The man was trying to put the fire out with a garden hose when we arrived.

“The whole thing had clearly scared the life out of him.

“There was a gap in the cladding where he was trying to kill the spider and so the sparks got through to the material behind and started spreading upwards towards the roof.

“Our concern was that it would reach the roof and the property would be lost.

“We sent firefighters up into the loft to put it out and fortunately we were able to stop it in time.

“Surprisingly there wasn’t much damage to the house other than to the cladding.

“We obviously had a chat with the man but I don’t think he’ll be doing this again.”

ALONG CAME A SPIDER

I wonder if this poor soul is in any way connected to the company hired to demolish the house next door. 

Posted by peiper     on 04/30/2009 at 09:17 AM   
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   Monday - April 27, 2009

Peace for the neighbours: Woman who broke Asbo stopping her from having noisy sex locked up.

This is another one of those stories that I originally thought I’d pass on. Seemed a bit OTT at the time and I ignored it.
BUT ... it (the story) wouldn’t die.  Yeah, ppl joked about it some and some thought it was a joke. But no.
Apparently the lady here gets VERY NOISY during ... you know.
Well, the neighbors complained of massive amounts of noise and so of course it made the papers. Ha Ha.

She was given the dreaded and very much feared ASBO for loud uhm....s x.
But the ASBO apparently didn’t frighten this breaker of the peace and quiet of her neighbors so now .......

Hey ... before you ask how in the world any man could get excited over this woman, she is absolutely GOR-JUS!!
If compared to my SIL.  Who I never regarded as such but that’s her title I suppose.  The ugliest female in all Australia no foolin’ by gosh. A regular Baby Huey type cept he was cute. Sort of. The SIL is .... oh damn I think I’m gonna be sick.  gak.
So don’t knock this here woman’s looks. 

Woman who broke Asbo stopping her from having noisy sex locked up

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:26 PM on 27th April 2009

Neighbours of a woman who ended up in court for her noisy love-making were savouring peace and quiet today after she was locked up accused of breaking her anti-social behaviour order.

Caroline Cartwright, 48, was remanded in custody until May 5 charged with three breaches of her Asbo in just 10 days.

The four-year order was imposed by magistrates in Sunderland on April 17 and prevented Cartwright ‘making excessive noise’ anywhere in England.

However, Houghton le Spring Magistrates’ Court heard that police arrested her on April 18, on April 22 and again on April 26 after reports from neighbours she was flouting the ban with husband Steve.

She was subsequently charged with three counts of breaching her Asbo by making excessive noise that can be heard by neighbours.

Cartwright appeared before magistrates from custody having been arrested yesterday and charged with the third offence.

Prosecutor Claire Ward said neighbours had complained to police on three separate occasions about early morning noises of shouting, moaning, groaning and a bed banging against the wall coming from the Cartwrights’ home.

Accompanied by two dock officers, she spoke only to confirm her name, age and address and enter her not guilty pleas.

Cartwright, whose husband sat in the public gallery, elected to be tried by jury and the case will be transferred to Newcastle Crown Court at a later date.

A bail application from defence solicitor Peter Lothian was refused.

Cartwright, of Hall Road, Concord, Washington, Tyne and Wear was remanded in custody and ordered to appear via video link before Sunderland Magistrates’ Court on May 5.

On April 17 Cartwright was convicted for five breaches of an abatement notice and fined a total of £515, and magistrates also imposed the Asbo.

The conditions of the order banned Cartwright from making excessive noise, knocking, shouting, screaming or vocalisation that can be heard in neighbouring properties or outside the house.

It also prohibited her from playing loud music.

Posted by peiper     on 04/27/2009 at 01:23 PM   
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EU judges want Sharia law applied in British courts.  I think it’s a false alarm BUT …

I can’t think this bit of lunacy has a chance of passing muster. Can you?  I mean come on.  Even these these people will begin to see how ridiculous and unworkable this would be.  Or, would it?

The reason for posting this short piece is not just to highlight Moonbattery.  It shows us how lightly something called national sovereignty is held by far too many.  Oh sure, some politician in some eu member country will sit down and write legislation for a country he or she isn’t even a citizen of.  Easy thing to their way of thinking as they are not citizens of France or England or Germany.  No.  They are citizens of the EU now.  See how that works?

I really do not think this will travel just because this particular judge thinks it should. I think it’ll be ignored EXCEPT .... unless I am very much mistaken sharia already exists here in some form for domestic issues.  But not because some EU judge deemed it should be so. 
Which doesn’t make things any better. Does It?

Americans can be thankful we’re (well you guys are) located in a place not attached to Europe.  For now anyway.  But hey, keep your eye on Barry America.

EU judges want Sharia law applied in British courts
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 8:01 AM on 27th April 2009

Controversial: An EU plan is calling for family courts across Europe to hear cases using the laws of whichever country the couple involved have close links to

Judges could be forced to bow to Sharia law in some divorce cases heard in Britain.

An EU plan calls for family courts across Europe to hear cases using the laws of whichever country the couple involved have close links to.

That could mean a court in England handling a case within the French legal framework, or even applying the laws of Saudi Arabia to a husband and wife living in Britain.

The Centre for Social Justice think tank today attacked the so-called Rome III reform as ludicrous.

It warned it would slow down cases, increase costs and lead to unjust results.
However, in a report it says existing arrangements are ‘anti-family’.

Currently, a couple from different EU states can have their divorce heard in the first country where one of them files divorce papers.

Because different states offer varying financial advantages to spouses in terms of division of wealth, the resulting ‘race to court’ in the best jurisdiction discourages couples from trying to save their marriage, it says.

The report calls for a simpler solution, with each country applying its own laws and cases being heard in the country where the couple have the closest connection.

At least nine EU states - not including the UK - are said to want to push ahead with the Rome III plan.

EU AND SHARIA

Posted by peiper     on 04/27/2009 at 09:21 AM   
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   Tuesday - April 21, 2009

Welcome to the NEW USS Truxtun!

I served for four years (1982-1986) aboard the last USS Truxtun CGN-35. She was decommissioned in 1994, and scrapped in 1996. Thank you Bill Clinton…

Anyway, the previous incarnation of the ‘Tommy T’ was a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser. I was a reactor operator (RC-div). Yes, one of those ‘nuke ETs’. NavVets will know what I’m talking about. I operated the nuclear power plants that made the ship go.

I received an official invite to the commissioning ceremony of the NEW USS Truxtun DDG-103. It sounds like a pretty powerful ship. I really wanted to attend, but couldn’t convince the wife to go. So I won’t be there this weekend. Damn!

Thought I’d leave you with this, though.

How To Simulate The Life Of A Sailor

* Buy a steel dumpster, paint it gray inside and out, and live in it for six months.
* Run all the pipes and wires in your house exposed on the walls.
* Repaint your entire house every month.
* Renovate your bathroom. Build a wall across the middle of the bathtub and move the showerhead to chest level. When you take showers, make sure you turn off the water while you soap down.
* Raise the thresholds and lower the headers of your front and back doors so that you either trip or bang your head everytime you pass through them.
* Disassemble and inspect your lawn mower every week.
* On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, turn your water heater temperature up to 200 degrees. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, turne the waer heater off. On Saturdays and Sundays tell your family they use too much water during the week, so not bathing will be allowed.
* Raise your bed to within 6 inches of the ceiling, so you can’t turn over without getting out and then getting back into bed.
* Sleep on the shelf in your closet. Replace the closet door with a curtain. Have your spouse whip open the curtain about 3 hours after you go to sleep, shine a flashlight in your eyes, and say “Sorry, wrong rack.”
* Make your family qualify to operate each appliance in your house - dishwasher, blender, mixer, etc.
* Have your neighbor come over each day at 5 AM, blow a whistle loudly, and shout “Reveille, all hands heave out and trice up.”
* Have your mother-in-law write down everything she’s going to do the following day, then have her make you stand in your back yard at 6 AM while she reads it to you.
* Submit a request chit to your father-in-law requesting permission to leave your house before 3 PM.
* Empty all the garbage bins in your house and sweep the driveway three times a day, whether it needs it or not.
* Have your neighbor collect all your mail for a month, read your magazines, and randomly lose every 5th item before delivering it to you.
* Watch no TV except for movies played in the middle of the night. Have your family vote on which movie to watch then show a different one.
* Make your family menu a week ahead of time without consulting the pantry or refrigerator.
* Post a menu on the kitchen door informing your family that they are having steak for dinner. Then make them wait in line for an hour. When they finally get to the kitchen, tell them you are out of steak, but they can have dried ham or hot dogs. Repeat daily until they ignore the menu and just ask for hot dogs.
* Bake a cake. Prop up on side of the pan so the cake bakes unevenly. Spread icing really thick to level it off.
* Get up every night around midnight and have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on stale bread. (Midrats)
* Set your alarm clock to go off at random tmes during the night. At the alarm, jump up and dress as fast as you can, making sure to button the top button of your shirt and tuck your pants into your socks. Run out into the backyard and uncoil the garden hose. Stand there for an hour. Then re-roll the hose and go back to bed.
* Every week or so, throw your dog in the pool and shout, “Man overboard port side!” Rate your family members on how fast they respond.
* Put the headphones from your stereo on your head, but don’t plug them in. Hang a paper cup around your neck on a string. Stand in front of the stove, and speak into the paper cup “Stove manned and ready.” After an hour or so, speak into the cup again, “Stove secured.” Roll up the headphones and paper cup and stow them in a shoebox.
* Place a podium at the end of your driveway. Have your family stand watches at the podium, rotating at 4 hour intervals. This is done for three days, once a month.
* When there is a thunderstorm in your area, get a wobbly rocking chair, sit in it, and rock as hard as you can until you become nauseous. Make sure to have a supply of stale crackers to eat in your shirt pocket.
* Make coffee using eighteen scoops of budget priced coffee grounds per pot, and allow the pot to simmer for 5 hours before drinking.
* Have someone under the age of ten give you a haircut with sheep shears.
* Sew the back pockets of your jeans on the front.
* Lock yourself and your family in the house for six weeks. Tell them that at the end of the 6th week you are going to take them to Disney World for “liberty.” At the end of the 6th week, inform them the trip to Disney World has been canceled because they need to get ready for an inspection, and it will be another week before they can leave the house.

Gosh, how I miss being a sailor! (sarcasm)

Actually, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. I learned to live ‘lite’, ie, had very few possessions to weigh me down. Got to travel, meet interesting people, without killing them (though that was always an option in the event of war…)

Then, there was a spiritual side to Navy service.

You are on a ship observing ‘darkness’ rules (no lights, don’t want the Soviets to see us easily…), it’s midnight, you’ve just gotten off the 8-12 watch, You and a couple of shipmates are out on the flight deck, doing some amateur astronomy. Why? Because you’re from the USA, and you’ll never get another chance to stargaze in the South Pacific, thousands of miles from any city lights. There, above you, is the grand beauty of God’s creation. Stars, like dust, shining with colors! You can’t make out the colors from home, but they stand out in the darkness of the South Pacific.

Add in the fact that Halley’s Comet was visible to the naked eye in ‘86 if you were in the Southern Hemisphere…

Actually, if I weren’t married, I’d go back to being a sailor.

Posted by Christopher     on 04/21/2009 at 04:53 AM   
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   Thursday - April 16, 2009

If this were April first, you’d say I was making this up as a gag. Health and Safety at work again.

Right. It just keeps getting crazier and crazier and .... 

Here’s another elf n safety laff from the UK version of what I like to refer to as, The Keystone Kops.  Which in my usage does not always mean police.
Just so we’re clear on that.

Now then .... away we go .... Barmy: It took two presenters, a paramedic and first aider to change a tyre

And for Yanks not familiar with the term, a presenter is someone on TV (or radio) who presents stuff. Like our newscasters would be presenters. A DJ is a presenter. 

How many BBC staff does it take to change a spare tyre?

Two radio presenters, a paramedic and a first-aider - transported by private ambulance - was the answer delivered by BBC bosses thanks to ‘barmy’ healthy and safety rules.

Producers at BBC Radio Essex had to fill out a risk assessment form before a pair of presenters were allowed to feature on a programme about learning new skills.

BBC bosses ruled that medical staff had to be present in case the pair suffered any mishap as they were dealing with ‘unfamiliar equipment’.

A request was made to St John Ambulance to provide personnel to supervise the activity in the studio car park in Chelmsford, Essex.

The charity sent along two women volunteer staff - a paramedic and a first-aider - in a private ambulance to provide medical cover.

Garage owner Caroline Lake, who gave on-air instructions about how to change a wheel, said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw them.

‘All we were doing was taking off a couple off wheels, yet we had to have medical experts there in case something went wrong. It was just barmy and so silly.

‘It would be different if we were taking out an engine - but all we were doing was taking off a wheel.

‘A corner of the car was only being jacked up one inch off the ground to get a wheel off. There wasn’t anything that could have gone wrong.

‘I carried out all the normal safety checks and we had proper tools and disposable gloves. I also made sure the handbrake of the car was operating properly.

‘We live in a society so obsessed with health and safety that people soon will not be allowed to do anything.’

Miss Lake, 37, who runs Caroline’s Cars in Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk, was invited on the show because of her experience running car maintenance courses for women.

She said: ‘I had to teach the woman presenter what to do because she had never changed a wheel before.

‘Then we had to time her and a male presenter, separately taking off a wheel and replacing it so we could see which was quicker.

‘The female presenter appeared looking nervous and I reassured her that there was nothing to it and she would be fine with a few minutes training.

‘The producer then arrived and said, ‘Great. It looks like we’re ready to go. We’ve just got to wait for the paramedics.

‘I looked at her and laughed, thinking she was joking. But just at that moment an ambulance arrived with two female staff.

‘It pulled up less than a metre from our car and they took up position alongside it.

‘I was unable to believe what I was seeing and I told them, “You must be having a laugh”.

‘The producer then told me how BBC health and safety rules meant she had to fill in forms and have the staff in attendance.

‘I replied that the world had gone mad and even the paramedic said she thought it was all a bit much.

‘But they also said they didn’t mind being there because they had never changed a wheel before and were hoping to learn something.

A BBC spokeswoman said: ‘The presenters featured in this outside broadcast which was part of the BBC ‘s Big Skill Initiative were working against the clock using unfamiliar equipment.

‘As a basic precaution a couple of voluntary St John’s Ambulance first-aiders were just on standby to administer any basic first aid requirements.’

Richard Bloomfield, a spokesman for St John Ambulance in Essex, said: ‘We have a very close relationship with the BBC in Essex.

‘They contacted us to ask us to send a couple of first-aiders and we were delighted to help.

‘It is a question of how they felt. They obviously felt there was a need for it just in case there was an accident.

‘One of the women we sent was a qualified paramedic and the other was a first-aider.’

HEALTHNSAFETY

Posted by peiper     on 04/16/2009 at 03:27 PM   
Filed Under: • Daily Life • Insanity • UK •  
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