I am not a fishing fan, but these are good.
Specially the way the links look like the Predator...
Trouble has have moved into our house, and I need to know how to get it to move out!
Things you do not want a telephoning child to say - We have a problem. How do we turn off the water?
Things you do not want to find when you arrive home - Water pouring from the light fittings, the ceilings in general, flooding on the floor, discovering some of this water is hot.
Things it is quite nice to find when you get home - your three male children have managed to deal with a crisis without making it worse. And the dinner wasn't ruined either.
The boys were cooking dinner and went into the garden for a cigarette (as they are not allowed to smoke in the house). They took Heidi out, smoked their ciggies and chatted. 10 minutes, 15 max. When they got in, it was raining. Inside.
The massive leak was caused by a joint going in the piping from our hot water tank (middle floor bathroom) to our shower (top floor bathroom). Unfortunately for us, that water gets from A to B using a substantial pump. So it pumped and it pumped and it pumped.
The lads got the water turned off, having to move all Husband's quite heavy diving cylinders out of the way, they got towels and receptacles under leaks, they turned the dinner down so it didn't burn and they turned the lights off.
So, right now these are the things we do not have:
No lights downstairs - somehow, the light fittings did not appreciate water dripping flooding rushing over them.
No hot water to our lovely en-suite shower - but we do have cold, so the toilet flushes and we can clean our teeth (and sleep commando!)
No Internet - our hub was in the under-stairs cupboard, directly under the leak.
We need to decorate quite intensively - the stairwells, the under-stairs cupboard, downstairs toilet, computer room, hall, and dining room all suffered varying degrees of dampness, resulting in varying degrees of paper falling off and damage to the plaster.
Ah well, on Friday we find out how much of this our insurance will cover. Fingers crossed for us, please.
It's a bright Autumn morning in the small town of Chester's Mill. Claudette Sanders is having a flying lesson and Dale Barbara is hitching a ride out of town. Neither make it to their destination...
Inexplicably, an invisible barrier had descended over the town. a woodchuck is chopped right in half; a gardener's hand is severed at the wrist; the plane explodes and Dale Barbara, Iraq war vet turned short-order cook, is forced to turn back into the town he so desperately needed to leave
As the residents speculate about what has cut them off from the rest of the world, the Army searches for an inside man. "Barbie" is put in charge. But Big Jim Rennie, the mad who holds the town in his powerful grip, has other plans. And the Dome could just be the answer to his political prayers.
As food, electricity and water run short and children start to have premonitions of a terrifying Halloween, Barbie is forced to take on Big Jim, and his renegade supporters. Now time is running out for those under the Dome. Can they find out what has created in before it's too late?
Stephen King's mesmerizing new masterpiece - his biggest, most riveting novel since The Stand - features spectacularly sinister characters and a terrifying phenomenon. Under the Dome is a high-octane thriller, an apocalyptic vision and a fascinating allegory on a tyrannical state of political darkness.
Loved it. It is mesmerizing, it is big and, after an initial hiccup a little way in, it is riveting. The speed of moral decay is frightening and the division between Law and Order scary beyond measure. Buy it. Borrow it from the library or a friend (I'm in Harrow, if you wanna borrow my copy) - whatever. Just read it. It is good.
Welcome to the House of Dying Appliances.
Dishwasher -
Dead and gone. Sadly, not actually gone - still waiting for the delivery of new Dishwasher and collection of old Dishwasher. This should have happened Saturday, but we have heard nothing. I hate Currys!
It died last week, so I have had a whole week of washing up for six people. Bugger that - now I remember exactly why I got a Dishwasher in the first place.
Fridge-Freezer -
As you know, this is not that old. So when the fan started making a terrible, grating whirring sound, we were worried. Fortunately this is still under Manufacturer's Warranty, so we just had to make a calll. Simple - well, no. Because my life does not suck enough. I phoned the Repair Line, told the nice lady all about my troubles, she said "OK I will put you through direct to the manufacturer's Repair Centre". But she screwed that up, and put me through to the Parts Department. No, I want an Engineer. So I call the Repair Line again, only to be told the computers had crashed, and to phone back later.
So I did. And the lady at LG said "What is the serial number of your fridge?"
Well, I do not know that.
"It will be on the left hand side" she said.
So I looked, and looked, and looked. And failed to find it.
"Well, I am very sorry", she said, "I must have that before I can book an Engineer Visit."
I was gutted. Than I liooked again and thought "Fuck - mayber I should get Left and Right tattooed on my hand"
That was on Thursday. All is good now - the man cam this morning and fixed the fan. Verdict - don't put so much in your freezer that air cannot circulate. Whoops! OK, I will be more careful in future.
Washing Machine -
This died Saturday morning, just as I put a load in. And we do all the washing for the six of us on Saturday / Sunday / Monday due to working the rest of the time. So I phoned my Washing Machine Repair Man, who said he should be able to do it Monday but he is having an operation on Tuesday. So I am waiting to hear from him. Fingers Crossed!
We had a shitload of washing - siz bags, and one laundry basket. I spent three hours at the laundrette (and may I say thank goodness for laundrettes!). It was so freaking BUSY in there, and hot. And expensive!
Vacuum Cleaner -
We bought this, and it was crap. You need training to use it properly and if I get the kids to vac, they break the band that turns the beater, so it stops being any good for pet hair. I finally said I must have a new one, when it, too, died. What is it with this house this past few weeks? Luckily, someone we know runs a business selling and maintaining professional vacuums (for hotels, conference centres, anywhere they use lots of cleaners and need them to be ready to use at all times). So he is selling us one, cheap, and we get it later today.
I hope the Appliance Killing Field leaves the area soon.
This book is - disappointing. The premise - that the world blacks out, millions die, and most people who don't die have a vision of the future - is good. The visions are true ones, can be collaborated, checked and include such wonders as flying cars. But (I betcha knew a but was coming) it fails in the execution. Mostly average, occasionally brilliant and sometimes dire, I would still recommend this.
Just don't expect too much.
One small world, folks.
One small world, one life each.
Why fuck it all up.
I just had a wrong number. For Elric.
What is the first thought that goes through your head?
Cos mine was Elric? Fuck! Will he have Stormbringer and call on the Dukes of Hell?
Not good on a Friday evening.
How about a bullet list? Cos I am seriously not up to much, but it has been soo long since I posted anything of note.
- When Husband said to Daughter OK, what is it you want to talk about, then? I think the properties of light and its structure were the last things he expected to hear. Open University course on physics has now been paid for (by Daughter), so we might get more of those sort of questions in the future.
- This has has been struck by plague. Eldest Son had three weeks off work, so of course he got flu halfway through his holiday, passing it on first to Daughter and then to Me. Husband was in Rome, networking in the computer world, and seems to have missed it. Middle Son and Youngest both got it very lightly indeed.
- Daughter has had her first Celebrity Sighting since starting a new job in Hampstead = Russell Brand and Katy Perry. Though when she rushed out the door to look, he was staring at it, so she was red faced and embarrassed. Apparently Hampstead has a LOT of celebrities.
- And French men selling onions and garlic from bicycles, though not with a beret or a striped jumper. darn.
- Fireworks make Heidi WOOF!
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