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22 March 2024 (Friday) - Attracting the Loonies (Again)

As I scoffed my brekkie I had a look at Facebook as I do. A couple of weeks ago a cousin posted up a photo of what she was up to. Nothing really major or earth-shattering; just an insight to her day. The sort of thing that a nosey person like me likes to see. This morning she’s found that the Facebook Feds have taken the photo down as it breaches their community standards on cybersecurity.
A friend was complaining about the cost of the mechanics of moving house; the shifting of all her stuff from Kent to Norfolk won’t be cheap. Quotes were coming in at four thousand quid. Is that a lot? I really don’t know. The last time we moved was over thirty years ago. We moved a few hundred yards up the road and we paid a removal firm two hundred quid to shift all our stuff.
Best two hundred quid I’ve ever spent.
I sent out birthday wishes; one to a colleague who is approaching forty, but looks twenty years younger. And another to an old school friend who despite being a month younger than me, has always seemed to be twenty years older.
 
With rain forecast for mid-morning I took the dogs out earlier than we might have gone. As we drove the pundits on the radio were talking about how children these days all have mobile phones and how it isn’t necessarily a good thing. With instant communication, squabbles that would be forgotten by the net morning now can carry on endlessly.
I found myself rather wrapped up in this since Stormageddon – Bringer of Destruction TM got his first mobile yesterday. “Daddy’s Little Angel TM” has put all sorts of safeguards on it, but still it is cause for concern. There was all sorts of talk about the government brining in legislation to control the social media on which children bicker, but as was pointed out, all the time these social media companies aren’t based in the UK, there’s not a lot that the government can realistically do other than ban them altogether.
 
We got to the woods and after a couple of miles had an “episode”. Morgan and Bailey were charging about like they do. They never go more than fifty yards from me, but they have a great time. As we were exploring a new path I heard a rather grumpy voice shouting “Go Away!!  Clear Off!!” As I turned the corner so there was some chap about thirty yards away with Morgan and Bailey some fifteen yards from him just looking on. The chap saw me and immediately changed his tune. “Good Morning Sir” he announced; all smiles and pleasantries. We walked along the path away from him.
Just as we got back to the car (after four and a half miles) so the drizzle started.
 
Once home I gathered up various odds and sods for a tip run, then seeing the drizzle has stopped I voomed round the front garden with the Bionic Burner. I got the thing a year ago… the adverts implied that one zap and I would never need to do any weeding again. The adverts lied. I need to voom round with it every three weeks or so; but it is certainly easier to do that than to get on my hands and knees and pull the weeds out manually. As I bionically burned a passing nutter asked if I might like to clear the weeds from his garden as well. Apparently he’s had a letter from the council telling him to sort his garden out. Apparently the council watch his garden from helicopters. This looney went on to say that his neighbours keep putting lettuce up his garden to entice his pet rabbit away, and that he’s put four doors in his garden to keep the neighbours out.
Eventually he shoved off. I then mowed the lawn, and seeing the drizzle had stopped entirely I got one and a third fence panels painted before the rain started again.
I gave myself a haircut, had a cuppa and a croissant, put the washing on the clothes horse then went out.
 
First of all to the tip where I did my unloading in the rain. Then on to the co-op where one of the normal people was having issues with the self-service till… not so much “having issues with it” as “had totally poggered it”. And having totally poggered it, was actively preventing the store staff from getting to the thing to repair it.
From there I went to Pets at Home to get dog biscuits. There was a woman in there with a dog almost as big as she was. The dog was clearly stronger than her, and was helping itself to all sorts of dog treats. The poor woman bleated pathetically, but the dog wasn’t having any of it. Her husband took over, but the dog was stronger than him too. There is nothing more satisfying that seeing someone else’s dog causing the problems.
I then had a look in B&Q for lengths of timber with which to bodge repairs to the more poggered fence panels. Sadly B&Q didn’t have anything.
 
I came home and wrote up CPD until “er indoors TM went out. Together with Steve and Sarah she was off to see Iwo Graham at the Marlow in Canterbury. Apparently he’s a comedian?
I had a quick shower, hung a second load of washing round the radiators, put a third load in to scrub and stared at the telly. “Three Body Problem” is rather good and rather thought-provoking. And it stars Eddie Hitler from “Bottom” and Cakehole from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”. There’s eight episodes; so far I’ve watched three. If the dogs stay quiet I might get a few more done before “er indoors TM comes home.

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