I wonder what QI would have been like if they'd managed to convince Michael Palin to be the host.

I had such a crush on him when I was younger. I still think he's a very attractive man.

Oh look, here's an interview with him :) I love the Mark lawson interviews. Theyre really good.





[eta]grr. Out of sync

Had to make my own cup of tea. :(

Ali, that's shocking! I thought at the very least you'd have caught and trained a wild drop bear to do that shit for you.

I posted a funny in another thread and made myself giggle. And then it kept being funny so I laughed. And now Carrot is looking at me all quizzical like.

I didn't sleep well last night...it's all M's fault. If she wouldn't have gone out of town to a convention, this would have never happened!

Now I'll just need to console myself with hookers and blow...

My birthday was last week, and my wife gave me a very generous gift. We had gotten a $100 rewards card from the credit card, and she gave it to me to buy a tent. Now, the tent is a nice gift, but the real gift is that it meant she was willing to go camping sometimes.

So fast forward to yesterday when the tent arrived from Amazon. It's a very nice tent. Sold as a 3 person tent, but the reviews said it was kinda tight for 3 and really should be used by 2. That's what I wanted, so I was happy. The outside label of the box has a nice floor plan diagram showing the layout.
Attachment 43682
Looks roomy and tall.

So we spread it out and set it up. And it doesn't seem very roomy. It's clearly a 2 person tent to me. You can see the floor size pretty clearly here where it's set up part way.
Attachment 43683

So let's look at that floor plan again. Huh. Look at those numbers. The tent is just over 3 feet tall, but look at the silhouette dude standing next to it. He can't be much more than 4 feet. And those sleeping bags. Are they right?

I open up the diagram in a photo editing tool and measure pixels against the scale provided.
Attachment 43684
That silhouette dude is only 4' 9" and those mummy bags are only 4' 10" long. What a crock! It's like the Stonehenge in Spinal Tap that was in danger of being stepped on by dwarves. Your product won't look so small if you get midgets to pose with it.

The tent is a good size for a 2 person tent, so I'm happy with it. It's nice. But it seems like there should be a standard person size when showing the scale of these things. Something around 5' 10"

And here's a shot of the tent with a kid in it, reaching simultaneously for the zippers on both doors. Did I mention it has two doors? You don't have to climb over anyone to get in.
Attachment 43685

Doesn't look so small with a little kid in it. They should get little kids to pose with the thing.

The picture and your childish emotions have no bearing on the veracity of their claims. An adult would look at the numbers, then check the tent floor with a precision tape measure which every tent checker should own. :haha:

Pictured is a standard 12 year old Asian worker at the tent factory.

:lol:

I think it's one person per season, hence 3 person, 3 season. I see no problems here.
NEXT!

So, as some of you will know, I have a houseful of sick kids at the moment, although they're all on the get better side of it, so that's good. The bad part is I'm sick now, but I'm sure I'll live.

In other news, I got rear ended yesterday, and not in a good way. Yes scoff if you like, but getting run into by someone with no insurance is no good. The even worse part is that I feel sorry for the person that hit me! She's a single mother with two autistic kids, one of whom was in the car with her yesterday, so that was an ordeal in itself. The boy who was probably around 10, was in the front passenger seat, and he was thrown forward hard enough to smash the windscreen with his forehead. Somehow there was no blood. He had very thick hair, so maybe it sort of cushioned his skin or something. I don't know, but he was ok.

So anyway, I feel sorry for this woman. Her car was a heap of shit beforehand, and now it's worse. She lives in my neighbourhood, and I know which house she lives in. It's nothing flash. She was neat and tidy, but clearly not expensively dressed.

She has assured me that if I get quotes, she'll give me the money to get my car fixed, but I really feel like I need to give her a break. There's not all that much damage to my car (my beautiful good little car that I love). The boot has a bit of a wrinkle where the back has been a bit bent, and the bumper either needs replacing or respraying, so really, all in all, not too bad.

Would you 'pay it forward' so to speak? Put something good out into the universe?

As I said to Daryl this morning, I just feel sorry for the woman, and doubt she's got the money to give me. I imagine her life is a daily struggle and this would be just one more little thing to create havoc for her. With that in mind, I just want to let her off the hook for this one and tell her to buy some insurance instead.

I'm going to ask Dad if he can fix the boot and stuff for me, and I think the bumper will be fine as it is for now. I might find a replacement at a wrecking yard some time down the track. Who knows.

I just want to come out of this with a free conscience. You know. Feel that I've done something to make someone's life a little easier.

eta: I asked this question on FB as some of you will know, and people overwhelmingly seemed to think I should go through the legal channels and make her pay. I was actually surprised at the lack of compassion in some people. So anyway, that's why I'm asking you lot. Do you think I'm being stupid?

glatt, sorry about your tent. Maybe you could chop yourself off at the knees?

I'm sorry, I'm still stuck at the fact that this woman had a ten year old in the front seat apparently without a seat belt or age-appropriate safety harness.

Lady, you want an autistic kid, or an autistic kid with traumatic brain damage?

I think that your plan is sweet and wonderful, and would truly make a difference in this woman's life even more than you suspect. It has brought tears to my eyes just thinking about it. But I am obviously biased and overly-invested in the scenario.