To be fair, this policy did cause me to apply for a one to two day a week job that wasn't the full time position I was looking for ... that turned into the job I have now, because they created a position for me.

My hands are too shaky to do much.

If life hands you lemons, make lemonade.

If your hands are shaky, polish stuff and make milk shakes. And give swedish massages. And wave to random people in the street who will smile and be happier.

or just wank. Hell everyone needs a personal day every now and then.

No one else on earth does windows! ;)

I just casually went to go on a website and this weird loud music started playing and "HACKED" came up in the middle of the screen with some other crap. Closed the window before reading. Sucks to be the proprietor of that site. He always has hackers after the site, because I guess people have noting better to do.
Anyway, it just about gave me a heart attack. Damn hackers.

A couple of weeks back I wrote "Value Cake Mix" on the shopping list.
"Value" is the term Tesco use for their most basic products. It has now been rebranded to Everyday Essential or somesuch.

Anyway.
You know I am into the baking of the cakes. I wanted two packets in the cupboard for when I couldn't be arsed, or when I wanted to try something without committing to a big cake. 22p for a packet which makes 12+ fairy cakes means you can mess about a bit.

Only it happened Dad went shopping on his own that day. Brought back 1 x Victoria Sponge Mix (same thing really, but not as cheap) and 1 x Scone Mix. Sigh.

Now given the Scone Mix was in the cupboard, and just needed milk, and I was bored, I thought I might as well.
But I like cheese scones, you see. So I added grated cheese.
And I didn't think generic scone mix would be all that sweet, given that you butter it up slather on cream and jam.

WRONG!

Generic scone mix is very sweet.
So the lovely cheese scones I was going to send to Limes & Dans are now barely fit for consumption.
I know they eat cake & cheese in the North, but this is such a bizarre mix.

May make from scratch tomorrow.
On all honesty I do have all the ingredients, I was just trying to kill two birds with one stone.

Will be running around like a blue-arsed fly today, we need milk urgently but no time to shop, decided to detour to store on way home from dropping kids at bus to get milk so I didn't have to lug round a cooler to keep it fresh all day assuming i find two minutes to buy some..... parked up, realized wallet etc at home. grrrr.

Arg, trying to teach my dad how to use the computer.

He doesn't want to learn. He WANTS the computer to "malfunction" (it works perfectly well) so that he has an excuse not to use it.

At the slightest thing he says it's hopeless, broken forever.

His rants about how much he hates the computer feel like a personal slight against me a) because I gave him that computer and b) as a computer generation kid it feels like he hates my generation and society as a whole.

Instead of asking me for help, he phones up his friend, while I'm in the room, to go off on a massive rant about how useless the computer is and how much he detests it, how it always ruins his day, etc.

And I'm just like... I'M RIGHT HERE IF YOU NEED HELP WHY DO YOU NOT JUST ASK?!

FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-


#FirstWorldProblems

So why did you buy him a computer and why are you trying to force him to learn how to use it?

He has to use it in order to contact an organisation in South Africa (where he used to live) to get his money from them. I don't know if you've tried to post anything to South Africa in the last 10 years or so, but it's a lost cause. Third world country now, basically. Phoning is a nightmare and can't accomplish everything anyway. He also needs to use it for a few other things.

ugh. Sounds like a recipe for frustration :(

Automobiles are pissing me off today. I bought a used van the november before last, with just under 100k miles from a small work vehicle dealer: it's a bit of a "candy van", a white minivan with a ladder rack, shaded windows, and a bulkhead cage, but whatever. I wanted a van and needed a vehicle. I paid a little too much for it.

It's been totalled by getting rear-ended since, and had about four grand in work done to it as stuff started just.. critically breaking all of a sudden. Exhaust manifold. Fuel injection. The rear differential utterly shat itself. You name it.

Today I took it to the shop for the california smog to renew my reg (yet another pile of state fees, fines, taxes, levies, etc to deal with) and get an oil change. While I'm checking out they casually mention "oh yeah, there's a ton of oil on your engine, and also your engine mounts are broken." me: "What. How much to fix that." "The mounts are a $500 repair." me: "I am going to drive this vehicle off a fucking cliff."

Apparently it won't catastrophically fail right now, so I'm going to let it go for the moment. I don't have that kind of goddamn money to blow.

That's my story, and I fucking hate cars and computers, the two most prominent things in my life. Grr argh. First world problems. Rahh.

We have a high school in town that teaches mechanics, as well as in the university here. They are usually begging for cars to work on. They do not charge labour, just you buy the parts. The teacher will tell you what you need to buy as well. We have had fuel filters replaced, oil changes, a slave cylindar replaced, tires mounted, rotated and balanced. This has saved us hundreds of dollars. I know they have worked on timing chains and more, because I have had converastions with my son about what he did that day. Everything is checked by a certified mechanic (the teacher) before leaving the shop.

I suggest you check out the schools in your area. Chances are the engine mounts are not that expensive, and its just a matter of the labour to remove the engine, change them and put it back in. Sounds like its about the right thing for kids to be learning how to do! Might save yourself a whole lot of money.

That is *awesome* that your schools do that. Unfortunately I believe they just cut the last auto shop program out of the local high school. :( It made a lot of people mad. The community college doesn't have an auto program, either.

Also, it's summertime and school is out!

The mounts aren't that expensive: under $10 apiece. I'm guessing the work comes from disconnecting the engine and hauling it up on chains. I've seen it suggested for my particular model of vehicle to just support the engine on a board with a jack from underneath and replace one mount at a time, but I don't know if I'm entirely comfortable doing that.

I'm a bit irritated that I'm not a very good tradesman. We're closing in the back porch and converting it to a double room for the big boys so they'll have more space once the baby comes. Dad and some other friends came over on the weekend and we got it all framed up and mostly sheeted, which left all the trimming for me and the boys to do, then paint. Painting will be fine. I'm not even concerned about that. We're doing ok with the trimming, and thanks to Dad leaving his mitre saw, it's making the job much easier, but I still wish we could get a better finish. It's ok for three drongo's, but I just wish we were better. Unfortunately, I'm not prepared to buy more timber in order to get the cuts more accurate second go around.

Yes we've employed the measure twice, cut once theory, but have discovered that it really is just a theory. It doesn't mean you'll get it exactly right anyway.

Still, it's not a bad job, and no more gaps and putty will fix up most of the little errors. I just wish we were better.