Selfsufficientish.com

Rosendula wrote:Take-away leaflets

Used to bug me, too. Then I discovered they make for a very fine compost when ripped up small and mixed with lawn clippings.

What bugs me? Political ideologies, and the weasel words that are used to camouflage them. I like pragmatic, practical, evidence grounded, honest politics. I think most people do. All we need is some politician to realise that, and (s)he would win by a landslide! But it seems the political 'meritocracy' (cue hollow laughs) have too much to lose by adopting such an obvious tactic.

Oh well. Utopia beckons, but it seems we shall all have to reach it individually, in the absence of inspiring leadership.

Best wishes, 2RM.

Having a child with a Blackberry.......

Not just the fact they loose the ability to communicate face to face, but that bloody annoying ping sound it keeps making.

Oh and same said child being unable to use and three words in a sentance with using the word "like" It's like so like annoying and that, like. Grrrr!

People with no common sense. I'm surrounded by people for whom common sense is a forgotten skill.

Dog who decides to go on a mosquito killing kick at 3am. Especially when the mosquito is on the wall above my sleeping head...she then spends the next ten minutes licking me to apologise for jumping on my face.

People who feed my dog! This is sort of related by not quite to the feeding cat post earlier. Whenever I take the dog out, some idiot will come up with some kind of food and try to feed it to her. She's a little podgy so the last thing she needs is a chopstick full of noodles! I feed her...really I do!

Building managers who like to tell you how you should live - I had the bathroom ripped out and replaced because there was a leak somewhere. They took everything out, relaid the floor and then realised that the idiot who replumbed the bath taps (quite why they had to be moved from one wall to the next I don't know) managed to not seal the join so it was still leaking. They then tried to get away with not putting the bath back in. It needs a bath, I hate wet-rooms, I like to either have a proper shower tray or a bath for the water to go into rather than all over the floor! Then....they put the bath back in...the wrong way round, so now, to lay in the bath, I have to scoot down to stop myself hitting my head on the taps, or lay on the plughole. AND...the finish off the irritation, they didn't move the shower hook, so the shower doesn't hang anymore. (see: lack of common sense).
The building manager and I argued for a while about having or not having a bath. He kept saying I didn't need, it, I kept saying that I wanted it...It's not the point - all the other apartments have a bath, I want a bath in the winter when it's bloody freezing cold!

People who refuse to believe that you can speak their language (not well, but I can!) - The amount of times I've spoken perfectly clear Chinese to people who give me the blank face and then ask my friend what language I'm speaking is astounding! Every time my friend says 'Chinese' and the blank faces always reply 'Oh, It's a foreigner, I though they were speaking foreign'.

One more year left in China and that's it...I love it here but the irritation level rises higher every year!

the.fee.fairy wrote:
People who refuse to believe that you can speak their language (not well, but I can!) - The amount of times I've spoken perfectly clear Chinese to people who give me the blank face and then ask my friend what language I'm speaking is astounding! Every time my friend says 'Chinese' and the blank faces always reply 'Oh, It's a foreigner, I though they were speaking foreign'.

Reminds me of a time when I was in Spain with my ex and a woman asked me something. My ex could speak fluent Spanish but neither of us could work out what she was saying. After asking her to repeat herself a couple of times she said, quite clearly and with some irritation in an extremely strong southern American accent: "Do you speak English?" I do, but I'm afraid I don't speak American.

Layovers! It's been 8 hours...it's too short (and the wrong time of day) to go city exploring, or book into a hotel, but too long. I am now officially bored!

Thomzo wrote:

the.fee.fairy wrote:
People who refuse to believe that you can speak their language (not well, but I can!) - The amount of times I've spoken perfectly clear Chinese to people who give me the blank face and then ask my friend what language I'm speaking is astounding! Every time my friend says 'Chinese' and the blank faces always reply 'Oh, It's a foreigner, I though they were speaking foreign'.

Reminds me of a time when I was in Spain with my ex and a woman asked me something. My ex could speak fluent Spanish but neither of us could work out what she was saying. After asking her to repeat herself a couple of times she said, quite clearly and with some irritation in an extremely strong southern American accent: "Do you speak English?" I do, but I'm afraid I don't speak American.

What,...you mean they're not the same? It is rather amazing what we have done with the English language over here,...not good, but definately amazing!

I know I'll get shot for this ... but US English is actually closer to the English of the original colonial period than is English English. It's the English themselves who have modified the language more than any other set of English-speakers. So when those US citizens speak to you, they have precedent.



Mike

Well not really Mike, surely English is what the "English" people speak, even if it is bastardised by the Essex youth culture (and I use the word "culture" in it's loosest sense), otherwise you might as well say that speaking Latin is the only true Italian.
You're just showing your Luddite side and wanting us all to speak (or sayeth) the way we did in King James' era.

Verily.

Mike

The Essex youth couldn't possibly have tweaked anything as much as "like" the Val-Speak from California, or good "Ol' Fashion' Suthun English" from Dixie!!

You think not, MSM? Try these current UK youth words ...

Wagwan - what's going on
Gyaldem - group of girls
Skeng - a knife
Showa - something good
Shan - unfair
Peng - looking good

I can see how the first one works. After that, I'm struggling.

Mike

MKG wrote:Gyaldem - group of girls

= gal dem = girl(s) them = them girl(s) = that/those girl(s)

MKG wrote:You think not, MSM? Try these current UK youth words ...

Wagwan - what's going on
Gyaldem - group of girls
Skeng - a knife
Showa - something good
Shan - unfair
Peng - looking good

I can see how the first one works. After that, I'm struggling.

Mike

I stand corrected!! You're right---they win the prize!

Well I think that's really dope.



I blame Will.I.Am.

Now I'm in a really happy mood, but I can definitely think of some things that wind me up - and obviously reading through a few pages has reminded me of others!
1. people who dont indicate - so im a mind-reader am i?
2. people who dont thank me when ive clearly pulled over and stopped so they can get past - its just good manners, and it makes me really quite angry to think i went to that effort and they just expect it. worst place ive been for not thanking - Ebbw Vale in Wales, and High Wycombe in England
3. the fact that people can earn more by claiming benefits than by going out and working - it just seems counter intuitive!
4. people who litter - ARG!
5. when there is a massive pile of washing in the sink which i have to clear before i can start, not to mention the icky residue it usually also entails - yuck
6. the celebrity culture - why idolize people who have done NOTHING to deserve it, why cant we aspire to more worthwhile candidates? like our parents

haha, that was good fun actually - nice to have a rant every now and then!