Six Cars in Two Days

Hello!

Ten years ago on this very blog I said the I could imagine that not my next car but the one after might be an EV. Well, that didn't quite work out. I did buy a diesel SEAT Ibiza and got burned by the VW group's "Diesel-gate" problems.  I replaced that four years later with a petrol FIAT Tipo which I love (I know it's a controversial opinion) but here we are coming out of the COVID-19 lockdowns, I'm in a different place financially so a few weeks ago I decided to take the plunge and start looking into finally getting an electric car. 

How to Get a Shy Guy?

I don't know what is going on at YouTube but I'm pretty sure their algorithm is cocking up because recently it suddenly decided to show me a number of what I can only describe as "how to get a shy guy" videos. Made by women for women (or girls actually, there's definitely a slant towards the American high schooler). Being the curious and shy chap I am I decided to have a look, you know, just to see what it was all about. Plus it's always good to know what the other side is up to ;-)

Any news? Yes, Old News!

Why I'll be Voting to Stay in the EU

So first of all I originally wrote this blog while flying across the Atlantic four weeks ago but for some reason best known to itself the Blogger iOS app decided it didn't want to save it off line. So I have had to wait until now to recreate it. Just to meander off topic for a moment, in the competition between the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380, it pains me to say it but the Boeing wins. It's just so much more comfortable.

Anyway, back on topic. I have made no secret of the fact that I'll be voting to stay in the EU in the upcoming referendum and I'd like to explain why. My brother helped me crystallise my thoughts on this while in the pub (where else would you crystallise something?) a few days before I went on holiday.

There are all sorts of good, serious arguments for staying in. Things like it being better for the country economically, it helping us keep the country safe from crime, it giving the country a louder voice on the world stage, the oft-disputed but inescapable advantages of immigration and so many more, but none of them are the reason I want to stay in. My reasons are much more ideological than that. I want to stay part of the EU because I love the idea of twenty-eight different countries, many former war-time enemies, working together for the common good. I love the fact that I can travel across the sea and move around from country to country without being stopped by border guards. Stop for a moment and think about how amazing that is. In a continent famous for massive, bloody wars, we can travel around, see places and meet people and there are no obstacles. That's great!

I love the fact it can have the effect of fostering a feeling of brother and sisterhood (siblinghood?) between people of different nationalities. It helps us realise that the petty differences between us Europeans are just that, petty. We have so much more in common. I always think back to a fun evening I had with two of us Brits, two Germans, a Dane and a Swede in a pub in Denmark. We all just met there and got along brilliantly. It couldn't have been more obvious that no matter where they're from people are just people. Could that sort of thing happen without the EU? Of course it could. But is it more likely to happen with the EU? Yes it is.

I also love that all the countries are helping each other. A common argument has been that we pay too much into the EU and and the money is spent in places like Romania. The argument back has been that we get more back in business and investment. I say bollocks. They're both pathetically weak arguments. What's wrong with helping my fellow man in Romania? Remember the orphans in the 90's? I don't mind some of my tax pounds going to help them. Of course I'm sure some people will come back with some form of "charity begins at home." Again I say bollocks. If that's true then none of us should give any money to charities that work abroad. Also, none of my tax pounds should ever be spent outside of County Durham. Actually no, I don't want to help those outsiders in Peterlee, none of my tax pounds should be spent outside of Chester-le-Street, actually no, I hate those wasters in the Avenues. Nothing outside of Great Lumley. It's a stupid argument because it's obvious from history that having prosperous people to trade with makes everyone more prosperous and makes all of our lives better. We're all looking after each other. How can that be a bad thing? It's just a shame none of us ever hear about the good things that our tax pounds have been spent on and how it has improved people's lives.

So in conclusion I want us to stay in the EU because we'll lose being part of something that is an overall good if we leave.

PS - Where are the farmers going to get their subsidies from if we leave? They're already fighting to stay afloat as it is.

PPS - How are we ever going to get to the stage of the United Federation of Planets if we can't even get one small continent to work together? #startreknerd #notevensorry

I Said I'd Tell You...

I've done it. I hit my target and smashed through it. As of tonight I have lost 23.4lbs with one more week to go. I'm going to see if I can hit 25lbs which everyone says I will because apparently the last week is always a big one. Anyway, that's all I came to say, just so you knew.

So How's it Going?

I said I'd keep you informed about how my weight lost challenge went didn't I? But I haven't have I? Oops, oh well, that's what comes of being an occasional blogger. "How is it going though?", that's the question I'm sure none of you were thinking until you started reading this but it's right there on your lips now isn't it?

6 Week 20lbs Challenge

Well here I am, in a coffee shop, eating what is my last brie and bacon sandwich and lemon tart for at least six weeks.

If Your God...

A day or two ago a wise Facebook and Twitter friend of mine (you know, one of those people who you know a lot of intimate detail about, live halfway around the world and you have never actually met) posted a thing on face book which said "If God needs you to kill in his name then he is an incompetent God" (or words to that effect - sorry Maja if if misquoted you a little). This is something I think some people in certain parts of the world should probably think about and it is also something I've seen commented on in other atheist discussions. It got me thinking, what else could be prefixed with "If your God"?

Hop to It

So last week, after my rant I said I might do a post about beer. So here it is.

ThIs might come as a surprise to some of you but I actually don't drink much. Ignore the fact that my garage is full of a huge amount of home brew. Some of you will also have the impression that I drink cider but that's just because of Sunday Cider, where I drink one bottle of cider on a Sunday night and tweet about it. I started doing that because I knew nothing about cider and I wanted to try lots of different types. No, when I do drink it's almost always some form of beer, and I'm definitely a real ale or craft beer drinker these days. I can barely stomach mass produced, commercial beer anymore and don't even talk to me about that crap we call lager in Britain. 

Word Rant

In which I rant about a word in a ranty way using words.

What the Hell was that about?

Remember when movies used to be about things? Is it just because I'm getting old or are there a surprising number of films around these days that are essentially plot free? Was there ever a golden age of plotful films?

Slug Juice and Ranting

It has been suggested that my blog should be more about the minutiae of life, the inanities of everyday living so erm, I'm going to try it today...

A Little Bit Political

**This entry was started on Saturday 20th September 2014 then finished later**

I'm posting this now mainly because Chris from work challenged me to blog something by this Sunday and told me that I should blog a little bit every day. I'm not going to do that but I am going to try and blog a little bit every week from now on because I like doing it. I like writing - it helps to get the stupid out. Anyway, as the not at the top says I started writing what comes next just after the Scottish independence referendum during all the hand wringing about "English votes for English issues" and I've finished off today, Sunday 8th February 2015. The new bit starts from what is now, now that I've written this bit, the third paragraph.

Wow, its a long time since I posted anything on here. Sorry folks, not much has motivated me to write anything for a while but today after listening to Any Questions on BBC Radio 4 (I know, its always likely to enrage me) something has. Now I've never talked politics on my blog before, although I suppose some would see driving an electric car as some sort of political statement - it honestly wasn't - but I'm going to today. I'm just going to get my opinion on this subject out there.

So on Thursday the Scottish people voted to stay part of the United Kingdom despite what I saw as the media's best attempts to make it look like a forgone conclusion that they wanted to leave. Within 24 hours the question of the future of our constitution came up with David Cameron mentioning things like English votes for English people, people talking about devo-max (is that how you write it?) in Scotland and of course Wales and Northern Ireland just being ignored. One person on Any Questions asked the question (and I'm paraphrasing a little here "Is it time for the UK to become federal?" to which all the answers were, slightly surprisingly, a non-committal, muffled sort of yes. The Scottish people on the panel blustered on about them getting more devolved powers and not wasting any political capital on sounding like they give a crap about anybody else, while everyone else just blustered on. Although Ken Clarke (the only Tory I've ever really had any time for) gave quite a good answer demonstrating the phrase that politicians never say but should - "it's a little bit more complicated than that." He demonstrated the complications involved in things like Scottish MP's not voting on English matters Could have unexpected and desirable results.

An Introvert in an Extroverted World Part 2

This is from the brilliant Hyperbole and a Half blog by Allie Brosh.

A while ago I wrote a post called "An Introvert in an Extroverted World" and I said I might follow it up with more posts on the same topic. I haven't really but something has sparked my interest in it so here is a bit of a follow up. It's probably not going to answer many of the questions people asked in the comments or reply to any of their points. Sorry about that, they're all valid and I probably will get round to them one day but I'm not a very regular blogger. Something really has to spark my interest to make me want to write about it. So anyway here is part two of the introversion series of posts...

Adventures in Online Dating

There's been something that's been annoying me for quite a while now and I've been wanting to get a hold of the people who do it and tell them that it annoys me but for all of this time I've thought I had no way of doing it. Then a few days ago I realised that I have got a way - I've got my blog. Now to be fair I realise that a grand total of none of the people I'm about to rant about will read it but at least it'll be out there. Maybe it'll go viral (pffft!).

So what am I talking about? Well last week the BBC website published this article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25410883

And then earlier today (Sunday) they published this follow-up:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25636342

They're about online dating and the crap things people say on their profiles. They just struck a cord with me because, as many of you know, I've been single for quite a while now so have, shall we say, sampled a few of the online dating services. Some of the cliches the BBC mention are some of the cliches that have been irritating me but I have a few of my own. I also disagree with some of their comments and as I said above, I've just realised that I've got a forum right here to get them off my chest.

My Deconversion Story (or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Think for Myself)

Deconversion - that's a big, heavy sounding word isn't it? It sounds much grander than I intend this post to be. It also brings to mind images of a Damascene anti-revelation where the unGod shows up as a totally normal non-burning bush and sucks all of the faith out of me (I make no apologies for mixing up my biblical references there). That absolutely isn't what I'm going to describe here. What I am going to tell you about is my slow journey from being a simple if slightly unorthodox Christian believer to being what I am now, a quietly atheistic non-believer. As I start writing this I have no idea how long it is going to be or how long it is going to take me to write so make yourself a nice cup of tea, this might be a long one.

OK So It's Been More Than A Week

In my last post I said I'd probably write another post after a week or so to let you know how I was doing. Sorry it's been more than a few week shut here it is. How am I getting on without the tablets? Just fine thanks. I'm managing to sleep OK although I'm dreaming a lot more but so far I've not woken up screaming or wimpering which is something I used to do. So yeah, I'm feeling a lot healthier, at least mentally speaking.

No More Chemicals

First of all I'd just like to say bloody hell, you write one blog post about introversion and your page hits go through the roof. Seriously that one post got more than twice as many views than all the rest of my posts put together. So now I know what you like. Especially Americans it seems. They apparently love a bit of the introversion. So yeah I will probably talk about that more in the future but for now here's something else...

An Introvert in an Extroverted World

For people who know me well this isn't the post you may have been expecting me to write for the last five months. For the people who know me a little bit the last five or six months of my life have been a little bit like a soap opera - this post isn't about that. For those people who don't know me at all well hello, how did you find me? Are you well? Sit down and have a cup of tea. Anyway...

I did ask permission to use this picture ages ago but I can't remember who's. If you know who drew it please let me know!

I'm coming out...no, not in that way, but as an introvert. Most people who know me personally know this to be true anyway (although I have had a few people argue with me on this point) but a lot of people who just know me a little bit either don't know or maybe just suspect. Some of you might not even know what it means - something I might help put right during this post. Have you noticed something about this first paragraph though? It's written as if this was some big announcement and as if it was almost something I was hiding. It is sort of true though. We live in a world where being quiet and thoughtful are seen as character defects, things to be ashamed of and to try and change rather than as just being a difference and maybe even a strength.

What Happens if You Miss?

Okay so I started writing what follows about 3 weeks ago but didn't publish it because I was struggling to work out where I was going with it but I thought I should do something with it...

Two posts ago I revealed to the world at large that I have depression and I said I would use this blog keep track of my progress through the grey hinterlands of mental illness so I thought it was about time to give you an update.