Monday, 17 January 2011
Obituary
An Obituary printed in the London Times - Interesting and true:
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone.
If you still remember him, send this link to your family and friends. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone.
If you still remember him, send this link to your family and friends. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
Saturday, 8 January 2011
New high score in Scrabble
Delighted to have notched up 515 as my new high score in online Scrabble.
Where there's muck, there's brasserie!
Spotted at New Year in Edinburgh...
For those of you who know your French, it should say "petit fours" - not "petite fours" (I'm sure they were still nice).
And unless the entertainment really was for a 17-hour session, I think the finishing time should've been shown as 12.30am (not 12.30pm).
Oh, and another thing... there should be a hyphen in the middle of "Five course" and also in the middle of "4 piece". (They should make up their mind whether they want words or numbers... it's all a bit too inconsistent!)
Me... fussy? LOL
(Special thanks to my friend Kim for her input).
For those of you who know your French, it should say "petit fours" - not "petite fours" (I'm sure they were still nice).
And unless the entertainment really was for a 17-hour session, I think the finishing time should've been shown as 12.30am (not 12.30pm).
Oh, and another thing... there should be a hyphen in the middle of "Five course" and also in the middle of "4 piece". (They should make up their mind whether they want words or numbers... it's all a bit too inconsistent!)
Me... fussy? LOL
(Special thanks to my friend Kim for her input).
It's all white
For the 3rd time in recent weeks, snow has arrived in Edinburgh. We're usually prepared for it in Scotland, especially given recent experience, but I drove home last night on un-gritted roads, and the airport is shut this morning. Ho hum.
Monday, 3 January 2011
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Floods in Queensland
I've just been watching pictures of the terrible flooding that's happening in Queensland, Australia. Apparently, the area affected is equivalent to the area of France and Germany combined. That's a huge amount of land that's been flooded.
Latest information at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12102126
Latest information at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12102126
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Happy New Year!
Best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy 2011.
The following picture was taken at midnight just beneath Edinburgh castle...
The following picture was taken at midnight just beneath Edinburgh castle...
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