Longest Thread!

[MikeO]

It's because of the lower voltage. It takes about 3x longer to boil a kettle of water here. I notice it every time I return to Britain.

 

Mind you, it's a small price to pay for not having deadly voltage. I grabbed a live wire once and it was no problem. My cousin did that in Britain and it killed him.

 

That's pretty unfortunate; I've had two mains shocks in the past (plus a fair few smaller ones) and been OK, just badly shaken up. The second one was from exactly the same source as the first one a few months later, you'd have thought I'd have learnt.

 

Never been a dog person so can't really relate to that though I can still remember where I was when my mum told me our cat had died when I was about eleven, I cried then. Then a couple of years back the rabbit we got for Josh when he was little died at about thirteen, wife cried buckets but Josh took it OK (at least he did in front of us).

Seems to me though that in general people get closer to dogs than other pets.

[Sibdane]

My cousin's dog died suddenly at the age of seven. She, her partner and two sons are devastated. It's sad, he was a lovely dog, I've took mine with him and gone to West Kirby beach on a few occasions in the summer. His death wasn't something that was expected. I was thinking about how the boys had gone through secondary school with him at home to return to at the end of each day, to talk to and walk with, and now he's no longer there. I later learned that my cousin's niece (9) was inconsolable, she took a day off school. I remember being a similar age when my auntie's dog died and being upset about it. You don't think about how much an animal can have an impact on your family 'til they're gone.

I hate to read that. I have a seven year-old lab, and I don't know how I'll take it when she passes. We definitely consider her a family member. Edited April 23, 2015 by TonkaRoost

[Romey 1878]

I'll be honest; I prefer animals to the majority of people.

 

Animal cruelty makes me so angry, there's just no need for it.

 

I'll get off my soapbox now .

[Paddock]

I have absolutely no emotionsl attacment to any pet I've ever had, weird really as I'm a very loving and emotional person towards my family and the people I love.

 

I've lost loads of pets we've always had them but not once have I ever been upset when one has died. I really enjoy having them around to which makes it even stranger but I just don't seem to get attached to them as cold as t sounds they're like a possesion to me similar to a car.

 

My kids and wife will be absolutely distraught when our dog meets it's maker, it disappeared the other day and was missing for 2 hours which is really unusual as even when the back garden hgates left open he doesn't stray anywhere he just mosies about on the farmers fields next to the house and comes back in. I found him about a mile from the house , my son was having panic attacks almost at the thought he was gone my wife was almost in tears and I was just thinking "fucking hell it's gonna cost me a right few quid to replace this if it stays on the missing list"

 

I understand why people become attached it just doesn't happen to me.

[MikeO]

Won't put this in the sports thread because the man obviously isn't a football fan in the slightest, pretends to be a "Villa fan" to show he's just a normal bloke. Like hell do you have "brain fade" and forget who you support. Tit.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32462250

[MikeO]

Interesting article this about alcoholism; good to see somewhere giving it the attention it deserves. No matter where you sit on the illness or self-inflicted debate there's no doubt it costs the NHS billions so a relatively small government investment would be money well spent. But it's not "populist" so the politicians won't do it and leave the majority of it to the private and voluntary sectors, who are too expensive or inaccessible for the majority.

 

Shame about the first picture though . Hope the lad gets back on his feet.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32418122

[Lowensda]

Interesting article this about alcoholism; good to see somewhere giving it the attention it deserves. No matter where you sit on the illness or self-inflicted debate there's no doubt it costs the NHS billions so a relatively small government investment would be money well spent. But it's not "populist" so the politicians won't do it and leave the majority of it to the private and voluntary sectors, who are too expensive or inaccessible for the majority.

 

Shame about the first picture though . Hope the lad gets back on his feet.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32418122

Good article. I raise my glass.

[Cornish Steve]

Interesting article this about alcoholism; good to see somewhere giving it the attention it deserves. No matter where you sit on the illness or self-inflicted debate there's no doubt it costs the NHS billions so a relatively small government investment would be money well spent. But it's not "populist" so the politicians won't do it and leave the majority of it to the private and voluntary sectors, who are too expensive or inaccessible for the majority.

 

Shame about the first picture though . Hope the lad gets back on his feet.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32418122

 

Let me say upfront that my thoughts on this will sound very controversial, but...I really think the drinking problem is made worse by, and in some respects a reflection of, British culture. When I worked in central London, everyone went out to the pub at Friday lunchtime, and few got anything done for the rest of the day. That's a productivity hit right there of ten percent. There was a certain pride and expectation about getting drunk (which I admit I have never been), so the social pressure was there. Now living in the US, I can pretty much guarantee the first few words most visiting British businessmen will say when they show up at a meeting: "So how's the beer?" During meeting breaks, conversation will again revolve around beer. The evenings will be spent searching for beer. At the start of the next day's meetings, we'll all hear about who drank the most and who was the most stupidly drunk. Honestly, to an independent observer, it borders on obsession. Why? Because of British culture. That's not to say that other nations aren't heavy drinkers - I've attended far too many meetings in Russia to think otherwise - but I don't see how the problem can be fixed in general while an entire culture is so obsessed with the expectation that men must be heavy drinkers.

 

Waiting for quite a few tomatoes.

[Lowensda]

Because for the most part British people are miserable, whiney, boring bastards who need alcohol to make themselves feel good. And that is sad.

[MikeO]

No tomatoes Steve but that surprises me a bit, thought we'd moved on from that. My first full time job at seventeen I was taken to the pub at 1.00 and we were all still there two hours later which surprised me a lot. On the odd days I came back early the directors looked at me as if to say, "What are you doing here?". That said it was recording studio/audio visual/film creative stuff and they knew that if we needed to be there twenty-four hours for a few days we'd be there. Was there for seventeen years and nobody blinked an eyelid if I got in at lunchtime (as opposed to the contracted start time of 9.00) and went straight to the pub because they knew that when needed I'd deliver. There were weeks when I went in on Monday morning and came home on Friday having grabbed a few hours sleep on the floor; have great memories of that time (though it very nearly killed me in the end ).

 

I'm surprised that serious business people are still that way inclined, but I have to say that a "look how much I can drink and how big my hangover is" guy is a different beast from an alcoholic.

[Hafnia]

Alcohol is a drug, some people have brains that are extremely volatile and neurotransmitters become affected making the brain diseased.

 

It's a fucked up world where people are exposed to socially acceptable drugs and ridiculed for actually becoming addicted.

 

Alcohol is a great anti anxiety drug, but it's creates anxiety upon withdrawal, it's also toxic.

 

I believe there is a cure out there, but it will not make money, and it will also embarrass a lot of people who thought they knew it all.

http://www.thefix.com/content/baclomania-cult-cure-alcoholism?page=all

[Cornish Steve]

Because for the most part British people are miserable, whiney, boring bastards who need alcohol to make themselves feel good. And that is sad.

 

Not at all! The British sense of humour is legendary, and we're one of the few cultures willing to laugh at ourselves. I'm not sure what fuels the pressure to drink.

[Cornish Steve]

No tomatoes Steve but that surprises me a bit, thought we'd moved on from that. My first full time job at seventeen I was taken to the pub at 1.00 and we were all still there two hours later which surprised me a lot. On the odd days I came back early the directors looked at me as if to say, "What are you doing here?".

 

Now, almost 30 years have passed since I worked in central London, so maybe my comments are no longer typical.

[markjazzbassist]

 

Now, almost 30 years have passed since I worked in central London, so maybe my comments are no longer typical.

Last time I was In London 2009 the work people I met with same thing. This pub this ale you Americans can't drink I'll fight you just cause you're bigger well a lot bigger than me I'm English ra ra. Felt sad for the guy really, his pals were the same way. Wanted to prove they could drink more whiskey and all that and wanted to have a rumble, i was twice his size (6'2" and 200 lbs) but he was drunk and said that's what they do. I'm guessing he is not respective of the entire population, sadly it's the experience I had

 

In America alcoholism is an epidemic as well, but culturally it's not as accepted. No liquid lunches here, if I showed up to a work lunch and ordered 1 beer id probably be fired. Also the bar on the way home from work that is the stereotype of English men and it was big with 1950's American men, but not today. Everyone goes home after work for the most part. Might drink at home or go out, but I don't know anyone he hits a bar everyday after work unless they are an alcoholic, it's wouldn't be considered normal.

Edited April 29, 2015 by markjazzbassist

[Paddock]

 

Let me say upfront that my thoughts on this will sound very controversial, but...I really think the drinking problem is made worse by, and in some respects a reflection of, British culture. When I worked in central London, everyone went out to the pub at Friday lunchtime, and few got anything done for the rest of the day. That's a productivity hit right there of ten percent. There was a certain pride and expectation about getting drunk (which I admit I have never been), so the social pressure was there. Now living in the US, I can pretty much guarantee the first few words most visiting British businessmen will say when they show up at a meeting: "So how's the beer?" During meeting breaks, conversation will again revolve around beer. The evenings will be spent searching for beer. At the start of the next day's meetings, we'll all hear about who drank the most and who was the most stupidly drunk. Honestly, to an independent observer, it borders on obsession. Why? Because of British culture. That's not to say that other nations aren't heavy drinkers - I've attended far too many meetings in Russia to think otherwise - but I don't see how the problem can be fixed in general while an entire culture is so obsessed with the expectation that men must be heavy drinkers.

 

Waiting for quite a few tomatoes.

I think it's a pretty fair and honest assessment.

 

I have to show potential buyers from all over the place the system we operate in my place of work and what you posted is the norm especially for first thing in the morning.

 

Not so much the liquid lunch part part as anyone caught with alcohol intoxication in our place would be removed anyway but bleary eyes and tales of machoism are rife fist thing.

[johnh]

I am 79 and like a drink but have never, ever been drunk. On my first business trip to the States we were taken out to lunch by our American hosts. All the Brits had beer or wine, the Yanks had milk or water. They said drinking at lunch time was instant dismissal.

I worked in the City for several years and we went out for a pub lunch most days but no one ever got drunk. However, our offices overlooked a square with restaurants and outside tables which were regularly full at 4.00pm - with people who got there at 12.00.

[Cornish Steve]

So who's this Kate women who's just had a baby? And why is it all over the BBC news site? Isn't there any important news today?

[MikeO]

So who's this Kate women who's just had a baby? And why is it all over the BBC news site? Isn't there any important news today?

 

The world stops when something trivial happens to the family we must all doff our inferior caps to Steve, don't you remember ? The mite's granddad is the Duke of Cornwall after all so you should be bending the knee rather that taking the pee .

 

Talking of the press (which we were sort of) it annoys me so much that when five thousand plus people are dying in Nepal all our tabloid headlines are about the (relatively) few Brits caught up in it. So the lead story on the front page is about a few dozen trekkers/climbers missing while on page six you get, "Oh and by the way 5,000 people died and more continue to die due to lack of water/shelter."

 

Sometimes I really want to leave this country.

[Cornish Steve]

 

The world stops when something trivial happens to the family we must all doff our inferior caps to Steve, don't you remember ? The mite's granddad is the Duke of Cornwall after all so you should be bending the knee rather that taking the pee .

 

 

The people of Cornwall, on the whole, are not well off. Houses are expensive because the English come down and buy up many of the houses. Then there's Prince Charles who, as Duke of Cornwall, gets most of his income from his land in Cornwall. In this day and age, it's a disgrace that someone as privileged should be taking money in this way. I know plenty don't agree, but so be it.

 

A colleague knows my views on this and wryly pointed out that the Duchess of Cornwall was visiting the States and would I like to go wave a flag? She's not my duchess, and she probably wouldn't even know what a Cornish flag looks like,

[Cornish Steve]

 

Talking of the press (which we were sort of) it annoys me so much that when five thousand plus people are dying in Nepal all our tabloid headlines are about the (relatively) few Brits caught up in it. So the lead story on the front page is about a few dozen trekkers/climbers missing while on page six you get, "Oh and by the way 5,000 people died and more continue to die due to lack of water/shelter."

 

Sometimes I really want to leave this country.

 

All the more so given how dedicated are the Gurkhas in the British army.

 

I agree with this very much. Several years ago, I visited Kathmandu on business. Looking at some of the before and after pictures at the BBC website, I recognized where I stayed - and it's now a pile of rubble.

[MikeO]

 

The people of Cornwall, on the whole, are not well off. Houses are expensive because the English come down and buy up many of the houses. Then there's Prince Charles who, as Duke of Cornwall, gets most of his income from his land in Cornwall. In this day and age, it's a disgrace that someone as privileged should be taking money in this way. I know plenty don't agree, but so be it.

 

A colleague knows my views on this and wryly pointed out that the Duchess of Cornwall was visiting the States and would I like to go wave a flag? She's not my duchess, and she probably wouldn't even know what a Cornish flag looks like,

 

Go along with all of that but just to correct you a bit; the majority of the property and land the "Duchy of Cornwall" own is actually in Devon. It was a question on QI last week though I actually already knew the answer.

My one experience with the family was Camilla horse-face officially opening a medical center where my wife had an appointment but we couldn't get anywhere to park so missed it.

 

The one thing I hope for this little sprog is that the parents have the courage (or maybe the permission) to get her grandma's name in there somewhere. "Princess Diana" isn't going to happen but having it as a middle name would be appropriate.

 

Having said all that I'd be far happier without them. Hierarchical bollocks, hate it.

[Louis]

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/meet-the-radical-undertakers-who-want-your-participation-in-funerals-427

 

It's a brief interview with two undertakers who want to see pyres legalised in the UK. I'd never thought about it before, but they seem to have a point from a cost perspective. It costs thousands of pounds for a cremation when the amount of flammables used will cost nowhere near that much.

[MikeO]

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/meet-the-radical-undertakers-who-want-your-participation-in-funerals-427

 

It's a brief interview with two undertakers who want to see pyres legalised in the UK. I'd never thought about it before, but they seem to have a point from a cost perspective. It costs thousands of pounds for a cremation when the amount of flammables used will cost nowhere near that much.

 

Interesting that Louis. I'd love to go on a pyre, hate traditional funerals. Those figures on the profits made by crematoriums are astounding.

[Matt]

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/meet-the-radical-undertakers-who-want-your-participation-in-funerals-427

 

It's a brief interview with two undertakers who want to see pyres legalised in the UK. I'd never thought about it before, but they seem to have a point from a cost perspective. It costs thousands of pounds for a cremation when the amount of flammables used will cost nowhere near that much.

There are quite a few ways of dealing with the dead now. Personally I want this:

 

https://urnabios.com/

[Louis]

Reminds me of this:

 

[Paddock]

There are quite a few ways of dealing with the dead now. Personally I want this:

 

https://urnabios.com/

That is proper cool, I most definitely want that. How boss would that be.

[MikeO]

The Edge goes off the edge.

 

https://instagram.com/p/2sPs2Soh3u/

[Romey 1878]

The Edge goes off the edge.

 

https://instagram.com/p/2sPs2Soh3u/

 

Couldn't he have taken that absolute cock Bono with him?

[Louis]

Five Mexican children between the age of 11 and 15 have murdered a 6 year old. "They took his eyes out, they broke his lip, they cut his cheek and stabbed him 27 times on the back", said the kid's aunt.

 

"Neighbors said that the older of the teens, the group leader, attacked a neighbor with a machete a week prior to the murder"

 

http://news.yahoo.com/five-mexico-children-detained-over-six-olds-murder-230310989.html

http://www.laopinion.com/adolescentes-acusados-de-asesinato-de-nino-en-chihuahua-tenian-denuncias-por-violencia

[Romey 1878]

Five Mexican children between the age of 11 and 15 have murdered a 6 year old. "They took his eyes out, they broke his lip, they cut his cheek and stabbed him 27 times on the back", said the kid's aunt.

 

"Neighbors said that the older of the teens, the group leader, attacked a neighbor with a machete a week prior to the murder"

 

http://news.yahoo.com/five-mexico-children-detained-over-six-olds-murder-230310989.html

http://www.laopinion.com/adolescentes-acusados-de-asesinato-de-nino-en-chihuahua-tenian-denuncias-por-violencia

 

 

Sick!