Archive for January, 2010

Recognition at last

Grandad January 31st, 2010

It is gratifying to be taken seriously occasionally.

All too often people fail to realise the deep intellect and profound sentiments expressed in this site.  They treat my thoughts as a source of amusement and occasionally even, derision.  This can be extremely hurtful, but I don’t complain.

It was with profound humility then when I discovered that at last my efforts are being treated with their due respect and deference.

There is a site out there – Business-Pro – which produces articles on such esoteric subjects as Business Intelligence, Risk Management and Leadership.  I was delighted to discover that they have provided a link to one of my articles.

research website

In case any of you miss the relevant link, it is in the bottom left corner.

detail from website

The breath of hell

Grandad January 30th, 2010

I had to go out the other day.

Quite when it was, or where I was going is irrelevant.  That fact was that I had to use the car.

I opened the gates and then, along with Sandy, hopped into the car and closed the car door behind me.

I suddenly felt very very ill.  Judging by the look on her face, so did Sandy.

The Stink!!  There was a powerful stench of something absolutely putrid and festering in that car, and it was strong enough to make the paint blister on the door frame.  Unfortunately, I was in a hurry, so I didn’t have time to investigate, and just drove with all the windows open.

When I eventually go back home, I investigated.  I knew I was looking for maybe a cabbage that was slowly liquefying, or maybe a ten week old rat corpse hidden under a layer of green mould.  It was that kind of stink. 

I found nothing.

Some days later, I had to bring herself somewhere.  I had forgotten about the odour from hell, so as I opened the gates, I was a little startled to hear the scream from inside the car.   I had to drag her now unconscious body back into the house and revive her with a couple of swift belts across the face.  Actually, I think she was coming around anyway, but I threw in the couple of slaps, just to be on the safe side.

“What the fuck was that?” says she.

I have to apologise for her language here,  She has a bit of a potty mouth sometimes.

“I don’t know” says I.

“Get the fuck out there and find out.”

I ignored her attitude, but went out anyway, as I was still a little curious.

I ripped the car apart.  I took out the seats and everything.

Nothing.

Not a squat of anything that could be causing such an appalling assault on the nostrils.

I had to use the car again this morning.  I gingerly got in and took a shallow sniff.

Nothing.

All I could smell was the rather pleasant aroma of an over full ashtray and overlaid with a faint hint of oil.  The stench had disappeared.  I breathed deeply and went about my business.

Herself quizzed me when I got back.  She wanted to know if the stench from hell was any worse.  I told her it was gone, but she didn’t believe me.  She went out and investigated for herself.

She came back.  “It must have been your socks” she said.

I was not amused.

The doctors say they expect her to make a full recovery.

Research my arse

Grandad January 29th, 2010

I see Dublin is to grind to a slower standstill than normal from next Monday.

They are introducing a 24 hour 30Kph speed limit throughout the city centre.

So if you happen to be driving through O’Connell Street at five in the morning, when there isn’t a sinner around, you still have to crawl at 30.  Fucking idiots!

One of the arguments for this is that research shows that 45% of pedestrians die when struck by a car at 50Kph but only 5% if hit at 30Kph.  Here we go again.  Some fuckwad has done some ‘research’ and we have to live with the consequences.

Actually, that research sounds interesting.  Did they get a couple of drivers to drive up and down O’Connell Street at varying speeds and then count the fatalities at the end of the day?  Are they going to do further research where they discover to their amazement that there are 0% fatalities when the car is doing 0Kph?  God help us if they do as that will then be the new speed limit.

Why can’t they do a little extra research?  Why don’t they discover that if the fucking pedestrians kept off the fucking road there would be no accidents? 

Who pays these ‘researchers’?  And more important – who decides what they ‘research’?  Who is paying for the UK ‘researchers’ who discovered ‘through research’ that the G-spot doesn’t exist?  And who pays the French ‘researchers’ who ‘through research’ say that it does? Mind you – I’m prepared to do that one for nothing.

Research has shown that survivors of fires can breath extremely hot smoke that is full of noxious gasses, yet can make a recovery and live a full life.  Yet research has shown that puffing quietly on a cool pipe is going to lead to a miserable, painful and imminent death.

Some of these projects baffle the imagination.  Who funded research that showed that cows with names produce more milk than cows that don’t?  For fuck’s sake!  And who funded research to discover which made the better weapon – a full beer bottle or an empty one?

I would propose a new research project; one that produces a lasting and beneficial result.

My project is to show that a world without researchers as a safer and saner place.

iPad is not PC

Grandad January 28th, 2010

A long time ago I wrote about my feelings concerning Political Correctness.  In fact, it was so long ago that I can’t find it now.

I fucking hate Political Correctness.  It is the greatest load of bollox ever invented.

Why do I hate it so much?  Because it’s symptomatic of the touchy feely, no one must be offended or hurt type of molly coddling society we have become.  We have to tiptoe through the minefield of life now, watching every single step just in case someone is offended.  And if that isn’t bad enough, we have to watch out for groups who just may be offended, and we can’t mention them, just in case.

In my meanderings through the Interweb I came across an article in a UK newspaper.  That article amply demonstrated just how fucking insane the world has become.

A woman wanted to advertise for a domestic cleaner.  She wrote out a simple advertisement and approached her local job centre to ask them to display it.  They wouldn’t.  Why?  Because she stated that any applicants for the post ”must be very reliable and hard-working”.  What’s wrong with that, you may ask?  The job centre refused the advertisement on the grounds that it may offend unreliable people, and that it was discriminatory.

Did you ever hear of anything so fucking ridiculous before?  Is this not the greatest heap of steaming manure?  Is there anyone insane enough out there to agree with this?

What next? 

Are we going to be forbidden to greet people with a cheerful ‘good morning’ because we may offend people who don’t like mornings?  Are we even going to be allowed to use our native language any more, in case we offend foreigners? 

I was going to write a scathing article today about all those sad fuckers who were conned into buying the iPad, which is something they never realised they needed until the advertising hype deluded them into thinking they needed it, but I can’t now.

I wouldn’t want to discriminate against idiots.

Jaded

Grandad January 27th, 2010

It’s our wedding anniversary this weekend.

I had to delve into the recesses of my memory, but I’m fairly sure we got married in ‘75. 

Holy fuck!

Thirty five fucking years!!!

It’s hard to believe. 

During all that time, I am proud to say that I have remained faithful loyal married, which must be some kind of record.  If I were American, I would be onto my fifth or sixth by now, and sunning myself on a beach in Florida with a nice young twenty-something.  But I’m Irish, so I’m stuck here in the mountains with Herself.

Apparently it’s our ‘jade anniversary’ which means I am supposed to buy her something to do with jade.  She can fuck off.  I know of a slapper called Jade who works in a nightclub in Skobieville, so I might make myself a present of her for the night, but that’s as far as it goes [apart from the follow up trip to the STD clinic?].

Thirty. Five. Fucking. Years.

I can’t get over it.

Half the population of this Godforsaken country wasn’t even born, thirty five years ago.

I’m not going to mention it, of course.  With a bit of luck she’ll forget.  And if she doesn’t, she had better get me a damned good present.

It had better be a fucking medal.

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