From the Archives: It’s Friday!

It's Friday!

It’s Friday, and come lunchtime I can’t imagine I’m the only person who would quite happily nap the afternoon away.

“From the archives” is an ongoing series of posts of things I’ve found in the doldrums of my hard drive.  I have a massive collection of cute and/or amusing images which are worth sharing.

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From the archives: A tiny prince

A tiny prince

Found on my hard drive.  A cute tiny little frog.  So cute I’d kiss him.

“From the archives” is an ongoing series of posts of things I’ve found in the doldrums of my hard drive.  I have a massive collection of cute and/or amusing images which are worth sharing.

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The Sims 3: Seasons

Winter is ComingI finally got The Sims 3: Seasons.

After an absolute ball ache getting it installed, I’m rather enjoying my time with it.  I’ve been rather mean though, as their spring and summer last only 7 days their autumn is 10 days and their winter…28.  After the winter we had in Britain through 2012/2013, it was the least I could do.

Along with this new expansion pack comes a new family with new ideas and…looks.  These will be posted soon.

Remember…Winter is coming.

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The Backchannel of the internet back-chats

I don’t normally feel the need to do such things as responses to things I see online, but I feel compelled to this time.  There’s an article on DadCamp which needs a response.

I am childfree.  If people didn’t already know, I’m very childfree.  I have been childfree since I was a child myself.  Even at the age of seven I didn’t like the company of children and that included at school.  As an adult I’m not particularly keen on children however I am acutely aware that they are a part of life, so I accept that I will see them in places.

What the author of the DadCamp article misses is that there are some places kids shouldn’t or don’t need to be.  Near schools?  Of course they should be.  I live a quarter of a mile from a school…but there are hardly any kids living in this area.  If I go out to certain things at a weekend, I expect kids to be there.  If I go to a local park or common, I know there will be kids there.

However, there are just as many places where kids shouldn’t be.  In Britain, to and from the main rail termini in London you cannot take bikes between the hours of 07:00 and 10:00 and then between 16:00 and 19:00.  The reason is an issue of not just comfort but also space.  A bike takes up the space that around three or four people would and they also end up blocking the doors, which is simply dangerous.  I commute every day and I’m proud of it.  I get narked if I see a bike on a train.  I also get narked if someone brings a toddler onto a commuter service between those times and then allows them to run around while the train is moving.  A lot of these commuter services run fast between stations.  This means they don’t stop for 20 miles and are running at 70+mph through junctions and over rough sets of points.  I’ve seen parents let their kids run through the aisles and hang from railings during these journeys.  One day, one of these kids is going to be seriously injured or killed.  Who will be responsible?  Undoubtedly, there will be a lawsuit where the parents seek the train company to take responsibility and pay compensation.  This would not, at any point, be the fault of the train company.

Just yesterday I saw a parent with a child on a commuter service in first class.  The kid repeatedly kicked and hit a man in the legs.  That man had waited half the journey to sit down on the seat which the child didn’t need to occupy.  That man had a walking stick, and was only in his 30s.  When they all got off, the kid pushed the man out of the way to get through the doors before him…as did that child’s mother.

The author of the DadCamp article seems to believe that the childfree as a whole are irresponsible.  I cannot agree with this.  The childfree have made a measured decision.  We’ve weighed up the pros and cons of both sides and decided which one is best for us.  That is not irresponsible.

Upon asking people why they had children their answer ranged between “Because everyone does.”  “Because it’s normal.”  “It’s just what people do.”  “There aren’t any other options.”  And finally, “Because I want to”.  Those are the kind of reasons that border on irresponsible.

When I was a child, along with most people, I was told that “I want, doesn’t get.”  I want three foreign holidays per year and a Maserati.  I can’t afford that.  If I get to a point in my life and career where I can afford that, then great.  What I will be able to do is look back and realise that I’ve spent the past 40 years earning that.

This is an issue that the author of the DadCamp article doesn’t seem to understand.  Those of us who are childfree have, effectively, earned everything that we have.  We’ve worked hard.  We’ve picked up slack from people who do have kids.  We’ve been sensible and responsible with our actions and our money.  But wait!  If you have a kid, suddenly you’re entitled.  You haven’t earned it, but you’re entitled anyway.

When someone has a kid, all they have done is one of the most basic functions of the human body.  They had sex.  Well done.  Billions have done it before, and billions will do in the future.  It’s not special and it’s not amazing.  It is, quite literally, a basic bodily function.  Suddenly, nine months later when they have this kid, they’re entitled to everything.  Everyone showers them with respect – why?  I am a great believer that people earn respect and are not entitled to it.  Suddenly they have become the most amazing people on earth and they are entitled to everything you could possibly imagine.  They get benefits from the government, time off work which is fully paid, free schooling, free health and dental care.  Parents are, there is no denying, entitled.

The childfree?  We’re not entitled to anything.  We put more into the tax system and take less out than parents do.  We are entitled to nothing but pay for most of what parents are entitled to.  When women are pregnant, they get free dental care.  I have paid taxes for the past decade and cannot obtain free dental care despite the fact that I can’t afford to pay for it and require a fair amount of medical dentistry.  I openly admit that as a childfree person it annoys me I am funding a lifestyle of people who did this because, selfishly, they wanted it.

What the author of the DadCamp article deliberately puts across is that we’re all irresponsible and selfish because we made a different life choice to him.  Usually you see that kind of reaction through jealousy.  He has no right to say that we don’t understand what it’s like to be a parent because he doesn’t understand what it’s like to make a different choice to the one that he has.  He has about as much right to judge my character as a “selfish and irresponsible” person as I do how well he brings up his kids.

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Many, many thanks to all you Sims players

I’ve had pages up about The Sims 3 for ages.  Before this incarnation of my website I had stuff about previous versions of The Sims.  It’s nothing new to me.  However, the current amount of visits and comments really is.

I don’t play The Sims 3 much any more simply because I spend my time working and commuting and after that there’s not much left for anything else.  I also haven’t updated the Sims pages on here for probably at least a year.  However, some days I get close to a thousand page views.  In a single day I can get ten comments waiting for approval (sorry it has to be done that way, I get so much spam otherwise).

All of this I actually find rather surprising because of my lack of updates.  However, it’s lovely proof that people are still playing The Sims 3.  Unfortunately, the last expansion pack I got was Ambitions.  I’m slightly taken by the idea of getting Generations and/or Seasons.  If I do, I’ll be updating stuff on here, no doubt.

Keep playing little internet chums.  This is a good thing.  And if EA release a Sims 4, make sure they don’t screw it up like they did with Sims City.

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Let me justify myself

Taking off my previous post, I wanted to explain just what I was up to.

For the past couple of years this website has been very neglected by me.  Massive changes in life mean that I haven’t had the time or the inclination.  Right now, with a professional job and a sizeable commute to and from it, time isn’t exactly overflowing from my cup, however the inclination is.  I know I’m capable of doing exactly what I’m hoping to achieve, I just need to put some gusto behind it.

I’ve got myself a graphics tablet and can do some rudimentary drawings at present.  Most people who have been in on the internet and look for humerous things will have seen websites such as Cyanide & Happiness, XKCD and The Oatmeal.  I’m not attempting to imitate them, instead I need an outlet for the shit that goes on in my head.  It’s not bad shit, it’s just…different according to people around me.  Sometimes it’s bordering on ridiculous, and sometimes it’s observational.

I do apologise if anyone had come here looking for something that’s now gone.  It had to go.  It was all largely a reminder of a life passed which didn’t need to be online any more and will have no bearing on the content in the future.  If you really need the stuff, it’ll be in the Google cache for a while no doubt.

I will keep working on this and I will keep updating, which will be the shock of a lifetime considering I’ve barely said a word on here for a couple of years.  I may even play The Sims again at some point as that part of the blog won’t be coming down any time soon.  If other people still play it and need help, then I’ll keep trying to put stuff online about it.

Once everything has come together and been completed the first place you will see it is on here.  I promise it won’t be too long.

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More changes are afoot

If you’ve just landed here looking for a page you picked up via Google, then it may have disappeared.  Sorry about that.

Changes are afoot.  Things will be very different around here soon and this will be less personal, more ‘professional’.  About as professional as The Oatmeal.

I’ve left all of the posts about The Sims online, which includes the guides and family stories.  I’ve also left a lot of my open university posts up.  I don’t know how long they will stay online though.  Everything else has been removed.  Sorry about that.

What comes next will be so much better.

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Ch-ch-ch-Changes

Turn and face the strain!

Changes are afoot here.  It’s one of the many reasons that I haven’t posted or updated in a good long while, however, that will change and I’ll keep everyone updated.

A new dawn begins…

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Soundtrack to my life: Part Six

Half way there, ladies.  Half way there.

50. The Who – Baba O’Riley.

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I don’t really know why, except that maybe I feel as though I missed out on such a wonderful musical era by being born in the 80s.

49.  Annie Lennox – Why.

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It’s just the eternal question…”Why?”

48.  Counting Crows – Colourblind.

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If only everything was black and white.

47.  Dido – See The Sun.

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When you’re a teenager and really seriously depressed, sometimes all you want is to see the sun again.

46.  Keane – Bedshaped.

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“I know you think I’m holding you down.”

45.  The Killers – Everything Will Be Alright.

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Cos everything will be alright.

44.  Rob Dougan – There’s Only Me.

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43.  Snow Patrol – Set The Fire To The Third Bar.

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Your laughter penetrates my silence.

42.  Florence + The Machine – Dog Days Are Over.

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Happiness hit her like a bullet in the head. Yep, sometimes it comes when you least expect it.

41.  Mumford & Sons – Roll Away Your Stone.

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Darkness is a harsh term, don’t you think?

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Soundtrack to my life: Part Five

So, we’re half way there.

60. Maroon 5 – This Love.

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This was definitely one of those summer tracks.  I fell in love with it when it came out back in…ooo…2003?

59. Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees.

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There are people that hate this song.  So, it doesn’t make much sense, but…who cares?  First heard it after getting a CD of Radiohead Piano versions by a guy called Christopher O’Riley.  I think I might have heard at least one of them on Classic FM.

58. Stereophonics – Nothing Precious At All.

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Who didn’t go through a phase as a teenager when they liked things like this?  I swear, these guys are one of the most underrated bands to come out of Britain.

57.  Suzanne Vega – Never Be Your Maggie May.

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“I’d rather take myself away”.  Right now, never a truer word was spoken.

56. The Goo Goo Dolls – Name.

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“I saw the dreams you never thought you’d lose, get tossed along the way.” Sometimes you get yourself into places in life where you abandon everything you ever wanted.  Sometimes it’s through pressure, disapproval or maybe even fear.  Sometimes the hardest thing in life is ripping yourself out of that situation so that you can try to find those dreams again.

55.  Tin Tin Out featuring Shelly Nelson – Here’s Where The Story Ends.

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Oh so 90s.  I think there comes a point where we all have to say here’s where the story ends.  It’s that little souvenir of a terrible year…

54.  U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday.

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I think Bono is a twat, but this song is much like the previously mentioned Morrissey track about being Anglo-Irish.

53. Will Young – Leave Right Now.

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I should probably be ashamed to have a Will Young song in here.  I’m here, just like you said, but it’s breaking every rule I ever made.

52.  Massive Attack – Unfinished Sympathy.

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CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON! Who doesn’t remember this track?

51.  Mumford & Sons – Nothing Is Written.

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A tethered mind, freed from the lies.

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