london
I have found two websites i like and have joined them.
One is a aggregator, listing all weblogs by location, namely by country. so far they only do usa, canada, uk, australia , new zealand. So it looks like only english speaking countries.
http://www.loadedweb.com/
I received an invite to join ages ago and deleted it. But i clicked on it in the deleted section of my hotmail, and I investigated it a bit more, and found that there were a few gay weblogs there in uk section. I like to read other gay guys weblogs, but most of them angst a lot about how difficult it is to be gay and i cannot agree with that.
The other is a website, http://www.experienceproject.com/ for people to write their experiences. I was googling gay nudist and that is how i found them, because there was a group there for gay nudist.
I like that, but so far only 5people have joined that gay nudist group in that website. the group was only started recently. most of the people in the site are from usa.
most of the stories in the other groups are rather in the mode of wish i were better, or why are people so bad to me? that kind of tone.
(added. i found out that it is to allow people to write anonymously and get mutual support from likeminded people suffering like them. Hmm, not much chance of meeting anyone if that is the case. Nor will there be any one who is happy about their experiences.
I wrote about how happy i m to be gay and nudist, but it seems i m the only one who likes my experiences. Most use the site to say how awful their experiences have been. )
Added. 22.2.10. i have left the experienceproject.com today.
(Added.5.2.10
Found out a gayandbisexual website recommended in one of the nude yahoogroups i belong to and they have webcam chat. but i found out it won't allow me to send messages to other members unless i buy the subscription. That is no good.
It was not possible to reply to others who write to me. I was in the chat room in that website when someone there told me another website is better. and it is http://www.truenudists.com/
there u have to put up naked pics because it is a nudist site afterall , so no cover up. haha. i agree with that policy 100%.
I have been on it for some time now, and it is really very good, even though based in usa, it has lots of british members and european members.
Added 20.2.10. I have left truenudists.com. did not remain a member for long, as it is a straight site. Found out that they dont really make it compulsory for naked pictures only to be put up. Too many women are too afraid of posting nude pics for fear they be oogled. It is a issue that is always being debated in straight nudist sites.
i myself dont care who sees me naked, or where my naked pictures end up but i guess not every one thinks like me. I daresay u will be able to come across naked pics of me one day. )
I am now concentrating on a male only naked website that insists on guys being naked in their pictures. it is (link). Its called the nude male. It is usa based but there are some guys from uk.
Added. 8.5.10. got an email frm the organiser that the nudemale site is going to close in july2010. I have not been active in it because i have found out that i dont really like to chat only online. too boring. prefer to meet and befriend. And even then only if it is convenient. I am a fair weather nudist, so the lifestyle is not really suitable in cold london. Just as well I can take it or leave it otherwise my heating bill will be v high haha.
if there is such a website in europe it will be in a foreign language ie not in english, and that is the reason why i have not found any similar website covering european countries. One of the the big disadvantage of not knowing other languages.
I have a feeling i shall find more kindred spirits in europe than in usa. More gay nudists in europe for one thing, who are all doing their thing, rather than just talking about it as it appears that people in usa do. or at least that is the impression i got from the website, but maybe such websites are biased towards people who like to talk instead of do.
added 22.2.10 Looking back, it seems i have left most of the websites i joined. Normally i would not bother to delete my profile, but I find that if i dont, it remains there forever. So now i have taken steps to delete profiles where i m not active in them.
I think i have come to the conclusion that nudist websites are not for me. I want to meet people, and it is not possible to meet in the website. A lot of these people are in america, or europe, or in uk, and not london, so the chances of meeting are slim.
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Monday, 25 January 2010
I am in credit
london
What a strange thing. i re read the bill about the major works that i received on 20.1.10 and which i thought i have to pay extra.
I thought i better check to make sure they have included all my payments before i pay it, and i noticed that the actual cost is less than the estimated amount. And then only i noticed the minus sign next to the final figure.
it says total due for payment : -£293.52
Well, that is very nice. haha. they owe me money and not the other way round. The estimate was more, and now that the finalise account is done, i have overpaid.
I was fooled by the way they put it, 'due for payment'. Instead of saying I am in credit.
Well, this is a nice surprise.
Added. 27.1.10 U would think i would be ecstatic, wont you? but today i read how happy getting money did to this lady in her blog, so for some people money really makes them happy.
But not for me because i realised that i was more happy finding out that I dont have to replace my old toilet. My toilet is not damaged after all, and repairing the fault without anything more complicated than applying cooking oil makes me so much happier than getting this rebate.
What a strange thing. i re read the bill about the major works that i received on 20.1.10 and which i thought i have to pay extra.
I thought i better check to make sure they have included all my payments before i pay it, and i noticed that the actual cost is less than the estimated amount. And then only i noticed the minus sign next to the final figure.
it says total due for payment : -£293.52
Well, that is very nice. haha. they owe me money and not the other way round. The estimate was more, and now that the finalise account is done, i have overpaid.
I was fooled by the way they put it, 'due for payment'. Instead of saying I am in credit.
Well, this is a nice surprise.
Added. 27.1.10 U would think i would be ecstatic, wont you? but today i read how happy getting money did to this lady in her blog, so for some people money really makes them happy.
But not for me because i realised that i was more happy finding out that I dont have to replace my old toilet. My toilet is not damaged after all, and repairing the fault without anything more complicated than applying cooking oil makes me so much happier than getting this rebate.
Friday, 22 January 2010
recipes
london
I think we all have lost the art of making recipes. We can discover our own ways of cooking, you know. But it is a lost art. Instead we do not want to experiment with our own inventions, but rely on following other people's recipes.
It can of course help prevent culinary disasters, but the other side of the coin is that we slavishly follow something that do not make sense.
Take for eg bolognaise sauce. Here in uk, we have all been told to use a can of tomatoes, and I have always thought tomatoes are an absolute must.
But here is carluccio, who tells us the traditional ragu sauce, which is the bolognaise sauce he has grown up with dont have tomatoes, and only 3 tsp of tomato puree. And no garlic or herbs either.
I am delighted to read this way of cooking the sauce, because i have become very disastisfied with the tomatoes sold in cans. And fresh tomatoes are too expensive to use. so now i can make a good sauce without tomatoes and that is a good thing to know.
He used white wine, saying make sure the alcohol is removed in the cooking or u get a metallic taste. why use wine in the first place if u have to drive the alcohol away? is there a subsitute where u get the flavour without the expense of the alcohol? this is one of the things i find ridiculous in western cooking, they use wine and then drive the alcohol off. what a waste really and I say it when I am not even a wine drinker. haha.
Simon says it is because in europe in the old days, and maybe even nowadays, wine is so cheap it is used in everything. Nothing else in those days is cheaper. It might also explain why some british cooking uses beer. In olden days, beer was cheaper than anything, and more sterile than the water and safer to drink.
I have a strong suspicion that people in the olden days tailor their recipes to what is most abundant or cheap or in season. it was a guide only and can be altered and that is what makes cooking so inventive and exciting. Not this slavish adherrance to the recipe that we get nowadays.
(Added.25.1.10.I have been thinking about that statement, and i think i m wrong. i have a feeling that just like me, people use the recipes as a guide and tweak it. This is especially true of people who have lots of experience with cooking which i consider myself to be in that group. i remember when i first started cooking, i would follow the recipes slavishly, but not now.
Also, i read that souffles will not rise if u dont follow the recipe slavishly, and for some reason that advise seems to have carried forward to other recipes. i have never cooked souffles nor do i intend to. haha.
when learning anything, instructors tend to be dogmatic and tell u to follow instructions, and that is the normal learning process. Once u have mastered it, u can do ur own thing.
thus, i can see why parents are dogmatic about their views of life, study hard and marry and raise a family and build up a nestegg so u can then retire surrounded by ur grandchildren. haha. Well, once u grow up u can find ur own recipe for life.)
I read an advise not to eat food that has been re-heated twice. This is new to me, because i have always been eating food reheated more than once all my life and i m still alive. haha.
its the kind of advise given by newspapers, because they are so afraid of people getting food poisoned and sue them. So better to play it safe and say don't. I have heard some of them say not to eat reheated rice. What nonsense, i have been doing that for all my life.
Another advise is to use stock cubes in a stew. If u r allready having meat in that stew, there is no need for a stock cube as the meat will give it all the flavour. The stock cube will be redundant. You might as well add more salt, because that is what stock cubes are made of. (and it contains fat, but that u will get from your meat).
Another thing i dont like is the advise to simmer for 2-3 hours. Why? it is so wasteful of power. though i thought maybe it can be done in a slow cooker, but i have not tried that out yet. maybe when i make the bolognaise sauce, i might do that because the recipe says simmer for 1-2 hours. I dislike using so much energy but maybe the slo cooker will use minimal.
If you want the flavours to mix, why not just leave it overnight? I find casseroles, stews, curry tastes really nice when eaten the next day or over the next few days.
Something happened that delighted me. You remember i mentioned my flush toilet is sticking, and not flushing well.
I noticed the handle do not return to its original position after it had been pulled down to initiate the flush. I have to push it back to its original position.
So i put some vegetable cooking oil on the joints and it now springs back so fast after i pulled it down, it surprised me. Imagine, just a bit of cooking oil can work such wonders.
And the flush is working perfectly everytime now.
I know it is silly to be so happy over such a small thing, but i am beyond happy, I am ecstatic.
Here is something i saw that make me laugh so much I want to put it here so i can access it easily.
I think we all have lost the art of making recipes. We can discover our own ways of cooking, you know. But it is a lost art. Instead we do not want to experiment with our own inventions, but rely on following other people's recipes.
It can of course help prevent culinary disasters, but the other side of the coin is that we slavishly follow something that do not make sense.
Take for eg bolognaise sauce. Here in uk, we have all been told to use a can of tomatoes, and I have always thought tomatoes are an absolute must.
But here is carluccio, who tells us the traditional ragu sauce, which is the bolognaise sauce he has grown up with dont have tomatoes, and only 3 tsp of tomato puree. And no garlic or herbs either.
I am delighted to read this way of cooking the sauce, because i have become very disastisfied with the tomatoes sold in cans. And fresh tomatoes are too expensive to use. so now i can make a good sauce without tomatoes and that is a good thing to know.
He used white wine, saying make sure the alcohol is removed in the cooking or u get a metallic taste. why use wine in the first place if u have to drive the alcohol away? is there a subsitute where u get the flavour without the expense of the alcohol? this is one of the things i find ridiculous in western cooking, they use wine and then drive the alcohol off. what a waste really and I say it when I am not even a wine drinker. haha.
Simon says it is because in europe in the old days, and maybe even nowadays, wine is so cheap it is used in everything. Nothing else in those days is cheaper. It might also explain why some british cooking uses beer. In olden days, beer was cheaper than anything, and more sterile than the water and safer to drink.
I have a strong suspicion that people in the olden days tailor their recipes to what is most abundant or cheap or in season. it was a guide only and can be altered and that is what makes cooking so inventive and exciting. Not this slavish adherrance to the recipe that we get nowadays.
(Added.25.1.10.I have been thinking about that statement, and i think i m wrong. i have a feeling that just like me, people use the recipes as a guide and tweak it. This is especially true of people who have lots of experience with cooking which i consider myself to be in that group. i remember when i first started cooking, i would follow the recipes slavishly, but not now.
Also, i read that souffles will not rise if u dont follow the recipe slavishly, and for some reason that advise seems to have carried forward to other recipes. i have never cooked souffles nor do i intend to. haha.
when learning anything, instructors tend to be dogmatic and tell u to follow instructions, and that is the normal learning process. Once u have mastered it, u can do ur own thing.
thus, i can see why parents are dogmatic about their views of life, study hard and marry and raise a family and build up a nestegg so u can then retire surrounded by ur grandchildren. haha. Well, once u grow up u can find ur own recipe for life.)
I read an advise not to eat food that has been re-heated twice. This is new to me, because i have always been eating food reheated more than once all my life and i m still alive. haha.
its the kind of advise given by newspapers, because they are so afraid of people getting food poisoned and sue them. So better to play it safe and say don't. I have heard some of them say not to eat reheated rice. What nonsense, i have been doing that for all my life.
Another advise is to use stock cubes in a stew. If u r allready having meat in that stew, there is no need for a stock cube as the meat will give it all the flavour. The stock cube will be redundant. You might as well add more salt, because that is what stock cubes are made of. (and it contains fat, but that u will get from your meat).
Another thing i dont like is the advise to simmer for 2-3 hours. Why? it is so wasteful of power. though i thought maybe it can be done in a slow cooker, but i have not tried that out yet. maybe when i make the bolognaise sauce, i might do that because the recipe says simmer for 1-2 hours. I dislike using so much energy but maybe the slo cooker will use minimal.
If you want the flavours to mix, why not just leave it overnight? I find casseroles, stews, curry tastes really nice when eaten the next day or over the next few days.
Something happened that delighted me. You remember i mentioned my flush toilet is sticking, and not flushing well.
I noticed the handle do not return to its original position after it had been pulled down to initiate the flush. I have to push it back to its original position.
So i put some vegetable cooking oil on the joints and it now springs back so fast after i pulled it down, it surprised me. Imagine, just a bit of cooking oil can work such wonders.
And the flush is working perfectly everytime now.
I know it is silly to be so happy over such a small thing, but i am beyond happy, I am ecstatic.
Here is something i saw that make me laugh so much I want to put it here so i can access it easily.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
just meanderings
london
I have been getting some nice bargains in meats. I thought there will be no more reductions to be had when i have not found any for a week or two after the new year. But i discovered it was because i was going after 9pm.
this time i went about 8.30pm and caught them reducing it. Also, i think there are less people hanging around the supermarket looking for bargains now, as the festive period is over and people are going back to work and their daily lives with no need to cook big feasts. Also, many of them may now be getting the bills for the splurge and cannot even afford the reductions.
I got pork, reduced allready by half to about £2.50 a kg, reduced by half again so that i bought 1.5kg for £1.70. An excellent bargain. I have to add a caveat. after roasting it,in the oven, i noticed there is a lot of water come out of it. I dont think it worth buying at the original price because of this added water.
I have been trying to get beef, because paul L gave me some of the curry leaves he bought at asda in southgate, north london and i wanted to make beef curry and test its potency. These leaves are fresh and from kenya, but they dont smell as strong as the malaysian curry leaves which is grown in the family garden in petaling jaya, malaysia. So far i have no luck getting reduced beef brisket or stewing beef.
Let me see if i can get them in the next few days.
I have asked my gym why there is no daily mail, and was told by the manager that it is because people take them. They are only buying 10copies. And it was all gone even when i went there at about 10am. So i ask the manager to keep a copy behind the counter for me and he agreed, advising the reception to do it. So now i get to read the daily mail even though i went quite late this morning, after 11am. I was not able to do my exercises because my membership is only valid for entry before 11am, but that is ok as i dont mind a rest from exercising.
Added. 24.4.10. found a newspaper article about it. it seems fitness first have parted ways with daily mail on 18.1.10 and not buying it in bulk anymore. so each branch decides how many copies to buy and that is why copies are not available. However, the receptionist have faithfully kept a copy behind the counter specially for me and i have been able to get my daily read. What with the nice coffee, I dont mind them not having fresh flowers anymore. One member wrote in the notice board about it being a waste of money and complaining of so many flowers in the men's changing room.
link
last night i saw a tv program 'how earth makes us' about fault lines, and why people seem to live there inspite of the dangers from earthquakes and volcanoes. So now i know why people live in those areas inspite of the dangers.
These fault lines bring water, minerals and oil near the surface for people to exploit.
he said istanbul and Los angeles are in for the biggest earthquakes, but the risks are worth it. Well, we must keep that in mind when the earthquake strikes those places.
Hope u can access the link, because it is really something to see.
It makes the recent haiti earthquake seem logical. the island itself is formed because it lies in a fault. So the land attracts people to colonise the island. An earthquake now and then which may or may not destroy all that they build may be worth the price even if there are lives lost.
The answer may be to build low lying structures.
LA has built high skyscrapers and says it has earthquake proof buildings. Somehow i have my doubts. We humans thinks we have it solved, but if ever a building is left standing it is because the earthquake forces did not hit it hard. I dont think anything can withstand the forces when it really hits the building. That is why sometimes after an earthquake, u see two buildings next door to each other, with one virtually untouched and the other flattened.
Then just tonight, there was a tv program about drugs and how it makes things worst for those who take it. I have known all along drugs are no good for us, and i m right. Antibiotics kill off our good bacteria, and makes the body more vulnerable when we get infected. And people get addicted to pain killers, or get suicidal with anti depressants. haha. makes me very glad i keep away frm them.
Today, i got a letter from my management of the flats, asking me to pay £300 more for the drains and sewage works done in 2008. I have allready paid £2600 estimated bill and now they have finalised the accounts and tells us there is another bit more to pay. ha, i knew it would be more, these things always go over estimate. That is why i have savings to pay these extras.
People never tell you about the costs of owning a flat, but on balance, it is still cheaper than renting, provided u bought it cheap and pay off the mortgage like i did.
But as usual, if i have not been frugal, i would be in deep shit. It still comes as a bit of a shock to get a bill for work that has been paid for in 2006/7 , done in 2008, and now billed extra in 2010.
january is not a good month, as all the debts incurred during christmas and new year celebrations comes home to roost. It is a perverse thing with life, that at a month when usually people are the poorest, the bills start coming in buckets. Such is life. It pays to be frugal.
This is a time when i m very glad i have been so careful with not spending. But of course i know unexpected costs will happen, and have made sure the money to pay for such emergencies is there.
Added 25.1.10. I am in credit after all.
I have been getting some nice bargains in meats. I thought there will be no more reductions to be had when i have not found any for a week or two after the new year. But i discovered it was because i was going after 9pm.
this time i went about 8.30pm and caught them reducing it. Also, i think there are less people hanging around the supermarket looking for bargains now, as the festive period is over and people are going back to work and their daily lives with no need to cook big feasts. Also, many of them may now be getting the bills for the splurge and cannot even afford the reductions.
I got pork, reduced allready by half to about £2.50 a kg, reduced by half again so that i bought 1.5kg for £1.70. An excellent bargain. I have to add a caveat. after roasting it,in the oven, i noticed there is a lot of water come out of it. I dont think it worth buying at the original price because of this added water.
I have been trying to get beef, because paul L gave me some of the curry leaves he bought at asda in southgate, north london and i wanted to make beef curry and test its potency. These leaves are fresh and from kenya, but they dont smell as strong as the malaysian curry leaves which is grown in the family garden in petaling jaya, malaysia. So far i have no luck getting reduced beef brisket or stewing beef.
Let me see if i can get them in the next few days.
I have asked my gym why there is no daily mail, and was told by the manager that it is because people take them. They are only buying 10copies. And it was all gone even when i went there at about 10am. So i ask the manager to keep a copy behind the counter for me and he agreed, advising the reception to do it. So now i get to read the daily mail even though i went quite late this morning, after 11am. I was not able to do my exercises because my membership is only valid for entry before 11am, but that is ok as i dont mind a rest from exercising.
Added. 24.4.10. found a newspaper article about it. it seems fitness first have parted ways with daily mail on 18.1.10 and not buying it in bulk anymore. so each branch decides how many copies to buy and that is why copies are not available. However, the receptionist have faithfully kept a copy behind the counter specially for me and i have been able to get my daily read. What with the nice coffee, I dont mind them not having fresh flowers anymore. One member wrote in the notice board about it being a waste of money and complaining of so many flowers in the men's changing room.
link
last night i saw a tv program 'how earth makes us' about fault lines, and why people seem to live there inspite of the dangers from earthquakes and volcanoes. So now i know why people live in those areas inspite of the dangers.
These fault lines bring water, minerals and oil near the surface for people to exploit.
he said istanbul and Los angeles are in for the biggest earthquakes, but the risks are worth it. Well, we must keep that in mind when the earthquake strikes those places.
Hope u can access the link, because it is really something to see.
It makes the recent haiti earthquake seem logical. the island itself is formed because it lies in a fault. So the land attracts people to colonise the island. An earthquake now and then which may or may not destroy all that they build may be worth the price even if there are lives lost.
The answer may be to build low lying structures.
LA has built high skyscrapers and says it has earthquake proof buildings. Somehow i have my doubts. We humans thinks we have it solved, but if ever a building is left standing it is because the earthquake forces did not hit it hard. I dont think anything can withstand the forces when it really hits the building. That is why sometimes after an earthquake, u see two buildings next door to each other, with one virtually untouched and the other flattened.
Then just tonight, there was a tv program about drugs and how it makes things worst for those who take it. I have known all along drugs are no good for us, and i m right. Antibiotics kill off our good bacteria, and makes the body more vulnerable when we get infected. And people get addicted to pain killers, or get suicidal with anti depressants. haha. makes me very glad i keep away frm them.
Today, i got a letter from my management of the flats, asking me to pay £300 more for the drains and sewage works done in 2008. I have allready paid £2600 estimated bill and now they have finalised the accounts and tells us there is another bit more to pay. ha, i knew it would be more, these things always go over estimate. That is why i have savings to pay these extras.
People never tell you about the costs of owning a flat, but on balance, it is still cheaper than renting, provided u bought it cheap and pay off the mortgage like i did.
But as usual, if i have not been frugal, i would be in deep shit. It still comes as a bit of a shock to get a bill for work that has been paid for in 2006/7 , done in 2008, and now billed extra in 2010.
january is not a good month, as all the debts incurred during christmas and new year celebrations comes home to roost. It is a perverse thing with life, that at a month when usually people are the poorest, the bills start coming in buckets. Such is life. It pays to be frugal.
This is a time when i m very glad i have been so careful with not spending. But of course i know unexpected costs will happen, and have made sure the money to pay for such emergencies is there.
Added 25.1.10. I am in credit after all.
Saturday, 16 January 2010
are u enjoying life?
swing bin on the right. the one i found on the left.
london
I hope you are, enjoying ur life , i mean.
I am enjoying it, and wish everyone the same.
just being dry under my umbrella when it is raining is a joy. So that i dont feel any different whether it rains or not. I feel happy whatever the weather.
It was raining quite hard when i left the gym this morning. And i enjoyed walking back in the rain. Everyone was walking by without an umbrella, and getting wet. but they seem to want it, so all i can say to that is 'their souls want it'.
I read in the daily mail at the gym, about families fearing their gas bill will be high this month, because of the freezing weather. The report says families have no choice but to put up the heating. How come i dont have to switch on my heating at all? Is it just me? so many things that people say brings high costs do not apply to me at all. Why is it necessary to switch on the heating just because the temperature is below a certain value??
Talk about increase in food bills, that does not apply to me too. In fact, just yesterday i was at Lidls, and bought white cabbage for 23p, and onions for 29p.
and that night at the sainsburys i bought a cauliflower reduced to 20p.
I guess it helps that i have only myself to feed, and i can make a filling meal out of just cauliflower and rice. And it is easy for me to keep warm and be resistant to the cold. It might not be so easy if i have children, though i have a feeling that if i have children they will just have to learn to cope with the cold. haha.
I dont think a bit of cold will harm children. Wrap them up warmly and they wont mind the cold.
this morning on the way to the gym, I saw a chinese man walking with his child in the rain. The child wanted to hold his adult umbrella and did not want to carry the child's umbrella. So he was holding it by the top while sheltering under the child's umbrella, and letting the child thinks it is holding up the umbrella and barely tottering slowly along under it. Hmm, i was thinking maybe only a man will allow the child to do that. A woman would find it silly, saying it would be too slow and move the child along. What say you? is that so?
Anyway, i was going past the recycling bins and saw two dustbins there. They have been there for the past few days now. It did not occur to me to take it before, but today i decided to take the bigger of the two. i like the lid.
I have a swing bin, which i am beginning to find rather tiresome. It is not easy to put rubbish into it as the swing bin gets in the way. Also the lid is cracked. i had it for a long time, inherited from the previous owner when i bought this flat 18 yrs ago. When i brought back the new bin and compared it, i saw it was about the same size as my old bin. I was hoping it will be smaller, as my organic waste is so few now, it takes ages to fill the bin.
This one i found has a lid that can be lifted and stays lifted. and it fits quite tight so no room for flies to get in. It is in very good condition.
Simon says he likes the shape of the bin, but not the grey colour. he said it would be nicer if it is blue. he asked me whether i bought it. When i said no, i got it from the recycling bin. he said, i thought as much. haha.
I hope you are, enjoying ur life , i mean.
I am enjoying it, and wish everyone the same.
just being dry under my umbrella when it is raining is a joy. So that i dont feel any different whether it rains or not. I feel happy whatever the weather.
It was raining quite hard when i left the gym this morning. And i enjoyed walking back in the rain. Everyone was walking by without an umbrella, and getting wet. but they seem to want it, so all i can say to that is 'their souls want it'.
I read in the daily mail at the gym, about families fearing their gas bill will be high this month, because of the freezing weather. The report says families have no choice but to put up the heating. How come i dont have to switch on my heating at all? Is it just me? so many things that people say brings high costs do not apply to me at all. Why is it necessary to switch on the heating just because the temperature is below a certain value??
Talk about increase in food bills, that does not apply to me too. In fact, just yesterday i was at Lidls, and bought white cabbage for 23p, and onions for 29p.
and that night at the sainsburys i bought a cauliflower reduced to 20p.
I guess it helps that i have only myself to feed, and i can make a filling meal out of just cauliflower and rice. And it is easy for me to keep warm and be resistant to the cold. It might not be so easy if i have children, though i have a feeling that if i have children they will just have to learn to cope with the cold. haha.
I dont think a bit of cold will harm children. Wrap them up warmly and they wont mind the cold.
this morning on the way to the gym, I saw a chinese man walking with his child in the rain. The child wanted to hold his adult umbrella and did not want to carry the child's umbrella. So he was holding it by the top while sheltering under the child's umbrella, and letting the child thinks it is holding up the umbrella and barely tottering slowly along under it. Hmm, i was thinking maybe only a man will allow the child to do that. A woman would find it silly, saying it would be too slow and move the child along. What say you? is that so?
Anyway, i was going past the recycling bins and saw two dustbins there. They have been there for the past few days now. It did not occur to me to take it before, but today i decided to take the bigger of the two. i like the lid.
I have a swing bin, which i am beginning to find rather tiresome. It is not easy to put rubbish into it as the swing bin gets in the way. Also the lid is cracked. i had it for a long time, inherited from the previous owner when i bought this flat 18 yrs ago. When i brought back the new bin and compared it, i saw it was about the same size as my old bin. I was hoping it will be smaller, as my organic waste is so few now, it takes ages to fill the bin.
This one i found has a lid that can be lifted and stays lifted. and it fits quite tight so no room for flies to get in. It is in very good condition.
Simon says he likes the shape of the bin, but not the grey colour. he said it would be nicer if it is blue. he asked me whether i bought it. When i said no, i got it from the recycling bin. he said, i thought as much. haha.
Added. 7.2.10 I have been reading the above, and it struck me that it is strange for simon to ask me if i bought it.
I think it is because after he heard himself say he did not like the colour, he must have thought that soundedlike a criticism of my choice, if I had bought it. Simon used to be straight before and he had dealings with women who get v upset at things like that. that is why he asked me if i bought it. when i said i found it, he must have been rather relieved. haha.
i never buy anything nowadays when i can get them from the recycling bins.
There is one thing that is going old. The water closet. The flush mechanism is not flushing well now. it requires a sharp tug, which simon is not very good at. So that when he flushed it does not work for him.
i shall be rather sad if i have to replace it. i shall put that off for as long as i can.
Simon says he can open it up and see if it can be repaired, but i am rather afraid that the spare part may not be available nowadays.
You can see that i like to keep things for as long as possible rather than replace them. I find the new designs not so interesting as the old designs. Also, i just find it a lot of bother to take out the old and install the new.
i never buy anything nowadays when i can get them from the recycling bins.
There is one thing that is going old. The water closet. The flush mechanism is not flushing well now. it requires a sharp tug, which simon is not very good at. So that when he flushed it does not work for him.
i shall be rather sad if i have to replace it. i shall put that off for as long as i can.
Simon says he can open it up and see if it can be repaired, but i am rather afraid that the spare part may not be available nowadays.
You can see that i like to keep things for as long as possible rather than replace them. I find the new designs not so interesting as the old designs. Also, i just find it a lot of bother to take out the old and install the new.
(added 25.1.10.good news i got it working again).
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
report from london
london
Nevermind what u read in the papers about snow and disruption. It is not happening in London.
It was a very calm and mild night last night. I went out at about midnight, and was surprised at how mild it was.
But this morning, i woke to see it snowing, but very slight, and almost sleet rather than snow. Only a small sprinkle on the car tops, and the road was snow free. And it was very mild the temperature, which is not surprising because whenever it snows, the temperature goes up.
But of course, the newspapers were full of snow in the other parts of the country and busy reporting the disruptions.
last year at about this time , we had quite heavy snowfall enough to paralyse london. but this year, london has escaped lightly.
There is the usual report of old people dying. it is not unusual for old people to die, but because there is this cold, and the snow, every death is noted. Especially if the bodies have only been discovered after a few days. The relatives will complain why the social services did not do better, but no one questions why these relatives have so lost touch with their old ones that they did not know either. But no one wants to say that if they are so concerned about their old parents, how come they did not keep in touch themselves, or make sure there is someone to look after them.
I was at a tea party this afternoon about the old folks. It was by a group called help the elderly, whose volunteers make phone calls regularly to old people who asked for it.
There is no other contact except by phone and it is only to chat. I dont know if old people really want such a service.
I was thinking if i were very old, would i like to have a stranger call me regularly to ask me how i was, and chit chat? I dont think so. but then i am me, and i cannot really use myself as a example of what the majority of old folks like.
Would u like to be called for a chat by strangers when u r old?
I prefer to write emails actually.
But even now i dont do it with my friends, far less will i do it when i m old or older. (hang on, maybe i shall change my mind when i m really old; who knows!!!?)
There were sandwiches and scones with jam and cream, though i was so full eating the sandwiches i have no room for the scones.
One lady suggested she would like it if she can visit them and play scrabble or cards with them. maybe they can form a bridge club. i have a friend who plays bridge, and it seems to be of great interest to him.
I dont know how to play bridge. In fact, card games don't interest me. So that is that.
Someone , or maybe the same lady , suggested a book club.
I dont know what would interest me, in these old folks clubs.
One lady who is from another housing association, asked me if i wuld be interested in joining their lunch group. They get together for lunch and throw about suggestions and ideas. She mentioned collecting food, and clothes, which kind of interests me, as you know i like picking up things from recycling bins. And anything to eat at the lunch is always welcomed. haha.
So i agreed to it, and i shall see what comes of it.
The thing is I am the last person you would want to befriend if u r old. I am a bit impatient with the old. Even though i m going to go old myself and most probably will be as senile as some of them one day.
But i think i shall drop dead before i get really senile. haha. in the meantime, i exercise my mind, and be observant of everything around me, and ponder on things and come to conclusions, and even change my conclusions if other things i observe contradicts it. its a nice way of spending the time, and keeps the mind active and alert and inquisitive about what makes life and other people tick.
I read in today's financial times at my gym about a book 'the hidden wealth of nations' written by david halpern saying people can gain credits for looking after someone which they can spend on another person to look after their elderly parents on the other side of the country. no money change hands. payment is in kind. this system is working well in japan where there are plenty of old folks.
Its similar to LETS, the system of credits which can be exchanged for goods or services. Will it catch on? it might in terms of care. often one lives far from parents, and not able to be there to look after them. This way, u can look after someone else and have credit to have ur own parents looked after by someone who lives nearby.
Nevermind what u read in the papers about snow and disruption. It is not happening in London.
It was a very calm and mild night last night. I went out at about midnight, and was surprised at how mild it was.
But this morning, i woke to see it snowing, but very slight, and almost sleet rather than snow. Only a small sprinkle on the car tops, and the road was snow free. And it was very mild the temperature, which is not surprising because whenever it snows, the temperature goes up.
But of course, the newspapers were full of snow in the other parts of the country and busy reporting the disruptions.
last year at about this time , we had quite heavy snowfall enough to paralyse london. but this year, london has escaped lightly.
There is the usual report of old people dying. it is not unusual for old people to die, but because there is this cold, and the snow, every death is noted. Especially if the bodies have only been discovered after a few days. The relatives will complain why the social services did not do better, but no one questions why these relatives have so lost touch with their old ones that they did not know either. But no one wants to say that if they are so concerned about their old parents, how come they did not keep in touch themselves, or make sure there is someone to look after them.
I was at a tea party this afternoon about the old folks. It was by a group called help the elderly, whose volunteers make phone calls regularly to old people who asked for it.
There is no other contact except by phone and it is only to chat. I dont know if old people really want such a service.
I was thinking if i were very old, would i like to have a stranger call me regularly to ask me how i was, and chit chat? I dont think so. but then i am me, and i cannot really use myself as a example of what the majority of old folks like.
Would u like to be called for a chat by strangers when u r old?
I prefer to write emails actually.
But even now i dont do it with my friends, far less will i do it when i m old or older. (hang on, maybe i shall change my mind when i m really old; who knows!!!?)
There were sandwiches and scones with jam and cream, though i was so full eating the sandwiches i have no room for the scones.
One lady suggested she would like it if she can visit them and play scrabble or cards with them. maybe they can form a bridge club. i have a friend who plays bridge, and it seems to be of great interest to him.
I dont know how to play bridge. In fact, card games don't interest me. So that is that.
Someone , or maybe the same lady , suggested a book club.
I dont know what would interest me, in these old folks clubs.
One lady who is from another housing association, asked me if i wuld be interested in joining their lunch group. They get together for lunch and throw about suggestions and ideas. She mentioned collecting food, and clothes, which kind of interests me, as you know i like picking up things from recycling bins. And anything to eat at the lunch is always welcomed. haha.
So i agreed to it, and i shall see what comes of it.
The thing is I am the last person you would want to befriend if u r old. I am a bit impatient with the old. Even though i m going to go old myself and most probably will be as senile as some of them one day.
But i think i shall drop dead before i get really senile. haha. in the meantime, i exercise my mind, and be observant of everything around me, and ponder on things and come to conclusions, and even change my conclusions if other things i observe contradicts it. its a nice way of spending the time, and keeps the mind active and alert and inquisitive about what makes life and other people tick.
I read in today's financial times at my gym about a book 'the hidden wealth of nations' written by david halpern saying people can gain credits for looking after someone which they can spend on another person to look after their elderly parents on the other side of the country. no money change hands. payment is in kind. this system is working well in japan where there are plenty of old folks.
Its similar to LETS, the system of credits which can be exchanged for goods or services. Will it catch on? it might in terms of care. often one lives far from parents, and not able to be there to look after them. This way, u can look after someone else and have credit to have ur own parents looked after by someone who lives nearby.
http://www.youngfoundation.org/files/images/yf_publicservices_nov09_pressqual.pdf
Sunday, 10 January 2010
same plot
london
There are very few story plotlines, and this bears it out.
Pocahontas as retold as Avatar.
This is a script from pocahontas, reworked as Avatar and filmed in 3D.
I first saw it featured in today's feed for fail blog.
I supposed all the famous old films will be reissued in 3D now. I wonder whether it will be as far reaching as colour replacing black -and- white films. somehow i dont think so.
They will have to overcome the bother of wearing 3D spectacles.
there is even a book out about avatar's pandora world. i saw it at the library and borrowed it. I find it boring, but then i have not seen the film.
I discovered there is a lot of fun in finding things, and keeping them. I get a foretaste of what it is like to discover a new land, or a new invention. Finding things is like that, though on a much smaller less creative scale. And if i can find such pleasure finding these things, how much more the thrill in discovering new lands, or new inventions.
the big difference is that finding new lands and inventing stuff takes a lot of effort, whilst finding things is just a matter of happenstance, and keeping a eye on the lookout.
If i dont find things for a few days, I get withdrawal symptoms. somehow, life perks up a lot when i find things. My life is very simple indeed when i find so much pleasure in such small things. Some people might think that is a failure, but not to me. I like such small pleasures. I can control them.
Not for me the thrill of being stuck in the snow, or falling into a freezing lake, or chasing a thief to find when i catch up with him, i get stabbed for my trouble.
There are very few story plotlines, and this bears it out.
Pocahontas as retold as Avatar.
This is a script from pocahontas, reworked as Avatar and filmed in 3D.
I first saw it featured in today's feed for fail blog.
I supposed all the famous old films will be reissued in 3D now. I wonder whether it will be as far reaching as colour replacing black -and- white films. somehow i dont think so.
They will have to overcome the bother of wearing 3D spectacles.
there is even a book out about avatar's pandora world. i saw it at the library and borrowed it. I find it boring, but then i have not seen the film.
I discovered there is a lot of fun in finding things, and keeping them. I get a foretaste of what it is like to discover a new land, or a new invention. Finding things is like that, though on a much smaller less creative scale. And if i can find such pleasure finding these things, how much more the thrill in discovering new lands, or new inventions.
the big difference is that finding new lands and inventing stuff takes a lot of effort, whilst finding things is just a matter of happenstance, and keeping a eye on the lookout.
If i dont find things for a few days, I get withdrawal symptoms. somehow, life perks up a lot when i find things. My life is very simple indeed when i find so much pleasure in such small things. Some people might think that is a failure, but not to me. I like such small pleasures. I can control them.
Not for me the thrill of being stuck in the snow, or falling into a freezing lake, or chasing a thief to find when i catch up with him, i get stabbed for my trouble.
Thursday, 7 January 2010
creating
steaming hot beef stew which simon cooked just now and i m eating it. Nothing like hot stew on cold winter nights. lovely.london
Everywhere i read and see, everyone is telling me it is cold. And yet, I have not found it necessary to switch on the heating.
I know I am a contrarian, in that i am creating a life where i run counter to the norm. But does it also apply to something as temperature? One would think that is beyond dispute, right? It is either cold or not.
But I am beginning to discover that feeling cold is a subjective thing. The temperature says one thing, like for eg, now I see the website saying the temperature is 0,5C,in kensington. yet subjectively, in my flat now, it feels colder than last night when it was supposed to be -4C.
This morning it was supposed to be -4C too, but felt warmer. The sun was shining.
So I have simply ignored the figures. I just note them as a matter of curiosity, but when it comes to actually switching on the heater, I rely on my own feelings, and so far i have not felt it that cold to switch it on.
Well, those of u who have been reading the news and thinking everyone in UK must be freezing, u know at least one person who is not. haha.
I am warm as toast, only when i touch the surfaces of objects do i realise how cold they are.
Its really amazing how effective the fleece hoodie keeps me warm. I have only a t-shirt underneath. But i seal the neck with the hoodie and a scarf. That keeps the heat inside.
Now and then, I have to loosen the neck seal, to let heat out, so i dont get too warm.
I wonder if others also are experiencing the same thing, and are warm enough without having to warm up the room.
So far, no one else has my experience.
Maybe central london is snow free, and have not been hit hard by the snowfalls. There is hardly any snow where i live. And no snow falling today at all.
I can tell you now, as far as I am concerned, I dont believe the Met office anymore. They have lost all credibility. And i think they are a bunch of incompetents.
they predicted a warm winter, and just see what we got now haha...and lets not even talk about their barbeque summer prediction last year. Both were wrong.
Added. 4.2.10 According to the records this period is one of the coldest januaries. London's lowest temp today was -4.1C highest 0.7C. but as u can read from what i said in today's post, it did not feel cold in the flat.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
london
I have been doing the things i have always done, very enjoyable to me, but not something that is worth talking about nor to read about. It's one of those things where it is enjoyable to the person doing it, but not to read about.
as in a lot of things about life really.
and i think bloggers sooner or later find this out. that the little things that make life so enjoyable are somethings that just do not lend themselves to being written about. They sound dull on the written page.
So many bloggers try to do things and make themselves busy so they can have something to write about, and they tire themselves out. They either burn themselves out trying to find new things to write about or they give up.
I was walkng along to the gym this morning, and admiring the blue sky and thinking how glad i m to be living in london and being able to enjoy this blue sky, something that I remember seeing in malaysia during my youth, but sadly not any more what with the haze always present now.
And i wondered if this blue morning has always been there, even when man was not yet, and that this morning had been witnessed by the dinosaurs, and i wonder if they had looked on it with some degree of appreciation, too.
The thought came to mind something some one in a talk show said, that the present system rewards risk takers, and that should be changed.
But i suddenly realised that the whole of human civilisation is built on risk takers. Without them, there would for eg, be no vasco de gama going round the world, taking that first step into the unknown.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that the most successful economic system, this so called capitalist system, mimics this risk taking, and allow the wealth to be made so that we enjoy a standard of living that is the richest in history.
Of course, some of us laments it, frightened we are using up the earth's resources but the earth is always renewing and changing, and so if we dont use it, it might just as easily be destroyed in one of those catclysmic changes that the earth goes through now and then.
Nature has this rule, use it or lose it. If u look carefully at everything in nature, u can see it in action.
So those of us who wring our hands and lament at us destroying the earth, take heart, no need to despair. I know there will be people who will say dont bury ur head in the sand, with this attitude man will kill the earth. The earth has been here for ages, and i am sure it will be here long after we mankind has gone. it wont be the same earth, just like this earth now is not the same as long ago, but it is still here. haha.
In the meantime, enjoy the simple pleasures of being alive this day and age on this planet.
I have been doing the things i have always done, very enjoyable to me, but not something that is worth talking about nor to read about. It's one of those things where it is enjoyable to the person doing it, but not to read about.
as in a lot of things about life really.
and i think bloggers sooner or later find this out. that the little things that make life so enjoyable are somethings that just do not lend themselves to being written about. They sound dull on the written page.
So many bloggers try to do things and make themselves busy so they can have something to write about, and they tire themselves out. They either burn themselves out trying to find new things to write about or they give up.
I was walkng along to the gym this morning, and admiring the blue sky and thinking how glad i m to be living in london and being able to enjoy this blue sky, something that I remember seeing in malaysia during my youth, but sadly not any more what with the haze always present now.
And i wondered if this blue morning has always been there, even when man was not yet, and that this morning had been witnessed by the dinosaurs, and i wonder if they had looked on it with some degree of appreciation, too.
The thought came to mind something some one in a talk show said, that the present system rewards risk takers, and that should be changed.
But i suddenly realised that the whole of human civilisation is built on risk takers. Without them, there would for eg, be no vasco de gama going round the world, taking that first step into the unknown.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that the most successful economic system, this so called capitalist system, mimics this risk taking, and allow the wealth to be made so that we enjoy a standard of living that is the richest in history.
Of course, some of us laments it, frightened we are using up the earth's resources but the earth is always renewing and changing, and so if we dont use it, it might just as easily be destroyed in one of those catclysmic changes that the earth goes through now and then.
Nature has this rule, use it or lose it. If u look carefully at everything in nature, u can see it in action.
So those of us who wring our hands and lament at us destroying the earth, take heart, no need to despair. I know there will be people who will say dont bury ur head in the sand, with this attitude man will kill the earth. The earth has been here for ages, and i am sure it will be here long after we mankind has gone. it wont be the same earth, just like this earth now is not the same as long ago, but it is still here. haha.
In the meantime, enjoy the simple pleasures of being alive this day and age on this planet.
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