Yonner Blog!

Amsterdam is Hotting Up!!

Yonner — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 21:09:00 +0000

OK, well it might be time to put my money where my mouth is and go to Amsterdam. Here's the 5-day forecast (below). I think I'll make a decision and possibly book some flights/hotels tomorrow... maybe. I'm seeing my great-uncle Ronnie tonight and I'll see if he wants to come along.

Big Brother Gambling - Very Tempting!

Yonner — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 23:28:00 +0000

My Mum always said that addiction seems to run in our family. We've had alcoholics, drug addicts and gambling addicts. She thinks it is hereditory and always warned me to be careful around addictive things like drugs/drink/gambling. I like the idea of drugs, I can easily live without drink and I've always been drawn to gambling. So I guess she might have a point.

Now then.... I'm quite a big fan of Big Brother season 7 and this week there is a chap called Sezer (pictured above) who is absolutely, definately, positively going to get evicted tomorrow and there is nothing that could happen to change this.

Sooooooo, why not capitalise on this certainty by placing a hefty bet that he will get evicted? It seems like such an easy way to make money. I mean with horse races, anything can happen, horses can have a bad day or fall at hurdles etc. But with Big Brother and with this particular eviction it is just SOOOOOO definately going to be Sezer that it is tempting to place a huge bet and win a good bit of money.

I don't think I'll do it but I'm actually toying with the idea of placing a smaller bet but I know that if I do that then I'll probably keep going back for more and then I could have a problem on my hands. pah!!!

The odds are 7/1 ON that he will be eviced so even the bookies agree that he's definately going to go. But that just means that you have to stump up LOADS of cash to be able to win anything back. Now then... I could theoretically come up with £10,000 by borrowing (kind of) from an undisclosed source. So imagine if I did in fact place the bet and he did indeed get evicted. I would win £1428 plus my £10,000 back. Hmmm, that's not a lot of winnings compared with how much I would have to put down. But it is a full month's wage for a lot of people and is more than I've been living off for the past 2 years. Update: The odds have now gone to 14/1 on which means winnings on a £10,000 bet would now be only about £700.

So let's just pretend that I just placed a bet of £10,000 on Sezer to evicted ok? Call back tomorrow night to see if I would have won or not.

UPDATE:
As predicted, Sezer was evicted last night. Had I bet £10k, I would have just won £2500. But having thought about it for the past couple of days betting isn't really the best way to make money. Working hard at a career is the best way to get some guaranteed money coming through the door. So I'll stick to that option for now I think :)

blah blah blah, I'll leave it there!
later
yonner

The Yonner Discussion Forum

Yonner — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 01:45:00 +0000

Well... here goes something.
There is now a shiny new discussion forum on this website. If you look over to the right of the screen you'll see the new link that says "Discussion Forum". Click that link and then join in (or start) with some lively debate about the important issues of the day.

So... I want to see plenty of this:

Some of this:

and occasionally some of this:

Play nicely, see you in the forum ok?

Amsterdam Weather Watch

Yonner — Mon, 29 May 2006 00:28:00 +0000

So.... you good people need to keep an eye on THIS PAGE for me. It's the Amsterdam weather forecast page. As soon as the temparature looks like hitting approx 20 - 25 celcius with good sun and not much wind I'm gonna book a flight and take off. Probably going on my own but I've invited my great uncle Ronnie along too (pictured below).

anyway, that's all for now.
I mowed the lawn today so I might post again with some pics/vids of that exciting occasion.

how many 80+ year olds do you know that crawl underneath a piano armed with a torch?

nice action shot.

mp3 / video alerts

Yonner — Wed, 08 Sep 2004 16:26:00 +0000

Flippin' Mortgage Approval

Yonner — Thu, 25 May 2006 17:54:31 +0000

This. is. a historic. moment.
On the 25th of May 2006 a mortgage company who have never actually met me or spoken to me have decided that they are going to lend me (and my hannah) a big stack of cash so that I can buy a large pile of neatly arranged bricks (pictured above).

This is good news... but when you have to wait over a month for a piece of good news, it kinda loses some of its excitement value. And when you mix that feeling with other feelings like being a bit sad to leave your current pile of bricks and being slightly anxious about the future, then this piece of good news can start to look remarkeably like one of those character building excercises that your parents always said you'd have to go through.

So bring it on. New lifestyle (to a degree). New group of friends (to a degree). New adjoined neighbours (hope they aren't mental or anything). New garden to mow and dig (it's much smaller but much less overlooked than current one). New flippin' set of bills and stuff like that. New flippin' parking situation to figure out (eek!). New flippin' thingy where I'll have to wash my pots quicker than I currently do (I'm gonna buy a desktop dishwasher actually). New flippin' flippin' flippin' flippin'..... flippin'.......... flippin'........ walls to paint and flippin' floors to rip up and put down again and flippin' bathroom to move upstairs and flippin' move all stuff from my current flippin' house to the other flippin' house and then maybe flippin' dig up all my shrubs and plants from the current flippin' backgarden and then pot them and flippin' maybe plant them in my flippin' new backgarden or what-flippin'-ever.

Flippin' Mortgage!
With good flippin' news like this who flippin' needs bad flippin' news.

I think I'm stressed (this is a new concept!)

Might Pop to Europe Maybe

Yonner — Sun, 21 May 2006 00:38:00 +0000

click map to enlarge:

I've just been hit with an urge to drive to Europe for few days and then come home again. My route would possibly be:

Day 1
Manchester to Ashford Eurotunnel (5 hours)
ashford to paris (? hours)
paris to luxembourg (5 hours)
Stay the night in Luxembourg

Day 2
luxembourg to Cologne (4 hours)
Cologne to Dortmund (1 hour)
Dortmund to Amsterdam (4 hours)
Stay the night in Amsterdam

Day 3
Spend all morning & afternoon in Amsterdam with Lucy (the girl from the sky with the diamonds... just kidding)
Amsterdam to Rotterdam (1 hour)
Rotterdam to Hull (? hours, overnight ferry)

Day 4
Hull to home in time for lunch

So that's about 23 hours driving and 2 (or maybe 3) nights sleeping out on the continent. I would hope to find some pool halls in every town I stopped in and just try and play some pool with the local folk. That would be cool as long as they didn't follow me outside and then steal my belongings.

I will be armed with my trusty European Sattelite Navigation unit. Without it I suspect I would never find my way out of England to be honest.

UPDATE!!!
OK I've slept on this idea now and I think what I might do is just get a quick flight into Amsterdam, stay 2 nights, then come home again. Much simpler and cheaper I think :) I was going to go this coming Tuesday but just checked the 5-day weather forecast (below) and think I'll wait until it says "scorchio"

So yes, that's the new plan. Wait until it gets warm in Amsterdam, then just go to Amsterdam... and find a pool hall.

What Defines who you are?!

Yonner — Sat, 20 May 2006 23:32:31 +0000

I saw a film today and it contained the following line (or words to the effect)

"You are what you defend, what you stand up for. That's what defines who you are"

So.... if you can identify the things that you defend and stick up for then it is those things that define your character. It's a simple concept but seems quite spot-on actually don't you think?

I'll leave it there :)
Mark

Becky Platonic (new mp3)

Yonner — Sun, 14 May 2006 14:39:00 +0000

Yet another new mp3. Sorry if you don't like these but I kinda like recording songs even if I'm rarely happy with how they turn out. Here's the story behind this one...

I recently made a new friend
she happens to be a single female
I happen to have a girlfriend
Some of my neighbours acuse me of getting up to no good
I'm not getting up to no good, we are just mates
So I wrote a song, and it's called...

Becky Platonic:
Click here to download/listen to the mp3

But anyway, if you listen let me know what you think.
thanks
yonner

Yonner MP3s

Yonner — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 00:01:00 +0000

mrs nobody - words: zoe greenwood / music: yonner & martens
soap 'n' bubbles - words & music: yonner
keep smiling - words & music: yonner
pretty eyes words & music: yonner
your own elliott - words & music: yonner
i love you but it's purely platonic - words & music: yonner
[older stuff available on request]

cover tunes

twilight - words/music: elliott smith
like spinning plates - words/music: radiohead

stupid/weird/rubbish yonner original tracks

8 and a half years (talking over music) - words & music: yonner
squeak (instrumental) - words & music: yonner
central heating (stupid) - words & music: yonner

List of Cool Things I do online

Yonner — Tue, 09 May 2006 11:15:00 +0000

Here are some of the cooler things to do online:

BBC Interview Wrong Man"
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... AGHHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHHA HA AH HA HA HA HA HAH AHH AH AH HAH AHAH HA HA HA HA HAHA H AHAH AHA.......... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. You just HAVE to watch this video:

And then click here to read the full story

DiggNation
There is a site called digg.com that is basically a news source for geek issues and they release a weekly podcast (video diary) where the founders of digg look back over the best news stories from that week.

Here is a sample issue for you to have a look at:

If you want more episodes, look here or better yet subscribe to the podcast (you need itunes first) by clicking here so that their next episodes are downloaded to your PC automatically.

enjoy that.

Subservient Chicken
This is one of the old classics and it is still very entertaining. Just visit www.subservientchicken.com and type in any command you can think of and the chicken on the screen will then do it. Give it a try, GO ON!!!!

Human BeatBox
This is just a fun video. Definately worth 3 minutes of your time. Click Here to watch the video, it will start playing on its own

Extreme Gardening

Yonner — Mon, 01 May 2006 17:33:00 +0000

So basically, there's no such thing as extreme gardening but if there was it would look something like this:

Here's what's going on:

1. Go to garden centre (approx. August) and spend £10 on bulbs
2. Think about planting them for several months
3. Keep thinking about planting them until summer is almost here
4. Watch as the bulbs lose patience with you and just start growing without any soil or water
5. That's EXTREME GARDENING!!!!!!

So there you go. Extreme gardening - look out for it at the next Olympic games. blah blah blah whatever whatever yadda.

Here's some more pics from today:

Apparently, American folk don't really use washing lines anymore and they scoff at us European folk who still like to use them. So this next photo is dedicated to our carbon-consuming, convenience-loving, wasteline-growing American cousins:

Here's the flowers from my plum tree. Soon they'll die and little green plums will start growing and then they'll turn purple and will fall off and get thrown at my neighbours when they least expect it:

I went to the garden centre and bought a tree. Here is me and Olivia from next door posing next to the nice, new, big tree. Click the photo for a bigger version

I actually tried to bring the tree home in my nice big volvo car (my volvo photo) but it wouldn't fit so I went home and got my big transit van instead. I left the tree in the carpark and when I returned it had gone. I was depressed, I thought someone had stolen my £27.50 brand new tree. And then I saw it in the corner of a storage area and heard a man say "it was just there in the car park". So I walked over and claimed it and blah blah and everyone lived happily ever after.

The question I need help with is should I have 1 tree or 2. Here is an edited version of the above photo showing 2 trees instead of 1. What do you think? 1 or 2?

WOOHOO!

"Your Own Elliott" (new mp3)

Yonner — Sat, 13 May 2006 14:37:00 +0000

So I've just finished a new mp3. It's called "Your Own Elliott" and is about the cult musician Elliott Smith (above) who killed himself in 2003 aged 34 after battling with drugs and depression. If you listen to this song without knowing the full story of Elliott smith it will sound a bit weird and pointless perhaps, so here is an introuduction to Elliott:

Essential Listening: (use limewire to get these tracks)
Tomorrow Tomorrow
The White Lady Loves you More
Needle in the Hay
Miss Misery (from "goodwill hunting" soundtrack)

Essential Reading:
Wikipedia article on his later years & death
Elliott Smith Discussion Forum

Essential Watching
Here is a video of ES at the Oscars. I love this video. It's quite a nervous performance but the whole juxtoposition (I hate that word) of him playing at the Oscars is just great.

Celine Dion won the Oscar with "my heart will go on" so there you go.

And here's another video showing a full 50 minute live gig. I havent' watched this all through myself yet but it sounds good judging from the first song. Video quality is terrible but that makes it better if you ask me (the whole lo-fi thing you see)

If nothing else, try and get hold of those above tracks. They're very "lo-fi" kind of songs but have more raw emotion and power than any super-produced commercial rock music. But it's definately an acquired taste.

Anyway, here's my little tune. It's no masterpiece and the recording quality is pretty dodgy and the singing is deliberately lazy. Was that self-deprecating enough for you?

MP3:
yonner - your own elliot

whatever
mark

#13 Driving & BMX etc

Yonner — Mon, 08 May 2006 00:49:00 +0000

Well, here's episode 13. It features bad hats, bad hair, driveby shooting and some bmxing and skating. Click play below to start the video. Or if you want to watch it in full screen goodness Click Here and then click the button.

if you watch it please post a comment below :)
Thanks
Yonner

Yonner Videos

Yonner — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 22:55:00 +0000

Video Diaries

#13 BMXing and Driving etc
#12 Gemma Goes Off on One
#11 Fire Brigade Rescue Me
#10 Snowboarding & Girlfriend
#9 BMX-Cam
#8 Egg Tom Foolery
#7 Water & Fire get mixed
#6 Gaz eats Cigarette Ash
#5 Meet Luke & Dave
#4 Fire gets Thrown
#3 The Pope has an Email Address
#2 Neighbour's Cat Sniffs
#1 Not Much Happens

Music Videos

Keep Smiling (small - 2MB)
Keep Smiling (big - 16MB)
Mrs Nobody Dance Step (1MB)
Soap n Bubbles (by Jamo)
Pretty Eyes (small - 250kb. Made by Jamo)

Misc. Vids

My Car's Funeral (7MB)
BMX Cam

Welcome to Cousin Steven

Yonner — Tue, 02 May 2006 00:42:16 +0000

If you watched episode #10 of my video diary you will have heard my cousin Steven (aged about 51) talking over one of the karaoke singers. Well, I've been back out with him and my great uncle Ronnie again tonight and I just have to share this pearl of wisdom that he brought. It went something like this:

Steven:
Mark, let me tell you, I remember when I was a kid that most men had gone bald by the time they were 45 because of the fog that was around in those days caused by the chimneys of coal fires and the mills.

I couldn't stop laughing (he had a straight face the whole time too, deadly serious) and he also told the same fact to my Uncle Ronnie and their drinking friend, Arthur. They both told him he was wrong and he ended up apparently accepting that he was wrong but it was hilarious to think that he seriously believed that when he was a kid all men were bald at age 45 because of the heavy fog in those days.

Ah, so much fun. It then turned to religion a little later on which ended up as more of an argument than a discussion so that was a bit less enjoyable but there we go.

Cat Poo = Discrimination against Dogs

Yonner — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 23:35:00 +0000

Today I came to a startling conclusion that the world's dogs are being unfairly discriminated against. I present my case thusly...

The first 2 photos below show what I find in my garden on a regular basis.

Yes, it's cat poo. I probably shredded about 10 separate cat poos today whilst mowing my lawn.

Now consider the following image:

There are laws against dog owners but not cat owners. If a cat poos on your lawn you are expected to be tolerant and say "oh aren't cats cute" but if a dog poos on your lawn people are far more likely to say "Oi!! Come back here and clean this poo off my lawn". I can't figure that one out.

So anyway rather than sit and moan I decided to try and find a safe, effective, non-cruel way to deter cats from pooing in my garden so I have bought this item off ebay. I don't yet know what it is but the seller will hopefully send me the solution tomorrow. I checked his feedback and there were a lot of people saying "wow, it really works" and stuff like that. Seems genuine too. So I'm excited to see what it involves but I always love a good challenge like this so it should be fun really.

Now then, here's some photos of my gardening exploits from today:
Here are the before and after shots for when I mowed the lawn:
(click photos to enlarge)

Before

After

I know what you're thinking... it looked better before but anyway, it needed doing so I just did it.

And finally, here's a shot showing a danilion that was about to meet with its maker [insert evil laugh with lots of reverb]

I will keep you updated about the cat poo detterrent. Should be a fun adventure even if it doesn't work!

Update:
I've now received the new detterent instructions. It involves burying some really stinky liquid from the DIY shop. Hmmm, was hoping for something more exciting than that but I'll give it a go :)

#12 Gemma Goes Off on One

Yonner — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 10:18:00 +0000

Bonjour and welcome to episode #12 of my video diary. This one stars my next-door-but-one neighbour Gemma who went "off on one" the other night. Press play below to watch the video. The main bit of the video is about 4 minutes long but then I've tagged about 10 minutes worth of bonus footage on the end.

If you want to watch it full-screen goodness CLICK HERE and then click the button.

Anyway, here's the vid:

Gemma has asked for lots of fanmail so if you watch the video please do leave your comment below :)

until next time,
keep on yonning

Do you like Kebabs?

Yonner — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 22:23:00 +0000

My [potential] New House

Yonner — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 10:08:00 +0000

Poor quality photo yes, but here is the house that I'm trying to buy, providing my mortgage application goes through OK. And yes, it says "bus stop" in huge yellow letters right outside the front garden. I think that adds to the cool factor actually.

and here's a birdseye view. It's the end house at the bottom of the photo. There is a park just up there which is a dead nice.

Gonna be on the Tele .... (again!)

Yonner — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 22:45:00 +0000

Today was quite exciting in a slightly "de ja vous" kind of way. A TV crew descended upon my life (again) and proceeded to poke and prod at my life (again) until I was left feeling used, exploited and humiliated. Anyway, I'm lieing of course - I loved the attention and would do it all again anytime. Photos and stuff below...

So here's a few photos that I took throughout the day. I also took some video footage which I will no doubt edit into a new video diary when I can be bothered. I currently have a long list of things labelled "need to do, but can't be bothered". So I'll add this video to somewhere in the middle of that list. Incidentally, other items on that list include editing 3 separate wedding videos for friends/relatives (ugh!), tax the car, paint the bathroom and improve personal hygiene. That last item has been on the list for at least 5 years now and it just won't go away!!

Anyway, I digress!

Here's the motley crew that turned up on my doorstep getting the neighbours all excited.

The lady on the right in the photo above is the producer, Katy (not Kate). She's probably saying something like "can we do that again but with more va va voom" or words to that effect.

The next photo is the soundman:

Doesn't he look like he loves his job? [mental note: don't go into sound engineering - very poor job satisfaction!]

And here's the cameraman for the day (he kept calling me a "blogger" like it was an insult - like, he'd say "oi blogger get out the way" or something like that. It was quite chucklesome actually :)

Point of interest: He's pointing that camera right into my bedroom window where the TV presenter (Dom) is lurking with a microphone ready to peep through the curtains after his cue and say "This bedroom stinks!!!". Well, he didn't say that actually, but he was probably thinking it :)

...and for those of you out there who are bursting to find out what's in the back of a cameraman's van, well here's a photo that I know will excite you beyond reasonable levels:

Yeah? excited? good!

And then we moved onto my warehouse down the road where I store some pianos.

[lie]Turns out they wanted me to record a full album's worth of musical material that they are going to send to the X-Factor producers - THANKS GUYS!!! [/lie]

Here's me enjoying the limelight:

I also had to sit through an interview which lasted about an hour or more and went pretty well, although I know I'll still come out of it looking/sounding like a gimp!! - incidentally, the cameradude said I sounded like Gary Barlow from the boyband "take that" and whilst we're on about lookalikes they also told me I looked like Michael Owen, Noel Gallagher and Marlon Dingle from Emmerdale.

So.... I think the below photo is the mental image that they all have of me:

Gee, thanks chaps!

And now, the obligatory "can I have my photograph taken with you please?" shot:

Cheers Dom!
My neighbour/friend/personal chef Tracey from next door saw Dom on the street and was all like "Hey, look, I saw him on the telly last night!!" DEEP BREATHS TRACEY!!

Whilst I'm on about neighbours, there was also donna and jamie from next door (to the left), tracey, ella and olivia from the other next door, some other girly who I don't know, and a couple of neighbourhood cats all huddled around watching the TV people do their TV thing. It was quite an event. Shame everyone else was at work really.

OK, too much blabbering, not enough photographs, I know, I'm sorry. I'm trying!! OK, what next...

OK, so the lighting/cameraman did his lighting thing and I was acused of taking a photo of his bellybutton:

I plead "very not guilty" to the charges of bellybutton photographing. OK, what next?

Ah yes, the soundman spent some of the time playing the piano (rather nicely too, I might add.... cough/snigger)

...and some of the time just generally scratching himself:

OK, what else. Ah yes, I found it quite interesting that these TV people were actually able to harness the power of the moon and bring it indoors to illuminate the... uhm... set.

Mysterious Moon Photo #1

Mysterious Moon Photo #2

I can't fully explain how they managed it but it seems as if that angular object on the right has something to do with it because it is present in both of the "mysterious moon" shots. It doesn't really matter how they did it, the point is that it worked very well.

OK, looking down my list I appear to have now used up all the photos from today. I did take some video footage too but that will have to wait until another day or something or other perhaps. Sorry to Ross and Helen for not putting any photos of them up yet - hopefully you'll both be on the pending video instead!!

UPDATE!!!
Yes, so, the whole reason that these strange people came pointing strange cameras at me and asking strange questions with their strange accents and strange..... OK I've run out of strange things but anyway, the reason these nice people were hear is because a while back I filmed (video camera'd?) a policeman assaulting a member of the public. It got all over the TV news and stuff and then it died away. Now occasionally, a media company will want to make a TV program about police brutality or about home movie vigilantes or something like that and so they check their archives and realise that they want to use my video and also interview me for their "piece". So I get an occasional request for permission to use the footage and to interview me. Sometimes I say "no" and sometimes I say "yeah go on then". This time, I got a good vibe about what they wanted to do with the footage so I said "yeah go on then" and so they all turned up on my doorstep today. OK, so there we go, you're all up to date now. Sorry that I told you the introduction at the end of this post instead of the beginning but this is my blog and I make up the rules. If you don't e-like it, you know where the e-door is. e-thank you!

911 Conspiracy Video

Yonner — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 01:30:00 +0000

I never thought I'd fall for a conspiracy theory but yes, this one has fuddled my mind a bit. Here is the Google Video where you can watch the 2 hour video showing lots of areas of confusion relating to the 911 attacks on New York etc.

Click Below to Watch Video
Click Here to Watch the Video

Related Links:
Loose Change
Official Site of the people who produced the above video. I just ordered the DVD so I can watch it in better clarity as much of the above video is too blurry to see/read clearly.

A thorough analysis of the video by a sceptic

I need to read into this a lot more but in the meantime here is a good quote which explains why we shouldn't simply dismiss all conspiracy theories:

The prevailing sentiment of those who consider themselves "mainstream" is that videos such as "Loose Change" are to be rejected out of hand. Most of the posts here take this attitude. This is indicative of the so-called "mainstream" mindset. "Mainstreamers" have been assigned the high moral ground by the powers that be. Their way of thinking is therefore considered "normal", they are considered "acceptable" and "normal"!

The problem with being "mainstream" is that it requires one to rigidly blockout any way of thinking that is considered outside of the mainstream. This amounts to self censorship or even self-delusion in it's extreme manifestations. The Truth is certainly not exclusive to the "mainstream" nor is it exclusive to "alternative" viewpoints. Truth can only be arrived at, by a careful consideration of the two. Blocking out alternative or non-mainstream views merely prevents one from seeing things that are deliberately concealed from the "mainstream" by the 'powers that be'. In reality, what's considered "mainstream" today, is actually a carefully controlled perception of reality. It's main function is to carefully manage what people think by completely controlling what they see, and hear, in the mainstream media.

'Loose Change' and other productions of this genre, attempt to introduce the mainstream audience to information that's been deliberately hidden, because it tends to destroy the controlled "mainstream" reality. Mainstreamers tend to fight to stay within the safety of their mindset, as it's both "comforting" and "acceptable". They share a considerable aversion to anything that is considered "conspiracy theories" or "unacceptable". Such things are therefore to be resisted, even if they are true! For the true mainstream mind, it's more important to avoid being considered a "conspiracy theorist" than any other consideration! Mainstreamers are also fully convinced that the world can always be explained by "mainstream" explanations and positions. For them, an "expert" opinion, trumps all other points of view. They generally feel there's no need to look outside of "mainstream" territory for explanations for things like 9/11, JFK, etc.

So-called "Conspiracy Theorists" by contrast, attempt to deal with the facts of these specific cases, without limiting the disscussion to "mainstream" explanations or positions. These people are more concerned with arriving at the truth than being "mainstream" or "acceptable". They're willing to let the chips fall where they may so to speak. Hence "conspiracy theorists" find themselves uncovering information which the "mainstreamer" feels compelled to blockout or ridicule.

Mainstreamers would be wise to consider the fact that In order to effectively understand complex issues like 9/11, the JFK case etc. one must be capable of venturing outside of the controlled mainstream perception of reality. Without such fundamental courage and determination, a true understanding of these events is impossible.

House Offer Accepted

Yonner — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 22:20:18 +0000

This post isn't really in-keeping with what I normally post about but its a big issue for me (kind of) so thought I'd post it anyway. (I always seems to write blabby introduction to these kind of posts too).

So I'm buying a housey with my girly friendy.
We found a house that we liked
We put an offer it last week
The offer was rejected last week
We increased the offer a little this week
The offer was accepted today
I have to prove my income next week which could be where the whole plan falls apart and I could come out of it all with no house and a very red face. Hope that doesn't happen because I'm now quite excited to get this new house. Sad to leave my current home but excited to get on the propery ladder back in my home town.

Charlie the Unicorn - Candy Mountain

Yonner — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 08:47:00 +0000

Here's a funny little cartoon (I found it funny anyway). Click below and it should load/play within about 20 seconds.

Click Here to Watch the Cartoon

you like?

Philosophical Blabberage

Yonner — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 00:01:16 +0000

Warning:
This post contains pretty much no humour and no silliness. I'm in a babbling & philosophical mood so I'm just going to spend a few paragraphs babbling on about some stuff. You've been warned ok?

Some people seem to be able to maintain the same mood every day, like they really know what's going on in their life and so there is no need for them to change mood at all, ever.

(Here comes the self-obsessed part, concentrate)
I, on the other hand, seem to swing between being very happy with the world and everyone around me to being suddenly straight-faced and subdued and not really sure what people think of me or what I think of myself (how very "OC" of me)

I don't normally delve into my psychology on this blog but I'm currently in one of those straight-faced kind of moods so I thought I'd jot down the contents of my head... just for the sake of it really.

So yeah, I think it boils down to insecurities and an occasional crisis of self-confidence. I kinda get the idea that I'm an OK guy and that people around me think I'm an OK guy but then its quite easy to wobble off that platform so that you suddenly start thinking that maybe people just tolerate you and put up with you but really they think you're just some weirdo who smells like yesterday's dirty washing (ha, look, some humour crept into this post after all!!).

But thankfully that feeling usually passes by the next day and I'm suddenly happy again. But it would be nice not to have those strange blips of insecurity. Maybe its normal, maybe everyone is like that to an extent, I dunno.

ANYWAY..... on a more positive note, me and my girlfriend have found a house that we are going to make an offer on (just decided this a few minutes ago with her). I like it a lot but she doesn't really like it but she's ready to get on the property ladder soon and this house has a lot going for it: nice house, lovely park just 50 yards away, its near family & friends, its back where we both grew up so its where we feel "at home", the price seems good but there are plenty of improvements to be made inside (£££). So we're gonna go for it we think.

I'll be really really really sad to leave my current home as I've had a very good 2 years here. I've learnt lots about life in general, about respect, about honesty & integrity, about the different socialising methods of different types of people, about social hierarchies, about being loyal to your friends and speaking up for your friends in their absense.

Also, I've made about 20 friends. That's amazing really. 20 friends from living on 1 street for 2 years. My main fear about getting a house 2 years ago was that I would lock myself away in a back room and not speak to anyone in my neighbourhood, but 2 years later I've made 20 friends. So that's very cool. The interesting thing is that out of those 20 friends, very few of them have been "my kind of people" and so I've had to persevere, make allowances and adapt my own outlook in order to gel with them. This has been a very good learning experience for me really. I've got my old lifelong friends from wayback when who I know how to interact with and get along with and we're on the same wavelength. Then I've had my university friends who were a different kettle of fish but still similar in social interaction styles and a very similar wavelength. And then there's been my neighbours who have been yet another kettle of fish a whole new wavelength. I've not been able to use any of my existing social skills that I've picked up through life with these new friends & neighbours. It's been like starting again at age 3 learning how to communicate all over again and how to respond to certain situations and conversational styles. It's been very weird and it has changed me quite a lot actually. It's changed me for the better I suppose, I've lived and learned. But now the time is coming to move on, and that's very very very very very very very very very very very very sad for me. I'm sure I'll shed a few tears when I move out of this house.... but saying that, I cry at Disney movies too !! No but seriously, I will sorely miss this house and everything that went with it.

I think I'm a braver person now, a more outgoing person. More confident about my opinions, less embarrassed about my own individual set of core values and ethics. More likely to say "yes" to new experiences. More likely to trust people not to think I'm a spaz (forgive my use of such a horrid word) if I let them get to know me. More likely to make sure I treat my girlfriend as an equal for the rest of my life, and to never put her down or tell her she's rubbish/stupid/fat etc.

This post has totally gone or for long enough already. I don't imagine anyone is still reading this but then I wrote it for myself really, just to get this stuff jotted down before the thoughts pass.

So now, I must strive forward into the realms of house ownership, marriage, parenthood and family building. I have every confidence that I'll make a good go of it and that I'll live a happy "phase 2" of my life. I can't wait to have kids and I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy every minute of parenthood. Even when it gets tough I think that I'll still be enjoying the ride.

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