Walking in the Shadows

Random musings from Warwickshire on life in general... Things that make me laugh, make me cry, things that wind me up beyond all endurance - and everything in between.

Jokes from across the pond...

Well, they say that laughter is the best medicine.. And I'm inclined to agree, as I've done nothing but laugh this afternoon... And all because of jokes that have been sent to me by American friends...

These jokes will make people wince, but all will have the same effect of making you smile.. If you have a warped sense of humour that it!

This is the first one that I got sent...

A little old lady is walking down the street, dragging two plastic garbage bags with her, one in each hand. There's a hole in one of the bags, and every once in a while a $20 bill is flying out of it onto the pavement.

Noticing this, a policeman stops her...."Ma'am, there are $20 bills falling out of that bag..."

"Damn!" says the little old lady....."I'd better go back and see if I can still find some. Thanks for the warning!"

"Well, now, not so fast," says the cop. "How did you get all that money? Did you steal it?"

"Oh, no", says the little old lady. "You see, my back yard backs up to the parking lot of the football stadium. Each time there's a game, a lot of fans come and pee in the bushes, right into my flower beds!"

"So, I go and stand behind the bushes with a big hedge clipper, and each time someone sticks his little thingie through the bushes, I say: $20 or off it comes!"

"Hey, not a bad idea!" laughs the cop. "OK, good luck! By the way, what's in the other bag?"

"Well," says the little old lady, "not all of them pay up!"

The second one was this one:

For those of you in the shoplight gang, and other mechanics, wives of mechanics, and otherwise foolhardy individuals with the moxy to tackle the untamable beast in your garage!

TOOL DEFINITIONS:

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, splattering it against that freshly painted part you were drying.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprint whorls and hard-earned guitar calluses in about the time it takes you to say, "Ouch...."

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Used to round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub that you want the bearing out of.

WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older British cars and motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 9/16 or 1/2 socket you've been searching for the last 15 minutes.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new disk brake pads, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

EIGHT-FOOT LONG DOUGLAS FIR 2 X 4: Used for levering an automobile upward off a hydraulic jack handle.

TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters.

PHONE: Tool for calling your neighbors to see if he has another hydraulic floor jack.

SNAP-ON GASKET SCRAPER: Theoretically useful as a sandwich tool for spreading mayonnaise; used mainly for getting dog crap or horse crap off your boots.

E-Z OUT BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool ten times harder than any known drill bit that snaps off in bolt holes you couldn't use anyway.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the tensile strength on everything you forgot to disconnect.

CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 16-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A large pry bar that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end opposite the handle.

AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw.

SHOP LIGHT: The home mechanic's own tanning booth. Sometimes called a drop light, it is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," which is not otherwise found under cars at night. Health benefits aside, it's main purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at about the same rate that 105-mm howitzer shells might be used during, say, the first few hours of the Battle of the Bulge. More often dark than light, its name is somewhat misleading. (also used to sear permanent scar onto back of hand as initiation ritual, signifying membership into garage floor mechanic gang aka: the 'Shoplight Boyz')

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the lids of old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splash oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a coal-burning power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air that travels by hose to a Chicago Pneumatic impact wrench that grips rusty bolts last over tightened 58 years ago by someone at ERCO, and neatly rounds off their heads.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50¢ part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to cut hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts not far from the object we are trying to hit.

MECHANIC'S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts.

DAMMIT TOOL: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling "DAMMIT" at the top of your lungs. It is also the next tool that you will need.

EXPLETIVE: A balm, usually applied verbally in hindsight, which somehow eases those pains and indignities following our every deficiency in foresight.

Guess I'd better do some work, but I've got to admit, I'm clock watching, as I'm hoping to finish early today (as in finish at about 16:30....)

Back when I get the chance.

Karen.

I walk where others fear to tread

On the verge of tears...

Well, today's one of those days that I could have really done without coming into work. My emotions are all over the place, and I just about know which way is up.

It wouldn't be so bad, but it's one of those situations that means I'm trying to hide how I'm feeling from my colleagues, and I'm having a tough time avoiding questions as to why I'm so quiet - normally, I'm laughing, joking and taking the piss as much as I possibly can... I guess the way I feel can be summed up by the Bryan Adams song - On a day like today:

Is there anybody out there?
Anyone that's loved in vain
Anyone that feels the same

Is there anybody waiting?
Waiting for a chance to win
To give it up and start again

We all need something new
Something that is true
And someone else to feel it too

I feel so high - no one else would know it
I don't know why I feel the way I do
I can't let go - and I'm not scared to show it
'Cuz being here feels right
Tell me - how do you feel tonight?

Is there anybody out there?
Anyone that can't explain
Anyone that feels no pain

Is there anybody dreaming
Dreaming of a better day
When everything goes your way

We all need something new
Something that is true
And someone else to feel it too
Someone just like you


 But, at the moment, all I can do is wait to talk to the person who means the most to me, and knows just how to make me laugh, and brighten my mood...

Guess I should call this entry quits - I'm supposed to be working, but to be honest, I'm really not in the right frame of mind to do anything - apart from look for a dark corner to curl up in, and try to regain some kind of emotional control....

Back later - if I'm in the right frame of mind.

Karen.

I walk where others fear to tread

At work, and I'm bored...

Well, this looks like it's going to be one of those days where I'm bored out of my brain cell. My favourite e-mail contact isn't in the office today, so there's no chance of me getting anything daft sent through to me...

But I did get a couple of gems sent to me, whilst I was away from the office....

When four of Santa's elves got sick, and the trainee elves did not produce the toys as fast as the regular ones, Santa was beginning to feel the pressure of being behind schedule.

Then Mrs. Claus told Santa that her Mum was coming to visit.

This stressed Santa even more. When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two had jumped the fence and were out, heaven knows where. More stress.

Then when he began to load the sleigh one of the boards cracked, and the toy bag fell to the ground and scattered the toys.

So, frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered that the elves had hidden the liquor, and there was nothing to drink.

In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider pot, and it broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the kitchen floor.

He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten the straw end of the broom. Just then the doorbell rang, and irritable Santa trudged to the door.

He opened the door, and there was a little angel with a great big Christmas tree. The angel said, very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't it a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?"

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.

The other gem came in from an America friend, as is quite good....

One beautiful December evening Pedro and his girlfriend Rosita were sitting by the side of the ocean. It was a romantic full moon, when Pedro said, "Hey, mamacita, let's play Weeweechu."

"Oh no, not now, lets look at the moon" said Rosita.

"Oh, c'mon baby, let's you and I play Weeweechu. I love you and it's the perfect time," Pedro begged.

"But I wanna just hold your hand and watch the moon."


"Please, corazoncito, just once, play Weeweechu with me."

Rosita looked at Pedro and said, "OK, one time, we'll play Weeweechu."

Pedro grabbed his guitar and they both sang.....

"Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, "Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year."

Merry Christmas !!!!!

[NOW ! GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER!]

Hmm - guess I should think about doing some w*rk, but I'm suffering a case of TNFI....

Back later if I get the chance.

Karen.

I walk where others fear to tread

Post Christmas madness

Well, either I'm getting more cynical in my old age, or people are becoming less tolerant as the year moves towards its end.

Mum and I were planning on going to Milton Keynes today, but as usual, the great British weather decided to intervene to change our plans - meaning that Mum and I ended up going into Coventry.

Since the closure of a couple of the big(ish) stores, the city seems to be dying on its feet. The only department stores that the city has, as BHS, Debenhams and Marks & Spencer - but you get all of these in Banbury - where the parking is a damned sight cheaper (and easier), and you get Marks & BHS in Solihull - as well as Beatties and John Lewis.

I know this sounds like I'm knocking Coventry - far from it. All I'm saying is that the city council needs to do something to attract another big name store to the city - otherwise people are going to desert the city for places such as Banbury and Solihull...

I'm not mentioning Birmingham, as that is a totally different league - that's more akin to places like Sheffield and I hate to say it - London (without the outrageous prices!)

Despite that, (or should that be in spite of that!) I did quite well in the sales.. I managed to get some of my favorite perfume - Dior Addict - (the original one) and a couple of turtle necks and a new black wrap, as mine's looking like it's seen better days...

I also got myself a book - it's the Fast Set - and details the history of the land speed record - from the starting days at Daytona beach, right up to the current record holder - Thrust SSC - the first non-rocket powered car to supersonic.

Aside from that, today has been a quiet day, which probably has been the best thing for me, as I'm still recovering from the pounding that I took yesterday (after I'd posted my blog entry - I went horse riding with Rachel in the Burton Dasset country park - and Flame threw me off - thank God for body armor!!)

Guess I should call this entry quits, as I'm due back to work tomorrow... (boo, hiss!)

Back tomorrow - if I haven't gotten to the stage where I hate looking at my computer!

Karen.
I walk where others fear to tread

A Quiet time...

Well, Christmas is over and done with for another year. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to spend time with my friends and family, but there are certain things that have really annoyed me this year - one of them being the pettiness associated with a so-called friend of my family... And I use the term friend in the loosest sense I possibly can!

This so-called friend wrote in the Christmas card that was sent to Mum and myself "warm memories of David" - almost as if she was trying to rebuke Mum for having the nerve to stay friends with the widower of her best friend - Frances. As Mum said - "doesn't she think that I don't think about Dave?"

When I read the card, I was livid, and said that Mum could send a card back to her, but she wasn't to put my name on it, as I wanted nothing to do with the cow. Mum just smiled, and said that she wasn't going to send a card to her, as she had really scraped the bottom of the barrel with that comment.

Aside from that, my daft hog riding friend has been true to his word, and sent me the photographs of his cooking:

Ok - I admit that I agreed with the comment that the snowmen looked like Daleks in the snow, but I'm sure that they tasted ok...


The reindeer cakes... Well, I'll let people make their own judgment on them - I'm not going to drop myself in it for anyone!

I've also had quite a good joke sent in to me, from one of my late father's America colleagues...

A city cop was on his horse waiting to cross the street when a little girl on her new shiny bike stopped beside him.
"Nice bike," the cop said "did Santa bring it to you?"
"Yep," the little girl said, "he sure did!"
The cop looked the bike over and handed the girl a $5 ticket for a safety violation. The cop said, "Next year tell Santa to put a reflector light on the back of it."
The young girl looked up at the cop and said, "Nice horse you got there sir, did Santa bring it to you?"
"Yes, he sure did," chuckled the cop.
The little girl looked up at the cop and said, "Next year tell Santa the dick goes underneath the horse, not on top."

Guess I should call this entry quits for the time being, as I want to get an update for my MP3 player - which has decided to refuse to play most of my *legally* downloaded music...

Back tomorrow - provided I'm not too badly battered from my shopping trip to Milton Keynes with Mum...

Karen.
I walk where others fear to tread

T'was the night before Christmas....

Well, it's nearly the big day, and I've finally got everything sorted out, and wrapped up... Mum was at work, so it meant that I was able to get her presents wrapped up, and hidden without her knowing what I've bought her.. No doubt I'll get skinned for the perfume bottle, but that's something that I can live with...

I went into Leamington this morning, expecting to be fighting the hoards, only to find that the centre was practically deserted! I got parked without a problem, and headed to my first destination - the bank - I wanted to get some cash out of the ATM, before the hoards took it all!

I then walked across Warwick Street to Boots, as I had an opticians appointment (the only reason I was dumb enough to go out today!) It turns out that I do need to change my glasses, as my sight in the left eye has deteriorated - to the extent that I'm going to be more comfortable with a change of prescription...

But it's nothing that I can't live with at the moment, so I've made the decision to hold off getting a new pair of glasses until the New Year, as Boots have got their sale on, and I really can't be bothered messing around waiting for them to get my glasses sorted out.

I also had a quiet wander around, looking for the last minute bits and pieces, and seeing if there were any good deals going on my favorite perfumes... Unfortunately there weren't, but I can always look after Christmas, when the stores will hopefully be reducing the gift sets, and I can take my pick!

I also spoke to my daft friend, and he was doing his best to make me laugh.. He said that he was going to see if he could get into the kitchen to do some cooking (blimey - wonder if he gives lessons? I can't cook to save my life!), and has said that he's going to put Ainsley Harriot to shame.... He's promised to send the piccys to me, so as soon as I get them, then they'll be aired on my blog...

Suppose I should call this entry quits - I want to get the furry fiends settled early tonight, as there are a couple of good films that I want to watch in peace!

Back when I get the chance.

Karen.

I walk where others fear to tread

P
S - Merry Christmas to one and all!!

K.

On the run up to Christmas....

Ok - I admit that I've been somewhat lax about updating my blog recently, as I've had more important things to worry about - namely my god-sprog getting out of hospital - which is a relief for me, as towards the end of her stay, the little rat was trying to throttle me with my chain whenever she got the chance!

Aside from that, there was the preparation required for the annual piss-up that is the departmental Christmas party – this year; it was held at Hall Green Dog racing stadium... How I refrained from making comments about certain (female) members of staff coming out of trap three, I don’t know!*Grin*

Despite that, it was a damned good night out, and I was smart enough to avoid going out clubbing with the rest of them, as I’d already experienced a hangover at work, and didn’t plan on repeating the experience!

There have also been several jokes floating around, and this was one that I thought worthy of posting:

In the Late 1800s a little girl named Virginia asked the New York Times if there was a Santa Clause. The reply is now famous. Someone thought it would be fun to ask the scientists at NASA the same question. Here is their reply:

No known species of reindeer can fly. But there ARE 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not completely rule out flying reindeer, which only Santa has seen.

There are two billion children (under 18) in the world. But since Santa doesn't appear to handle Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish children,that reduces the workload to 15% of the total - 138 million or so.

At an average rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes.One presumes there is at least one good child in each. Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west. This works out to 822.6 visits per second.

This is to say that for each household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining gifts under the tree, eat snacks, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh, and move to the next house.

Assuming that each of these 91.8 million houses are distributed evenly (which we know to be false but for the sake of these calculations we will accept) we are now talking about 0.78 miles per household, a total trip of 75.5 million miles, not counting bathroom stops.

This means that Santa's sleigh is travelling at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For comparison, the fastest man made vehicle, the Ulysses space probe moves at a poky 27.4 mps. The average reindeer runs at 15 mph.

The sleigh's payload adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium sized Lego set (2 lbs), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 TONS, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight.

On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 lbs. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see first paragraph) could pull TEN TIMES the usual amount, we cannot do the job with 8 or even 9. We need 214,000 reindeer.

This increases the weight, not even counting the sleigh, to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison this is 4 times the weight of the British liner QE2.

353,430 tons travelling at 650 miles per second creates an enormous air resistance. This will heat the reindeer in the same manner as a spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere.

The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy..... Per second..... Each! In short, they will burst in flame almost instantaneously, exposing the next pair of reindeer, and creating deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousands of a second.

Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 1,750,006 times the force of gravity. A 300 pound Santa would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,325,015 pounds of force.

CONCLUSION: If there was a Santa, he's dead now.

I make no appologies for this - I found it funny....

Time to call it quits - I need to get some sleep tonight, as I've got to go and fight the hoards in Leamington tomorrow morning... I must be barmy!

Back tomorrow - if I'm still in one piece!

Karen.

I walk where others fear to tread

A small prayer being answered

Amber is on the road to recovery, and Carole decided that Rachel, Julian and I needed to get away from the area for the day, so we were under strict instructions to “bugger off for the day, and have fun.”

Ok – we didn’t need telling twice, and decided to head to Bath, as there was a Christmas market on, and we might stand a chance of getting the presents that we’d still to get – in my case, something for Mum that she didn’t know anything about!

It was a decision which proved to be highly successful for me! I managed to get Mum a pair of unusual silver earrings, and a Bath Aqua Glass perfume bottle!

It was one of those things that I just kept going back to, and in the end, Julian got fed up with me messing around, and growled “just go and buy the damned thing will you?!

So, that was bought, and we spent the rest of the day dodging the rain showers that seemed to plague us – but I don’t think any of us objected, as we all managed to finish off our Christmas shopping.

As we drove back, my mobile rang, and my heart sank when I heard the ring tone – it was Carole.Thankfully, she was calling us to say that Amber was asking where we were, and that she wanted to see us as soon as we got back…

So, instead of heading for Julian’s, we headed for the hospital... Where were greeted by the sight of Amber sitting up in bed, demanding a cuddle from us all!

Ok – she still looked very pale, but it was such a relief to see her sitting up in bed.

Time to call this entry quits – I’m mentally and physically exhausted now – but hopefully I should be able to sleep, as I know that Amber is on the road to recovery…

Back when I get the chance…

Karen.

I walk where others fear to tread