Putting 2 and 2 together

This struck a chord with me as I have just finished a stimulating half-hour assembling a set of book-shelves. It all ended up OK as I had no pieces left over and no pre-drilled holes showing empty. However, the whole process is fraught with tension as one knows that at any time it can all go wrong and there is no way back once dowels have had glue applied and those patent screw devices have been tightened.
When we moved to what is now Chez Nous, we bought a large work-bench to go in the attic. This is a reasonable project as the attic is quite large. The difficulty to instant gratification by buying a bench was that the final flight of stairs is quite circular and is also narrow. Solution – buy a kit. Take it upstairs in the smaller constituents and assemble it there. To say that the IKEA workbench is a complicated unit is a real understatement but we managed it. Problem will come if we ever decide to try to take the bench with us as we move. It will be a job for a guy with a chain-saw.

The saga continues

We hear long explanations from USA and Britain that things are well advanced towards Iraq being run by the Iraqi people.

That, of course, was prior to the cellphone video that was taken in the death chamber finding it's way to world-wide distribution. I'm told that the old phrase about "couldn't organise a pi*s up in a brewery" has now been altered to "couldn't organise a hanging in Iraq" when one needs to signify a total lack of organisation. Even something as simple as taking note of the fact that his death took place on a religious holiday was ignored. This was compounded when critics of this spoke out and were told that it was only a religious holiday for the people of Saddam's sect.

And now we have this. The allegations that the body was abused and ill-handled were met by officialdom, not with promises of an investigation, but dismissed as being a political manouvre. I do not aim to prejudge any inquiry but we have all seen the jubilation and insults tendered when his statue was toppled such that it appears that some demonstrations do tend to get out of hand.

I am not a tree-hugging softie here. I fully support the execution. I'm content that it should have been carried out in Iraq by Iraqis. Where the Americans dropped the ball was in not making sure that the thing was properly carried out. 1 -2 - 3 click; all over. Now, I feel his whole arrest, detention and trial were debased by the manner of his death and the chaos that provided a incubator for the allegations we are now seeing.

OK - so where from here?

This article claims that there is almost universal acceptance that going to war in Iraq was a wrong decision. Blame is scattered about like chips at a birthday party.

But, hasn't it taken a long time for this opinion to surface? How long will it take to work out what has to be done with this misbegotten child - where is the plan for the future? President Bush is expected to make some fairly decisive announcement in the next week. I just hope that these decisions are not polluted by the 20/20 hindsight wizards "You got it wrong going in there. How do we know you are right now?"

I'd rather stick pins in my eyes

Is that a thong she has just pegged out?
Tone the Tourist has a nice set of man boobies. Doubtless, he will go on the lecture circuit in a nice little dark blue topless dress.

Please tell me

that this is not true!

I can accept teachers full enough of themselves to upgrade the incident but what on earth was in the mind of the police officer who handled the call? Did he not possess language robust enough to tell these people where to take their complain?

Mind you - if this 'weapon' is so effective, we could supply another battalion or so of front line troops just from the dregs that congregate in our larger cities at around closing time.

Due balance up the river

It is somehow comforting that in the times in which we now live, people can be found to unearth, ferret out, research and then publicise matters that I am sure are of no real relevance (or interest) to the great mass of the world's population. I've guested one such instance. Look in by all means but don't settle down for the long haul of reading it in it's entirity. I got near to terminal jaw ache from my yawning.

Still, I suppose the correspondents mother loves him?

TODAY'S GUEST BLOG

Amazon is amazing

!

First looks deceive

I mentioned my daughter doing a business trip to Dubai.
Here she is - soaking up a little bit of local colour.
The idea that women are all demure and sweetness and light when covered in this manner is now well destroyed.

Where are they now?

I sometimes wander off into the ether of the Internet in search of "Where are they now?". Not the main personality of a newsworthy incident but the lesser players.

This came to me through a blog I follow. Ms Lewinsky certainly went through the mill. To us on the small side of the pond, everything concentrated on Clinton and we seemed to know little of the woman in the case. The vagaries of the female mind when romance - or even just plain old sex - are inexplicable to most males but I did wonder what was to become of her. So, nice to see that she appears to have come out the other side of the cloud in her young life without too much of an apparent disaster. I never condemned her - the adage about it taking two to tango was in the front of my mind. The item I link makes me feel a little bit better about how the world works.

Leading a lazy life

Good job I'm not paid my pensions at so much a word that I write on here.

Do not know why but the Muse seems to have dried up. No problem. It will come back; see you all then.

Quick work

"THE hanging" was such a disgusting shambles that I had wanted to avoid it. However, I'm a sucker for conspiracy theories (not the subjects but the mechanics behind them that takes a few facts and knits them together to make something like a large mesh fishing net) and I see they have already started regarding old Soddem.

Modern safety devices

My car has seven air bags. Total all-around protection in the event of a crash.

Of course, that many is a bit over the top for some people?

Stir people up

Seems there is a whole lot of shouting going on about how and where the world started.

I'm staying out - except for this which strikes me as a clever advertisement

And I thought

I was the only miserable bstard blogging.

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http://barrybeelzebub.blogspot.com/2007/01/and-very-berry-christmas-to-you-all.html

Cheerer-upper

Never mind the smell of napalm on the morning air! Tea is brewed, bacon about to go into the pan and eggs just waiting to be cracked.
Not too long before we are back to the open air life in one or other of the wonderful outdoor spots we have here.

Get away

Right now, the wind is howling. It is coming here directly from Siberia. The rain is coming from the refrigerator by the temperature and if I were religious I'd be looking for the man who builds Arks.
So, I've printed this off and stuck it alongside the monitor. Not that a place such as this is on my holiday list - we stay in UK now we have the dog and flying has degenerated into something that is more akin to stuffing human beings into pig styes than anything else. No - this shot serves to remind me of when we used to live in places like this and a scene as depicted would have been our regular afternoon hang-out.
Happy happy days.

New ideas

Rather like this. Not quite sure what is being advertised - if anything - but Celine Dion as a sort of Madonna figure and Wallmart as hell somehow appeals to me.