Happy Mothers Day !!!!!!!!!

Happy Mothers day to all you good ladies out there. I hope your kids are all getting you breakfast in bed -

My three ( Cathy, Liam and Laura) are all still in bed as I type (maybe still working on yesterday's body clock as the time shifted forward an hour overnight to cover for British Summer Time), but Laura has threatened to make breakfast for her Mum. We shall have to wait and see.

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Has anyone ever sat there and gone through their browser bookmarks/Favorites?

I started yesterday afternoon when I was having five minutes after lunch. before getting back to the decorating. I didn't realise how many places I had been to - and more to the point, how many of those sites have actually gone. Things are getting a bit more stable ( I did the same exercise 18 months back), but there are still a lot of sites vanishing.

The other thing I noticed is, that , I saved the addresses of some awful pages. I can't even remember why I went there in the first place.

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I'm playing again. One of my fellow Xanaga users, in a reply to one of the blog postings there, made comment that they were using a browser called Avant. That little light appeared again, so I have downloaded it to see what it does. It appears to work using IE type technology, maybe even the IE core as Xanga tools works first time without any work rounds (like in Netscape).

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Just a final comment - Are Kids these days getting bigger?.

The reason I ask?.

I am 5foot 11", my lad, whose 12, is only a few inches shorter. He is well taller than his Mum (but then so is anything over 5 foot nothing - ), but the thing is he has a good few more years to get even taller. I know, that on average, the next generation is an inch or two taller than the previous one, but he will be taller than his uncle (my "Kid" brother is 6ft 3") if he keeps on growing at the rate he is. I thought your kids were supposed to look to you, not look down on you -

Hi Guys' - hope everyone is well.

I hadn't realised that I haven't been on the Internet for over 3 days, and I haven't placed a posting since Sunday - this week has just flown by.



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Into the 2nd week of the War, and it would appear, to me at least, that the Iraqi's were very badly under-estimated. Although some of the things that they have supposedly done to keep their populations in place in Basra and the like are pretty unacceptable, I am not really surprised that the resistance is there. If someone was invading your homeland, irrespective of who was in charge, wouldn't you fight them - I know I would. I know the Allies see it as a war of Liberation, but, which ever way you look at it, an invasion is an invasion.

The losses on the Coalition side are still more Soldiers and Airmen killed by their own side than by the enemy - what is going on here?. I suppose that one death is one death to many, but,thankfully, the causalities so far have been light. Lets hope it stays that way. I cannot help wondering how many Iraqi innocents have been killed or injured?.

As one of the comments on my last Xanga posting says " the price of freedom is often high", or words to that effect. But what price is too high?

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Life at home, and work , have been pretty normal for us. Hassle at work and parents taxi whilst at home - .

Cathy has been off on leave this week, and , as far as I know, work has left her alone to have her holiday in peace. The result of the strike ballot I have talked about before has come through. Of the 15000 Engineers working within BT Retail at this point in time, 5500(approx) voted in favour of a ballot, whilst 3400 (approx) voted against. Now the Union has a mandate for strike action. This, to me, is not good news. Although we have enough money to pay the monthly bills, and have a reasonable standard of living, it will not take much for this happy state of being to be pushed over the edge. Now, we have to hope, that both sides (and I blame them both for causing this situation) get talking again and sort this out once and for all.

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When I went to pick up Liam for Football training on Wednesday, the usual last minute noise of screaming lads, and bouncing footballs where missing, something was amiss. There was but a single voice, and it wasn't very happy. The story, as it turned out was this. Training started in it's usual fashion. Warm up, instruction and then small 5-a-side games. This, according to Liam, is where it fell down. Some of the lads (and Liam insists he wasn't involved - and if I find out any different someone is in serious trouble) started to get very silly. Sadly for them, Chris who is normally the main man in charge was away for the evening, but Russ wasn't - and Russ doesn't like people messing about when there's not reason. You have to bare in mind that they were in-doors, on an indoor 5-a-side pitch - no room for messing about.

Lecture time. And Russ tells things as he sees them - straight from the hip, and it wasn't what some of the lads really wanted to hear. Mind you,I think something like this should have been said a while ago.

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As I sit here, I am unable to turn my head very far. I have had "a runny nose" for most of the week. However, yesterday, it became more and more difficult to turn my head. My neck is very painful and stiff. I shall have to get Cathy to have a look and see whether it is my glands that have got infected, or whether I have twisted my head to fast and pulled a muscle. It doesn't feel like the muscle option, most of us, at one time or another, have turned our heads to look at something to fast, and suffered that stabbing pain you get for your trouble.

Well just waiting for everyone else to wake up (that is Cathy and Liam - Laura's sleeping out at her friends) - then it's back to the decorating. The new wardrobes have been in for nearly two weeks, but having had to work last Saturday, and coming home late twice have having to be taxi's the other few nights, there is still another gloss coat to go on the paint work, and the paper to put on. But hopefully I should be able to finish this off this weekend.(and the its onto Laura and Liam's bedrooms - )

God Bless - and talk to you soon

Pictures are via the Press Association

I wake up , yet again , to images of death and destruction.

But first moan - this is the second attempt to type this entry - and was nearly finished (a long-ish piece for me) and the system coughed and lost it. Boy am I "PIGGED OFF"

I am sat here watching the BBC news (I have watched the BBC for most of this crisis, I don't know why?. There are at least another 15 odd channels via Sky, but I end up watching good old "Auntie")

On the TV is, what they called a "live feed". There is a firefight, if that's the term, with US Marines trying to sort out a "Pocket of Resistance" in the port of Umm Qasr. Now, this frightens me. The fact that people are obviously fighting for their lives should be upsetting for anyone, but the more frightening thought to me is that these pictures are live. This is what is happening now. They have already said that several Iraqi troops have been killed. They have shown several Abrahams tanks moving around the field, Troops perched onto top of desert burns, looking down on the target buildings.

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It would appear that not all Iraqi troops have given up. A lot was made of how quickly Iraqi troops gave up last time. And, although some have surrendered, it is obvious that some are continuing the fight.

It seems that there are a lot of people missing and / or killed on the Allied side, and yet they have not been attacked by Iraqi troops. Several Helicopters have been downed, and now they are talking about an RAF aircraft that has failed to return to base, even though they know that it was on its way home.

I also find it strange that we seem to know, roughly, how many allied troops have been killed, but there is no mention , even approximately, of how many Iraqi's have been killed and wounded. From the pictures being shown live at the moment - I find it very hard not to believe that few Iraqi troops have been killed. The attacks this morning are, although sporadic, are very determined to remove these pockets of Iraqi resistance.

What do the Turkish think they are doing? What a bunch of idiots.

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The two sadness things that I have seen or heard so far (and this is, baring in mind, based on what we are allowed to know) are:

Listening to the story of a firefight in the "safe" port of Umm Gasr, knowing that there are ships,out in the Gulf, containing Humanitarian Aid that cannot get in.

and

Watching the pools of burning Oils surrounding Baghdad.

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Just a quick addition: The News has just reported that the missing RAF aircraft has actually been shot down by a US Patriot Missile. Although this is still a "possible" story - but here we go again. In The first Gulf War there was the incident where British Troops where killed by their own side, and it would appear it's happened again.

The point has already been made, the Patriot's are there as an air defense system, but the question raised is, why has this system responded when there are no reports of ANY Iraqi Aircraft in sky at all.

This entry is going to be done over several goes - when I have the time and inclination.This first bit is being done whilst I'm having my dinner on a Friday Afternoon.

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the talk - for obvious reasons, is of course the Gulf War

This is the second day of the 2nd Gulf War. I woke up this morning to the news that the Alliance forces have started the ground attack. The Air war is in full effect. The "Window of Opportunity" to have a go at Sadam has apparently been missed.

12 troops have already lost their life in a chopper crash - what a waste. Kuwait and Kuwait City seem to be running round in circles with air raid warnings every hour or so.

It would also appear that Oil Fields are also ablaze.

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Posting part2. It is now 6 o'clock (Tea Time - yipeeeeeeee)

The BBC Evening news is on. Baghdad is being attacked for the third night running. They are showing - live - the attack on the various Palaces and Party Buildings belonging the Sadam and his co-horts. There is also news of further Coalition losses (not large numbers - only ones and twos' - but as far as I'm concerned that is to many)

The BBC News reporter - Rageh Omaar - was making a report as the latest Cruse Missiles fell. You only hear part of the noise, but what a professional. They all are who ever they work for. But unless your there, and it's happening to you, it is very difficult to imagine how the ordinary Iraqi populous must be feeling at this point in time.

I found the "real time" reports of the first Gulf War disconcerting, but this time it seems to be even more weird. Reports actually occurring as and when the battles go on. They were actually interviewing the Office in Command of the British Commandos that were attacking the Al-Faw peninsula. Strange?

It is obvious that the Iraqi forces are not going to give up without a fight (and who wouldn't when you are fighting for your own land) - lets hope this thing is completed soon.

This is quite unusual for me - posting an entry on a Tuesday Morning.
(The Wolverine image is, I think, a good representation of how I feel at the moment. The Wolverine character is often grumpy, always - seemingly - angry, and short tempered. Also determinded?)

It is my day off ( one of two ) and the downside is that I have to work Saturday (BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!)

I am sat here - waiting for the Wardrobe Man to come. Laura is still to go to school, Liam having left a few minutes ago with his mates.

(please note : this posting has actually taken my about 90 minutes to complete for one reason or other - but the basic concept is still there)

I have three major worries at the moment - neither of which I can do anything about.

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Worry One:

After Bush's ultimatum of last evening, it would appear War starts on Wednesday. The cost for Tony Blair continues to rise (it appears, on this side of the Atlantic, that George Bush is having a relatively easy passage to get what he wants - I'm sure its not true - but that is the perception). Watching Robin Cook's resignation speech on the news is one of the "bravest" things that I have seen from a Politician in a long time. It is sad that, obviously a man of conviction, has been bad mouthed by some commentators for "not standing with the Government". I disagree. He is obviously against Military Action at this point in time, and I , for one think he has done the right thing. That is "democracy" - the allowance of a free person to express their own view, to have their own beliefs - isn't this supposedly part of what this "Police Action" is all about.

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Worry Two:

We , in BT retail , are waiting for the result for strike action against the incentive scheme I have mentioned before. The problem, however , for me was that the vote goes straight a Strike. I , personally, don't think this is the right way forward. We can make our point more effectively from the "inside" so to speak. BT has, for a long time, run on the good will of it's workers, no good will - BT has problems.

Sadly, I suspect that the vote will be in favour of a strike, and I for one will have a severe problem with this, not only on a monetary basis, but actually a moral one.

I will have to think about this very deeply.

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Worry three:

Having just help move my brother to his new home (the originator of the Greenhouse saga - ) the firm he works for , Corus plc, have announced that they will have to make people redundant to make up some of the losses the group have made in the last year. It has also been mentioned that they may well close a whole production facility here in the UK. That is just my brothers luck - he moves and then the firm say "oh Dear". It is a great concern to us all. I hope thing turn out OK - but it is obvious that someone is going to lose out somewhere.

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Just a final thought - Xanga HQ - are you listening.

I have to honest - few people have been commenting on the fact that they have had problems posting Images on their Xanga site. Up until an hour ago I thought that they must have been doing something wrong or what ever. This A.M. I got a message saying that they could not upload my images because there maybe some problem with my Internet connection and the like - I'm sorry but that is utter rubbish. I have a broadband line and I fit them for a living. I know when a line is not working correctly, and my line is fine.

Another Quiet Week?

It has been a fairly quiet week this week (apart from today I suppose - but more of that later)

The rush to war continues - and the more you look and listen, the more that I am convinced that the Bush Presidency will go a head what-ever. You only had to take note of the "Do we need British Troops or not?" comment by Donald Rumsfeld mid-week. That just shows to me that the American leadership don't really care what they do as long as they get their own way. The UN has become, I'm sad to say, impotent.

The French and Russians still object vehemently (something to do with all the trade they still do with Iraq?) - but after that slight from Rumsfeld, I still cannot understand why Tony Blair still wishes to commit British Troops when they appear not to be wanted (even though they have supposedly "Kissed and made up in the mean time")

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Life in the Smith household as gone on as it normally does, Monday is Scouts night, Tuesday is "Clean the pets part 1", Wednesday is Football and so on.

Friday was , of course (for us Brits at least) Rednose Day (alternative site here) - but more of that later.

Friday A.M. was a training course for work. This is a new Pole Climbing Belt, and the rationale behind it is to improve safety - due to several reasons . Instead or the "round the waist" belt we had, this new belt is made up of a complete body harness (just like a Parachute harness, a belt to lean against (leaving both hands free to work with at the top of a pole) and an Energy Absorbing Lanyard (or to put it bluntly - a device to stop you falling all the way to the bottom of a pole if everything goes wrong)

I know some of the lads who have already had the training find this new belt a bit cumbersome - but I shall see how we get on.

Back to Rednose day.

This is a bi-annual telethon run, and based on Comedy. At long last the result of the Celebrity Fame Academy was what it should have been . Ruby Wax, for a Singer, is a great Comedienne and she ( I hope)played it for laughs all the way through - a great entertainer. But, in my mind at least, there was no doubt that Will Mellor would be the winner. I must admit, however, I wasn't taken with the Reeves and Mortimer section , but most of what I saw was good.

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Today has been uncomfortable for me (and still is as I type this) - a bit of a mixture between a Sinus flare up and a Migraine. It is very hard to explain this sort of pain - you daren't move your head for fear of increasing the pain, but you have to move your head or your muscle cramp.My norm for blogging is to write my entries first thing in the morning, but it is only now that I can sit up right long enough to type this (the pain that is left is a lot like that "skinned knee" feeling - but trapped inside your head at the back of your nose). To top this off Cathy's not that well either, and as I slept most of the morning and the early afternoon(which is not like me - I nearly always wake up at around 07.00 a.m.) and Cathy has slept the rest of the afternoon. We've been "lucky" today - Liam and Laura went to Table tennis lessons this morning, and they have been playing with their friends all afternoon.

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I have been "playing again".

Sometimes I use Netscape as an alternative browser when I'm fed up of IE6. Any way one of the downsides to this is that x tools for my xanga site does not work too well.

Anyway, in Thursday's Xanga Subscriber e-mail, one of the entries for that day was from seanmeister's Xanga Site.

On there he had posted a little script which you can download to get over this little problem (just make sure that you are viewing the page from the appropriate program - and not like I from IE6) . In conjunction with Netscape/Mozilla Composer option, this little script will add your fully integrated posting on your xanga site.
I have it working with Mozilla - but not with Netscape 7.02. However if you read the comments on this site for this posting, it would seem I'm the odd one out - and if anyone has Netscape/Mozilla - it may well be worth a go.

Sunday Night, and the weekend is again running down ready for Monday.

Liam has been playing Football again today - a friendly match against a team a full division and a whole lot more experience in full size games than the Park Tigers lads. They lost 5 - 3, but they played very well in the second half.

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I hate Kids, and I hate greenhouses -

As I have said previously, I have acquired, via my brothers move of house, a Greenhouse. The "demolition" process at his house cost us a few panes of glass, and the frame had to be repaired in places, but it is now built back up in our garden, and the remaining glass fitted.

I have spent hours going round the DIY shops locally trying to find replacement glass (they will sell you the greenhouse complete, but none of the bits to repair it) - it looks like a visit to either a glazer or the cutting and fitting of UV resistant acrylic sheets.

Anyway, back to this afternoon. Most of the glass panels have been in place for less then 24 hours. Surprise, surprise - " Crash - Smash" and the shouts of "it wasn't me" . A football are arched through the air, over the fence from next door, and straight through literally the last panel that I refitted yesterday. I shall repeat fully what was said, but as you can imaging, I wasn't a happy bunny. Now we have an extra panel to replace.

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Finally a gloat. Even though I couldn't stay up to watch the Grand prix in the wee small hours of the morning - I watched the repeats this afternoon.

Almost, predictably, Mr Schmacher set off in front.

But by the winning line, and that's when it counts, David Coultard took the honors - brill.

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I have been "playing" again with two offline blooger clients - PowerBlog and Blogman. I had downloaded them to see if they were any easier to use than the two clients (w.blogger and Semagic that I have now). The two new programs are both very good, very extensive. But I found them to be very difficult to use and to set up - for me. Anyone with different needs and a little bit more patients may well get on with them, but, for now, I shall stick to what I know.

Morning Everyone - hope everything is OK.

Not much has happened this week. Work was pretty much static, in the fact that I have actually spent more than a couple of hours at the same place. The local Fire Station is being refurbished, and we have been asked to tidy up the main telephone feed. Not that difficult a job, as it turned out, but it took a while to sort out what was working and what was not.

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If you want a quick laugh (and you like M&M's) click on the link and find out which M&M you are most like:

http://www.roxydoll.com/~erin/quiz/quiz1.html

Me, paranoid, never. "What was that?"

"Who's there?"

"Help - everyone is out to get me"

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Here is another one of my pictures (full size pictures can be seen on our art gallery on The Smith Family Website and then clicking on the gallery link.

I suppose, the man to thank for getting me back into drawing and painting is a lad I used to work with, a nice lad called Howard.

This was in, if I remember correctly, around 1982/83. I was still in training and was in the middle of the "Exchange Appreciation" Phase. At that point in time, Post Office Telephones (which was latter in 1984 to become BT) had a training system that "showed" the new boy most of the various work departments within BT, only at the end did the training intensify on a particular job skill. Howard is a slight, quiet man with a liking for Classical Music. I was doodling one day, when Howard asked what I was doing. Before long The story of School Art misery had been retold. It was Howard who then got me back "on board" as it were. He encouraged me to paint one of my first (and probably favorite) watercolours - My Eagles Head (If I get a chance I'll take a picture of it and post it - I had the thing framed and it's on the wall at the minute). And as the saying goes - " I have never looked back since. For that - I owe a big debt of thanks to Howard.

Monday, March 03, 2003

Hi All - hope everyone is well .

Many thanks to everyone for your comments on my picture the other day. I have attached another for your comments (I have actually used this one before in another posting).

I usually (when I get chance) draw from pictures in newspapers and magazines - usually people, although I have also drawn animals, and I will post some of them another day. I have also been known to paint - usually with Watercolours, although the last couple of paintings have been with Oils, which is a bit of a departure for me.

I actually stopped drawing when I was sixteen or so because of School Art lessons. The Teacher basically told me I was useless (and that particular phrase was actually used). But, although I used to doodle, I only started "proper"drawings again after a break of several years.

One day I might try Landscapes, but that may take a little more time (I've never been any good at landscapes).

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What is it about "five minute" jobs. In my last posting you'll remember I mentioned I had to finish up to go collect a Greenhouse from my brothers'

It took us the best part of 4 hours hours to take it down and transport it back to our house, and then 5hours so far (including time taking kids to and from several other places as well) to get the framework back up in our garden. There is still the glass to put back in.

I'm going to give up on "five minute" jobs

Posting part 2

I have split this week posting into 2, so it is in "bit-sized-pieces". The first one was somewhat of a rant, but it sometime a go thing to get this sort of thing off your chest.

The kids have been off School this week - half term.

Laura has been on a sleep over so that has left Liam mooching around the house ( he has no-one to annoy - ). We have, in the last few week started to collect a couple of part-works, one being the Horrible Histories series which I talked about before, and the other is the "Lord of the Rings" . This is a games series involving a publisher and the GamesWorkshop , so not only is there the information about playing the game, but there are also figures and paint with which to decorate them - and that was what we started to do last night. Takes a long time don't it.

For the first time, in quite a few months, I have managed to have enough time to myself (away from the computer that is - )for me to do a drawing. I used to do this on a regular basis, but now?

What do you think - I'm sort of happy with it - but I think it does show a lack of practice .I think there are a few things wrong with it, from my point of view at least. But, then, as Cathy often says, I try to hard - and I want things to be better than perfect. Do I set my standards to high?. Maybe I do. I feel disappointed with what I do fairly regularly. But no-one else seems to be disappointed. Maybe I do try to hard.

Anyway must finish off now - I have to go buy some meat and pick up a Green house from my Brothers before he goes out to work.

God Bless

Hi All hope you are all well.

What a beautiful start to Saturday. Have not long since taken Cathy to work. The view and the weather were quite lovely. As I was driving down the road , the vista to view was just like one of those enviable "Sunrise" photos. The Sky was clear and clean, the gold's and yellows of the rising sun merging with the blues of a new morning. Silhouetted against the sky were the Chimneys and Buildings of the Steel works in the far distance - what a view - Stunning.

I would like to thank everyone who commented on my last blog. It makes me very happy to know people "like" what I'm typing.

It would appear that the Bush / Blair alliance are pressing on with their plans. It was interesting to read blueyoohoo's to my last posting. With due respect to blue, I have copied his comment below:


"Don't believe everything that you read - the majority of the American people are behind Bush on this thing. I don't know why this has been coined a "war;" it won't be any more a war than the Gulf War in 1991, and maybe even less so. Then, our mission was to turn back an invading force, and now our mission is to topple a one man government.

But that's just my opinion."

Posted 2/26/2003 at 12:01 am by blueyoohoo - delete - block user

I found this interesting. Firstly , he is quite right, we are only "told" what they want us to know - but the problem, I suppose, is that we only have an emphasis on the UK news, and over the last few weeks the given view is that Tony Blair seems to be taking ALL the flack, and that President Bush is just getting on with what he wishes. This is probably not even close to the truth, but that is the perception.

In some ways, I do sort of agree with the Franco- German proposal to give the Inspectors more time - but then you get to the stage where you can give additional time ad-infinitum, and the longer that goes on, the harder it becomes to take the ultimate hard decision.

Also, I do actually agree with the comment about the Gulf War - that was a definite goal. Iraq was the obvious perpetrator, and this time it is the stubbornness of the individual. But is the destruction metered on the general populous the right way to achieve this "desirable " goal.

The one thing that has "annoyed" me about this situation this week is this thing with the destruction of this missile system. This teed me off on two levels. Firstly it was obvious that the Iraqi regime deliberately forced the situation - with the "no we won't", "no we won't", "no we won't" and then "Oh alright then - I suppose". But then when there is a little co-operation, the second annoyance is that the alliance leaders immediately dismissed this as time wasting and the build up continues.

The major annoyance I find with this situation is that it is continually quoted that Iraq is in contravention with various UN resolutions and we must deal with this. What I find even harder to bear is that countries like Israel have similar "restrictions" about their treatment of the Palestinian's, but they continue to attack them with not a word seemingly being said.

I am not a particually political animal, but I do know what tee's me off. I still think, at this point in time, we should not go to War. It is a pity the job wasn't completed the first time.

Just another point - History has this habit of labelling confilicts as Wars. A perticularly English Conflict was the Falklands. At the time, and for mainy years after, it was insisted that this was a conflict, but in most material I have seen in recent years it is certainly a War.