< link rel="DCTERMS.replaces" href="http://trappedcivilservant.blogspot.com" > Aginoth's Retirement Ramblings: September 2006

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Bring out your dead....

Mrs.A is better...almost, she just got home from teaching a course in London (I did make my reservations known), and she hasn't had a coughing fit in the last 20 minutes !!!

So now it's my turn again...I'm off to hospital for a minor operation tomorrow. I have a lump on my leg that the dermatoloy consultant tookone look at and booked me straight in t have it removed. It looks like a dermatofibroma, so chances are 99% that it is benign...but still i've been quite stressed out by it and just want it done and over with.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Things you'd like to say...001

I'm afraid I can't come to work today I have to stay at home and build Mecanno Models with my son.

A Diagnosis...at last

Stupid Bloody Doctor (Dr.Z)....and thankfully one decent one (Dr.X).

Mrs.A has felt ill for weeks, and has had the most evil cough for at least 3.

She went to see one of our GP Surgery Doctors (Dr.Z) last week and was told she had a cough and was given some Pholcodeine linctus...which did bugger all. Dr.Z. didn't even examine her properly, used the stethoscope over 2 layers of clothes!!! , we've had problems with the abilities of this doctor in the past...

It's been like living in a TB ward last week at home, with all the hacking and coughing I had to abandon work one day last week to go home and rescue her from the children. Mrs.A hasn't slept properly in over 2 weeks, and I’ve not faired much better apart from when she has abandoned bed and gone down to the lounge to Cough elsewhere at night.

a week later and she is no better, she finally managed to get an appointment with our Named Family Doctor (Dr.X) (who we know well and is brilliant at his job). Dr.X took a look at her and told her she has a chest infection and has probably had it for FOUR WEEKS!!! So at last she's got the antibiotics prescription she needs, and I'll go pick it up from the pharmacist this evening.

So thanks to the lack of professionalism of the first doctor I have had the pleasure of living with someone with a raging chest infection for almost 2 weeks longer than I should, this is more serious to me as it sounds... I take immuno-supressents for my Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis that leave me very vulnerable to chest and sinus infections...I have just been very very lucky not to have caught this lurgy myself, which would have in all probability put me in hospital.

When I've calmed down I'm going to be writing a letter of complaint to our local primary Health trust who oversee the GP surgery and fund my drugs to the tune of £10000 per year.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Thursday 13 - Places to go


Thirteen Things about Aginoth


It's Thursday again....

So what shall it be today

13 Places I'd like to go visit. One I've already been too, some I will definitely get too, one that is totally out of reach....I've spent an hour or so looking for good pictures and descriptions, I hope you enjoy them



1. Chitzen Itza, Mexico.
Been here (2002), fabulous place, climbed the El Castillo Pyramid in 42°C.



2. Petra, Jordan.
Petra (from "petra", rock in Greek; Arabic: البتراء, al-Bitrā) is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Wadi Araba, the great valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is famous for having many stone structures carved into the rock.



3.Jarlshof, Shetland Islands, Scotland.
Jarlshof is the best known prehistoric archaeological site in Shetland, Scotland. It lies near the southern tip of the Shetland Mainland, close to the settlements of Sumburgh and Grutness.

Buildings on the site include remains of a Bronze Age smithy, an Iron Age broch and houses, Pictish houses, Viking longhouses and a mediaeval farmhouse. Also on the site is a seventeenth century manor house, which Walter Scott named Jarlshof in his novel The Pirate. The rest of the site was not rediscovered until the late nineteenth century.



4. Skara Brae, Orkney, Scotland
Skara Brae is a large stone-built Neolithic settlement, located in the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of mainland Orkney, Scotland. The level of preservation is such that it has gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status. It is one of four such Scottish sites, the others being the Old Town and New Town of Edinburgh; New Lanark in South Lanarkshire; and St Kilda in the Western Isles. It is Europe's most complete Neolithic village.


5. Uluru, Australia
Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in central Australia, in the Northern Territory. It is located in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, 440 km southwest of Alice Springs. Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area, and has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. It is listed as a World Heritage Area for both its cultural and natural values.


6. Antarctica
No real reason other than curiosity. I want to see a real wilderness, and it's about as alien a landscape as I will ever have the chance to visit as I doubt commercial space travel will become a reality anytime soon

7. Nile Cruise and the Antiquities of Egypt
Pyramids...Valley of the Kings...What's not to like...

8. Kenya
Come see the Lions.... eating the Zebras. I especially want to visit the Masai Mara Game Reserve.

9. Canada
I'd love to do a Coast to Coast Tour of Canada, and maybe stop in at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, Binge on Maple Syrup Candy?

10. Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Been to Edinburgh many many times, but I'd love to have a Month off there and do as many Fringe shows as possible. The Edinburgh Fringe (or just The Fringe) is the world’s largest arts festival. It takes place in Scotland's capital during three weeks every August.
For some years, the official name of the festival was the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; it now (2006) seems to have reverted to the original Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

11. Pompeii and Herculaneum
Pompeii and Herculaneum are ruined Roman cities near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the commune of Pompei. Destroyed during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The volcano buried the city under many feet of ash and lost for 1,600 years before its accidental rediscovery. Since then, excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, they are one of Italy's leading tourist attractions and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site
.


12. Machu Picchu, Peru
Machu Picchu (Quechua: Old Peak; sometimes called the "Lost City of the Incas") is a well-preserved pre-Columbian Inca ruin located on a high mountain ridge. Elevation measurements vary depending on whether the data refers to the ruin or the extremity of the mountain; Machu Picchu tourist information reports the elevation as 2,350 m (7,710 ft) [1]. Machu Picchu is located above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, about 70 km (44 mi) northwest of Cusco. Forgotten for centuries by the outside world, although not by locals, it was brought back to international attention by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham who rediscovered it in 1911, and wrote a best-selling work about it. Peru is pursuing legal efforts to retrieve thousands of artifacts that Bingham removed from the site.

13. Olympus Mons, Mars
The Largest Volcano in the Solar System. The central edifice stands 25 kilometres (about 88,600 feet) high over its base (about three times the height of Mount Everest above sea level and 2.6 times the height of Mauna Kea above its base); it reaches 22 km (13 miles) above the mean surface level of Mars, since it stands in a 3 km (1.8 mile)-deep depression[1]. It is 550 km (342 miles) in width, flanked by steep cliffs, and has a caldera that is 85 km (53 miles) long, 60 km (37 miles) wide, and up to 3 km (1.8 miles) deep with six overlapping pit craters. Its outer edge is defined by an escarpment up to 6 km (4 miles) tall unique among the shield volcanoes of Mars.
The size of Olympus Mons is so great (roughly the size of the American state of Arizona) that a person standing on the surface of Mars would be unable to view the profile of the volcano even from a distance as the curvature of the planet would obscure such detail. The only way to view the mountain properly is from orbit. Similarly, if one were to stand on the highest point of its summit, the slope of the volcano would extend all the way to the horizon.
]

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!






Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in the Linky below or in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!




Thursday, September 07, 2006

Thursday Thirteen - Things MOPs Say


Thirteen Things about Aginoth


It's Thursday again....

So what shall it be today

13 things Members of the Public (MOPs) ask Medieval Re-enactors...



1. Is that Fire Real?....No it's a Hologram

2. Are you going to eat that?....Spoon poised to put food in mouth

3. Do you know Robin Hood/King Arthur/Ivanhoe....slight problem with them being mythical

4. How do you turn off the Doll?....The doll was actually LMB crying aged 6 months or so.

5. Of Course Swords never killed anyone....Parent to eight year old son - we tried not to fall over laughing

6. Do you live here all the time....What do these people use for brains?

7. Isn't it great that they built the Castle so close to the Motorway....American Tourists !

8. We're in the UK for 2 weeks to see all of the castles....all 1100 plus of them; that's some itiniary

9. Can I kill my brother with this....you could but we wouldn't recommend it, ahhh what the hell one less in the gene pool

10. Can I take this home?....MOP picking up my longbow; ummmm let me think...NO!

11. Really? There were no potatoes in the 14th Century?....the number of people who don't know potatoes came from South America in the 16th Century (Sir Francis Drake) always amazes me.

12. Can I go in your tent?....can I come in your house and poke around maybe wake up your children? No? Didn't think so matey, the door is tied shut for a reason.

13. Did they have children in teh Middle Ages?....OK...now first you need a Mummy and a Daddy, shall I carry on the explanation?




Links to other Thursday Thirteens!






Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in the Linky below or in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!




Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Wordless Wednesday - Enbrel My Favourite Drug

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Hold your breath.....

Warning: Oxygen is extremely dangerous and toxic!

Oxygen, is a very toxic gas and an extreme fire hazard. It can be fatal in concentrations of as little as 0.000001 p.p.m. Humans exposed to 100% oxygen concentrations at pressures above 1bar, usually when kept in storage cylinders below 6 metres of water, die within a few minutes. In lower concentrations, e.g. 20%, the toxic effect is somewhat delayed and it takes about 2.5 billion inhalations before death takes place. The reason for the delay is the difference in the mechanism of the toxic effect of oxygen in 20% concentration. It apparently contributes to a complex process called ageing, of which very little is known, except that it is always fatal.

However, the main disadvantage of the 20% oxygen concentration is in the fact it is habit forming. The first inhalation (occurring at birth) is sufficient to make oxygen addiction permanent. After that, any considerable decrease in the daily oxygen doses results in death with symptoms resembling those of cyanide poisoning.

Oxygen is an extreme fire hazard. All of the recorded fires that were reported on the planet for the period of the past 25 years were found to be due to the presence of this gas, in the atmosphere surrounding the event in question.

It is believed that 100% of deaths are caused, either directly or indirectly, by either the lack of, or presence of, oxygen. Oxygen is especially dangerous because it is odourless, colourless and tasteless, so that its presence can not be readily detected until it is too late.

Misinformation by the Oxygen Manufacturing Corp.

Warning: This information is false, and is designed to get you hooked on Oxygen. Just say no to Oxygen.

Essential for the life of nearly all living creatures, except Beluga whales. Regarded as "God's crack" by scientists, most human children are born addicted to it and are fated to live a life of addiction in search of their next fix.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin Killed

Steve Irwin, known the world over as The Crocodile Hunter, has been killed whilst filming off the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

Apparently he was hit in the chest by the Barb of a Sting-Ray initiating a Cardiac Arrest. He died at the scene despite attempts to revive him.

Bit of a shock to hear that an iconic figure such as Steve Irwin has left this Mortal Coil, I have always enjoyed his unique style of presenting and so have my children. He will be missed. I expect Australia is in a state of shock today.

He was a complete nutter mind, always pushing his luck with wild and dangerous creatures, but we loved him for it, the world is a smaller place without him.

BBC News Story and personal messages