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 |   Originally efforts for the 30 Day Blogging Challenge in July... now just a blog |
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The 30 Day Blogging Challenge ..... lets see how far I get... Pretty far it seems! Winner (1st place) for the July 2013 "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  Second place for the September 2014 "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" |
| 30DBC - 17th Jan - Prompt: Pick a news story, and talk about it. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Meh. If you've followed my 30DBC posts, you'll know that I don't DO news! Waahhh  Sunday has always been my least favourite blogging day. I think I've made this very clear to the hosts. They could easily get offended at my anti-Sunday news rants. But they shouldn't - I'm just an extra grumpy blogger on Sunday. Fivesixer knows I still love him... despite his god awful blog prompts   I just can't do News. I think, perhaps, it is because I now have to go... look for a News story... read it... care about it... then think of something fascinating to write about it. I'm WAY too lazy for all that shit. Okay, fine... If I'm going to do this, I'm doing it, err, properly  'Mourning' kangaroo was trying to mate, says expert 'Pictures of a male kangaroo cradling its dying mate in apparent mourning were widely shared this week and labelled "heartbreaking" in the media.1' However... 'But a leading kangaroo expert says it was not grief that was behind the roo's attempt to revive its companion on a Queensland property, but sex. Dr Mark Eldridge said the male kangaroo was trying to lift the female in order to mate with her. He said there was no clear evidence that kangaroos did mourn their dead. Dr Eldridge, the Australian Museum's principal research scientist said: "The evidence is here sticking out from behind the scrotum."'   Huh! What a fucking lovely story. Kangaroo shagging - I bet it would be interesting to watch. You know, all that jumping and stuff Not that I WANT to watch!  whatever. But I think dead kangaroo sex is a bit dodge! But, really, my ultimate question is this... Why is this a News story? It's not! And this... Is why I hate Sunday News! Footnotes |
| 30DBC - 16th Jan - Prompt: Can you write an autobiography using just six words? If you're unfamiliar with this, check out this six-word story website I've been sat here meaning to write for hours. My wheelchair is charging. So, since I currently can't get anywhere, I thought this would be a perfect time to write. However, I got caught up in a two (+) hour FaceTime call with my best friend (not a "phone call" - to justify what I said yesterday ) and then had a cat on my lap for the longest time... I seem to be here new favourite comfort blanket. Cute, but means I can't get anything done while she's there  So, now it is 4:30pm, and I've done nothing.I was going to be handing out tons of MBs today too... whether I have the motivation for that now is a question I cannot currently answer  I also wanted to play with my new toy, which is this:  It is very very cool But I haven't have much time to play with it yet. I'm excited to get going with it though   Huh! Funny, I came across this idea the other day and I thought I might make it one of my projects for the year. How funny that it is a prompt - now I need to give it a go and see if I can get it to work. You see, for the last few years, I've wanted to get started on an autobiography kinda thing. But I just haven't got my arse in gear to get anything down. Therefore, when I saw this idea, I figured I could use it to get some stories down in brief form this year, so I can extend them at a later date. So, you want my entire autobiography in six words? ... Let's see...  Nearly died. Became a champion swimmer. |
30DBC - 15th Jan - Prompt: On this day in 1913, the first telephone line between Berlin and New York was inaugurated. Are phones a necessary evil? Could you get by without one for a month? I've just remembered what I was going to start last night's blog with. To be honest, it is unforgivable that I'd forgotten what it was... I am appalled at myself!  Actors are agents of change. A film, a piece of theatre, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world. Alan Rickman I adore... adored... Alan Rickman and I am so so sad that he died yesterday. He is probably my favourite actor of all time  69 is too young for someone so great to die Always.  Ahh, well, you see, phones have changed. A lot. An awful lot, since 1913.   If you're talking about the good ol' fashioned phones that are just used to call and speak to others, I'm not really bothered. Yeah, they're great to keep in touch with people, but I am incredibly useless at keeping in touch. I don't like speaking on the phone. I only really speak to Chris on the phone and, well, I live with him. My mum hates the phone, so I rarely speak to her either I think phones are necessary. The modern world needs phones. But could I go a month without using a standard, talky talk, phone? Yup, I reckon I definitely could. Smart phones, on the other hand, different story. I probably could go without it but I doubt I'd want to. Yet, they do annoy me, somewhat. I often wonder about how much we miss because we're looking down at our phones so much of the time. Quite a lot I'd bet. Also, I think that, quite often, when people are together in person, they are spending a lot of that time checking in with other people via text, Facebook, or what have you, rather than spending quality time with the ones in the same room as them. This bugs me but I know I'm guilty of it too. So, phones are great. But I could do without if necessary |
| 30DBC - 14th Jan - Prompt: Simplicity. How important is that to you when you write? I'm sure I had something I wanted to write about, before I got to today's prompt... But I can't, for the life of me, remember what it was. Oh well, I'll just have to bore you even more tomorrow If I am perfectly honest, I currently don't feel qualified to write about writing. I say this because, other than a few dodgy blog posts & trying keep up with my journal, I genuinely haven't written anything in months. I want to say in a year, but I know I've written one or two crappy poems in the past year. But other than that, nada! Nout... not a thing. I'm totally not proud of this. In fact, I'm pretty pissed off about it to be honest. I keep meaning to sit down and work out my goals for the year. A lot of these will involve writing - of course. I have some cool project ideas that I want to do. However, the fact that I'm even avoiding writing these ideas down, worries me slightly. I WILL do this in the next few days - I will. I do have some awesome ideas floating around my head to help other people with their writing. I'm excited by these ideas and I think people will love them. I really want to get working on them. However, if I do, I'll be jealous of other people Although, I guess I could join in too.So, yes, at the moment, I think simplicity in writing is key. It is so easy to overwhelm yourself with multi-layered, convoluted ideas. But I think, unless a writer can strip everything back and start with the simple ideas first - building up to bigger ideas - they're screwed. Nothing makes sense if you don't start simple. Goal #1 - try and write a poem tomorrow!  ...  I can do it!That's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains. Steve Jobs |
| 30DBC - 13th Jan - Prompt: “Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.” ―Malcolm Forbes. Agree? Disagree? How do you feel? Oooh I was so close to being up to date. But then I was hit with a wave of *meh* so I stopped blogging. Therefore, I shall stop talking about whether or not I am up to date with 30DBC... let's just assume that I am not Today (13th) was an interesting day. I had an appointment at the pain clinic - something I'd been waiting for for 8 months. It was shocking. I'm not sure I can be bothered to tell the full story - it just makes me mad! So, instead, I'll just share this, Chris' Facebook status from last night: Furious at Addenbrookes today. Fran attends pain clinic (for appointment she has been waiting 8 months for) to meet doctor who thoroughly insults her by a) Expressing surprise that she has attended on her own "most disabled people have carers" b) SHOUTING VERY LOUDLY AT HER FOR THE ENTIRE APPOINTMENT c) expressing surprise that she has a husband d) Asking how long she has had CP for. Unbelievable! That's not the full story but, as I said, I can't be bothered to go into it further. I did actually shout at the Doctor during my consultation, which I never ever do. Me snapping was inspired by him saying "I understand you used to do a bit of sport …" REALLY? I'm a world champion dick head!  Anyway... My internet is reeeeeally pissing me off! It's slower than 1998 dial-up. Fuck me it's painful. I also have a cat lying on me, kinda stopping me from typing she is not even our cat. She is next door's cat but seems to enjoy coming to see us  Yeah, so, a bit like what I said in "Invalid Entry" , right? Uhuh, too many people say they can't do stuff and too few people believe they can. Yup... I this is basically what I spend my working life preaching!As I've said before, my job would be classified as a "motivational speaker" but I mostly go into schools and work with groups of kids on their confidence, people skills... well lots of different things. And the number of times I hear the words "I can't" in one day, is kinda depressing. Also, I talk a lot, in my sessions, about goals and dreams. I work with SO many kids that honestly don't have dreams. That makes me sad. Interestingly, kids from certain areas struggle with these things than in others. I go to a lot of schools that are very rural/in run down coastal towns... their ambitions are often non-existent. So, yes, with regards to the prompt, I completely agree. I just wish I could do more about it. I do try though. Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. Thomas Jefferson |
| 30DBC - 12th Jan - Prompt: What is your preferred method of falling asleep? Does it differ from how you actually fall asleep? Half way there, people, half way there! Granted, my last post didn't really involve much writing. However, I feel you have learnt a lot about my love of cheese. I think you should feel satisfied with that!  Invalid Photo #1043529 ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Are you trying to rub it in that I don't sleep well?  Outrage! I'm officially hurt. No, seriously. Is this like a real thing? Choosing how to fall asleep, I mean... do people do that? I personally just lie down and hope & pray that my brain is too tired to fight, therefore, letting me sleep. Obviously, I prefer a comfy bed and pillow. But, somehow, I don't think "with a pillow" is what this prompt means. To be fair, I don't have as much trouble getting to sleep as I do staying asleep. Mother fucking pain/over active brain waking me up! It's just rude You know... I'm rambling on here. This is genuinely because I have no clue how to answer this prompt! Ohhh BOOM! Apparently, one of the best ways to fall asleep is to wear socks to bed: Researchers from a Swiss study published in the journal Nature observed that warm feet and hands were the best predictor of rapid sleep onset. In the study, participants placed a hot water bottle at their feet, which widened the blood vessels on the surface of the skin, thereby increasing heat loss. Shifting blood flow from your core to your extremities cools down your body, working in concert with melatonin.2 I HAVE to wear socks to bed. If I don't, I'll be even less likely to sleep! So, this is my preferred way of falling asleep and it is what I do! Have I answered the prompt? Oh oh oh, I believe I have  The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep. Robert Frost Footnotes |
| 30DBC - 11th January - Prompt: The best way to top french fries, mashed potatoes, or baked potatoes is... Okay, one post down, three to go. This prompt is stupidly easy for me. So lets get cracking...   Cheese Cheese Cheese Cheese Cheese Cheese Cheese Cheese [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese. Gilbert K. Chesterton |
| 30DBC - 10th Jan - Prompt: This week, New York State opened its first medical marijuana dispensaries . Should governments support the decriminalization of marijuana in small amounts for recreational users as well? Typical, I got myself all up to date then had a few bad days of either pain, frustration and/or "I just cannot be fucked". Anyway, I believe I have four prompts to catch up with, then I'll do a personal update too. Although, there isn't too much to tell. I'm listening to Sarah McLachlan though - depending on how well you know me, this should tell you all you need to know  Funnily enough, on Sunday, Chris and I watched {x-link:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125653/} The House I Live In{x-link}... From the dealer to the narcotics officer, the inmate to the federal judge, a penetrating look inside America's criminal justice system, revealing the profound human rights implications of U.S. drug policy. It's not 100% connected to this prompt, but it was an interesting film so I figured I'd throw it out there: In the past 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer, and destroyed impoverished communities at home and abroad. The war on drugs has never been about drugs. In terms of the prompt, I think its pretty simple if we compare the USA and the Netherlands... Two of the main points of The Netherlands' drug policies are: To reduce harm to users, and to diminish public nuisance by drug users (the disturbance of public order and safety in the neighborhood). Whereas, in most other countries, the view is that recreational drug use is detrimental to society and must therefore be outlawed. You could say that the Netherlands is just weak willed in its policy making. Perhaps, to some degree they are. But, check out these statistics: In 2009..... Lifetime prevalence of marijuana use 41.5% for USA 25.7% for the Netherlands Past year prevalence of marijuana use 11.3% for USA 7.0% for the Netherlands Lifetime prevalence of heroin use 1.5% for USA 0.5% for the Netherlands Prison Population Rate per 100,000 population(2011) 716 for USA 82 for the Netherlands Homicide rate per 100,000 population(2012) 4.7 for USA 0.9 for the Netherlands On this basis, my answer is simple: Let them eat [pot] cake It won't be "naughty" Therefore, less of a thrill = less people bothering/getting in trouble for it |
| 30DBC - 9th Jan - Prompt: Oh, you believe in something? That's cute. Make us believe in it too. Ha! Yes! If all goes well (AKA my foot doesn't piss me off any more) I'll be up to date with all the 30DBC posts. Then I can go and make up some projects for "Merit Badge Projects" and comment on everyone else's posts. If all goes well, I'll feel accomplished. What? I have an incredibly boring life at the moment. Don't judge me! Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe. Gail Devers When I first saw this prompt, I was stumped. Spiritually: I believe in everything and I believe in nothing. I don't know much about ANY religion, yet I believe they are all viable. I would love to read about all religions, I just haven't. I've never seen an angel, fairy, or ghost, but I can't say whether I do or don't believe. Spiritually, I am uneducated. But I think that's okay - I like having things to learn about. But then I realised that for some reason the word "believe", momentarily, meant spirituality to me. That's odd... I don't know why my brain came to that conclusion. Anyway, once I got over that stumbling block, I realised I believe in a lot of things. Most of them are obvious and wouldn't require much effort to make you believe too, so there's no point in that...  booooring.However, the belief I'm choosing to talk about is obvious, too. Probably obvious enough for you to agree. Yet, I can almost guarantee that it is not obvious enough for you to live it...  I believe that ability is a state of mind Disclaimer: I often put disclaimers on this type of posts because it saves people writing out long ol' replies telling me I'm wrong in terms of "this" or "that" and me having to explain that I wasn't including "this" or "that" in my thought processes. So... if anyone was to (god forbid) get cancer, or something equally as shit, I am NOT saying that their ability to beat it is purely a state of mind. Some people do believe this - I do not. A positive state of mind might help. But, in this sense, it won't cure. No, what I'm saying is that the ability to live the best possible life is a state of mind. When I was born, I was practically dead. I honestly shouldn't be alive. The Drs fucked up before & after i was born - when I came out, I wasn't breathing. But instead of, you know, helping me breathe, they just handed me to my mum. I was blue for fuck sake. The only reason they actually did anything to save me is purely down to my mum: she screamed for them to do something. Kept screaming until they probably just did something to shut her up. My mum saved my life, not the doctors... We were then sent home to live as if nothing had happened. It was my mum - not the doctors - who later worked out that I had brain damage (Cerebral Palsy) as a result of lack of oxygen at birth. As a baby, my prognosis was something like this:  Will never walk Will never talk Brain function will be extremely limited Feeding would be difficult 24hour care will be necessary forever.This is what actually happened:  I didn't use a wheelchair - ever - until I was about 14 years old I have a speech impairment, but my job is a motivational speaker I did struggle at school, but I have a first class degree, a masters degree and, if I wanted to, I could get a PhD I love food! I moved out and got my own place when I was 18 years old.Bit of a difference huh? Why the difference, I hear you ask? Well firstly, Doctors often talk bollocks to cover the arses (and boy did they have a lot of covering to do). But the main reason is attitude and state of mind... Cerebral Palsy is different for everyone, granted. However, I know multitudes of people who should/could/would be as able as me, but they're not because their parents listened to the doctors and resigned themselves to a life full of dependance and medical procedures for their children. (Sadly, for some kids with CP this is not a choice - they're impairment is too severe - for that I am sorry). But my parents basically stuck two fingers up at the Doctors, and went down the "attitude is everything" route. I'm glad they did. I was taught to try, try and try again. This is why I am so incredibly stubborn. Indeed, if I hadn't have been taught to try, my life would be totally totally different. I get so frustrated sometimes when I meet parents of disabled children who either say things like, "oh no, she can't do that, she'll get hurt," or "I wish he could do that like you, but we have to do that for him..." Well DON'T... let her get hurt, she'll get up again & when she does, try and do it another way. I used to fall over all the time. Instead of picking me up (unless I really was hurt) my mum got me to get myself up... this was to teach me for now, when sometimes I trip up and no one is there to pick me up. I'm really good at falling over now my aim is impeccable.When I broke my foot last year, the hospital were reluctant to let me go home in case I couldn't cope with the cast. My answer was, "I've been working out different ways of doing things for 30 years, I'm pretty sure I'll work this out. And if I get something wrong, I swear I won't sue you!" ... funnily enough, I was allowed to go home. Speaking of suing people... we could have sued the hospital for screwing up my birth. My parents decided not to. But I could have done it myself up to the age of 21... I seriously considered it. In reality, I could have get about £3-4million - that's how strong my case was! I thought long and hard about it. One thing stopped me:  To win my case I'd have had to stand up in court and say that the mistakes made at the hospital that day had completely ruined my life. I thought about this long and hard. There was no question that my life had been made much harder by what happened that day - that is/was totally true. But then, one night, I pulled out the World Championship gold medal I'd won when I was 16, and then the one I'd won the year before, and then the 4 Paralympic medals I'd won when I was 19. Looking at them, I realised, it hadn't ruined my life - nope. The mistakes that day MADE my life. I realised that, in some weird fucked up way, that nearly dying had made me successful.So, no, I never sued. I didn't become a millionaire. And I'm glad! I said earlier that I struggled at school - I did. I pretty much failed High School. People were always telling me I was stupid. I believed them - until I was 22. Then, I realised that school was shit because I didn't care. I wasn't stupid, it was just a state of mind. From there, I blagged my way into university. Now I have two very high degrees and two honorary degrees. I realise I've talked about myself this whole time, but it was the easiest way to illustrate this belief. It's very easy to say "I can't". But it is also a very lazy option. It's harder to try and fail. But how do you know you'll fail, unless you try? You don't. Everyone is more able than they think, they just need the right state of mind!  -------- Huh... this is a pretty articulate entry for someone who's taken Morphine and Diazepam *pats self on the head* |
| 30DBC - 8th Jan - Prompt: On this day in 1935, the spectrophotometer was patented by A.C. Hardy. Have at it, you guys. What is it, where did it come from, what does it do, and why should you care? I'm not looking it up to see what it's all about, so let's hear your takes on it. Oh, for the love of cheddar! Why the hell can't I just catch up? Whatever, I'm in cast and on drugs... I have reasonable excuses Firstly, to whoever came up with this prompt, how gutted are you? The use of this prompt last year would have been the spectrophotometer's 80th birthday. This year it's just its 81st. Boring! ... I jest.Anyway, the spectrophotometer. How interesting! *shrug* Right, according to ChemWiki Spectrophotometry is:A method to measure how much a chemical substance absorbs light by measuring the intensity of light as a beam of light passes through sample solution. The basic principle is that each compound absorbs or transmits light over a certain range of wavelength. This measurement can also be used to measure the amount of a known chemical substance. Spectrophotometry is one of the most useful methods of quantitative analysis in various fields such as chemistry, physics, biochemistry, material and chemical engineering and clinical applications. People often refer to me as a bit of a geek. But I am absolutely, in no possible way, a science geek. So,as I say, *shrug* That's what it is/does... now I just need to work out why I ought to care about this 81 (teehee) year old invention thingy.   apparently that's how it works. There's something to do with colour... I like colour... I care about colour  Sooo... If I understand this correctly, in this diagram, this is happening:  The light source shines on the sample. A fraction of the light is transmitted or reflected from the sample The light from the sample is directed to the entrance slit of the monochromator The monochromator separates the wavelengths of light and focuses each of them onto the photodetector sequentially .I am in no doubt that in the world of scientific geekery, this is a highly interesting and useful piece of equipment. But, to be perfectly frank, I really don't care. The colour thing is cool, granted. But I don't really understand why it is important - I'm sure it is - and I don't think I ever will. Science is important, but it doesn't keep me awake at night. Just like most scientists are unlikely to stay awake wondering if they can write a poem about scotch eggs...  ------------- This post has taken me forever to write because my foot has a mind of its own & has taken to trying to fight against the cast! It hurts and I've not been able to get comfortable. I've just given in and taken some diazapam to try and calm it the fuck down. I refuse to let this make me sleepy... I'm off to write the next post! |
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