New Year, New Blog - Day 45

Day 45.

I slept quite well last night considering I put myself under a lot of stress. All I've thought about today has been flying and whether I can do it. There are lots of 'what ifs' at the moment. What if I agree to go and get to boarding the plane and chicken out? What if I go and something does go wrong on the plane? I have been looking at alternatives to flying to America. I've looked at getting a boat from Scotland or Denmark to Iceland, then to Greenland and then to Canada. Its something I'd consider doing if it means I can go and see family. Another option is getting a cruiseship from Southampton to New York and then a train to Michigan somehow. That costs about double the price of flying and takes about 8days longer than flying. Thats also something I'd do and be quite happy to pay for. Lots to think about and not long to get all the thinking done.

This morning I was at Simpson Autocare with Chris. I wasn't working on Penny the Peugeot today as we have done all we can until Chris works out the next move. It shouldn't be long now until she rules the road again. Today I helped Chris with Elvis the Escort. I think I shall name all the cars I help with from now on. I just did a bit of sanding as Elvis is a complete restoration job. Elvis is just the shell at the moment, no interior, no engine, no electrics. Just an empty frame of a car. It was nice not getting my hands greasy and doing something different. 

I got back about 2ish and after a shower I sat down to watch the 3rd Lord of the Rings films, The Return of the King. It lasted 242mins. A little over 4 hours long. It was an excellent film and I didn't notice how long it was. I also can't see how it could have been edited shorter for cinema and regular DVD release. I think I'll be adding them to my blu ray collection.

I was told once that I think too much and I have certainly been doing that lots recently, so off to bed I go.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 44

Day 44. 

I'm not really feeling like I want to write a blog today. We went to book our holiday to America and I have until Thursday to decide if I can go. I had to leave the travel agents to get some fresh air half way through. I do want to go to see family and I know I'll have a great time, but I can't get on a plane. There is nothing that will make me get on a plane. I think I've developed a nervous twitch over the past few weeks while I've been thinking about the decision. Everytime I think about being on a plane, I see myself looking out over the left wing and its a long way down and I know there is nothing holding the plane up. Lots of people have said that I have more chance of dying in a car crash or out riding my bike. That might be well and true but at least I would feel somewhat in control of that situation should it come about. On a plane, there is nothing I could do about it should it go wrong. The thought of falling uncontrollably is stopping me and there is nothing else I can think of when I think of getting on a plane and flying. My fear of flying will ruin my life. 

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 42

Day 42. 

The first day of half term, mums gone away for the weekend, Sam didn't have work so there was no excuse or reason for me to wake up early. 7.30am and I'm wide awake. A great start to the day. It did give me chance sort out my external hard drives and enjoy a lovely breakfast made by dad. 

My main 1 TB external hard drive, was acting weird and sluggish early on today and then decided that it wouldn't work altogether. So my afternoon has been dedicated to scrolling through forums, trying all sorts of fixes/paths/command promts and lots of other things to get my external hard drive working again. Everything I have tried so far hasn't worked but I will keep trying. This hard drive had everything on and WAS my backup. Films, music, tv shows, photos, university work, programs and software on it. Over 650GB worth, all unaccessable at the moment. I was getting slightly hacked off with it earlier. So annoyed infact that I put it outside in the cold for an hour! That didn't help matters though. I'll have a crack at it tomorrow.

It did stop obsessing over it for a couple of hours while I watched the 6 nations. England played away at Italy this afternoon. The strangest thing to see was the snow on the pitch. Most of the pitch was white, England were white and so was the ball. England could have used it to their advantage. Italy played incredible. They fought so hard and deserved to win the 1st half. They dominated possession and territory in the 1st half and should really have scored more points. Italy did have some very good passages of play and the forwards put up a good fight until Martin Castrogiovanni went off injured in the 33rd minute. He was overpowering in the scrum and was causing problems for England so it was a huge loss for Italy when he went off injured. The 2 tries in 2 minutes that Italy scored were vital for putting England under a lot of pressure for the 2nd half. England were far more dominant in the 2nd half and looked the much better team in attack. Italy had a great defence and credit where credit is due, it only got broken once by Charlie Hodgson charging down a ball which lead to a try. England were good at retaining the ball and shipping the ball wide. Making use of the whole back line was a huge positive from todays game. The new caps are gaining confidence and looking good with ball in hand. This England team will go far with Stuart Lancaster in charge. I wonder how the RFU will screw things up this time?

Dad, Samantha and I had pizza hut for dinner tonight. I can say that I will never eat pizza again. I am so full up. We had a hot one with jalapeno peppers on, a bbq chicken with cheesy bites crust and Sam had a cheese and pineapple stuffed crust. And now I'm hungry again but we have no pizza left.

I hope to get my hard drive working again tomorrow so I will let you know how it goes. 

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 41

Day 41. 

Half term is here! A week, without pesky kids annoying me, winding me up or making me aggy. Perfect!

Yesterday I told you that I had been at the Simpson Autocare in the evening and I left you all in limbo as to whether Penny the Peugeot started. She did not start. So a hammer was used and after some gentle pursuasion, she spluttered into life and roared! It was an amazing and satisfying feeling that Chris and I had done that. Penny sounded magnificant. She then decided to make a terrible knocking sound just like before with the old engine. My heart sank a bit but then she stopped making the knocking sound and then it started again. I'm hoping that it will be something simple but like everything else with my stupid car, it will be complicated and very expensive. There are some photos of the rebuilt engine and Penny in all her shining glory.

The rebuilt engine.

And again.

From another angle.

From the back.

Penny looking and feeling cold and miserable.

Everything in place and connected.

Just needs to be fired up....

 It just means I'll have to wait a little longer to be able to drive her. 

Todays discussion will take place tomorrow. I am not pressured by time tomorrow so I can get a lengthy discussion going. 

I hope everyone has had a good day.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 39

Day 39.

So I forgot to set my alarm last night and therefore didn't wake up when I should. I was woken up by mum banging on the wall. Oops. Todays walk to work was a little slipperier than yesterday but also more fun. I almost fell over a few times, thankfully I didn't.

With regards to the Spinal Tap issue of me not knowing if they were real or just for the movie, Jen helped me out. She informed me that they were made just for a TV show and then the film 'This Is Spinal Tap' but got quite popular and released albums and did some live shows. I might have to invest in some of their music as it was pretty good.

Work was easy today. With year 10 and 11 its just getting coursework finished and year 7, 8 and 9 were the normal lessons with lots of noise and an average amount of work being done. Nothing interesting happened except being called a legend by my year 9 class and reciting Anchor Man and Step Brothers quotes at lunch time. If Jen was there for that then it would have been pure awesome.
There was no rugby for year 7 after school today. I think the ground is still a little frozen as it still has snow on it. I'm quite happy about that as it was bloody freezing again!

Mark from work gave me a couple of hundred songs from Bacobens Rock Top 500. They are my type of songs and I'll name some of the artists from it. Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Derek and the Dominos, The Beatles, The Who, The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Eagles, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Yes, Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, Lynard Synard and so many other classic artists. The music from artists like them is timeless, from the golden age of rock and without doubt, my favourite type of music. I have been listening to it since about 4pm and I'm not even halfway through the tracks. It could last a lifetime and I would still want to keep listening to it. Its that good.

Thats all for today. Nothing interesting has happened but I have enjoyed myself with the music.

Until tomorrow.

Jim.

New Year, New Blog - Day 38

Day 38.

A normal, quiet day for me. It was an easy day at work with very little to do, so tonights blog will very short. I think the only interesting thing that happened was walking Annabelle across the icey school car park. The car park was like an ice rink and I can't believe that it hasn't been cleared. With 100+ cars being driven in to park, one would think that there would be a safe place to park. Obviously its not that important.

When I got home, I watched This Is Spinal Tap. Its a mockumentary and I'm not sure if Spinal tap is a real band or just made up for the film. Can anyone help me? I think they are a fictional band but are a real band. I don't know. I really liked the film considering it was released in 1984 and it was quite funny. The story is they are promoting there new album in the U.S and its called 'Smell The Glove' but most of the gigs, concerts and venues they want to play at keep cancelling. I'd recommend it and would rate it quite highly at about 8/10.

I have found a new band I like listening to called Seether. What I have heard of their music so far I like. I can't say much more on that because I don't know anything else.

As I said, a normal day.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 36

Day 36.

It was snowing pretty hard last night from about 10pm onwards and by 1am it was like a full on blizzard. When I woke up, it was a beautiful sight. Just white everywhere. My sister Sam was meant to be at work for 6am but wasn't able to get there so she got a few extra hours in bed.

I went to Chelmer Park this afternoon with some friends to play in the snow. It was awesome and I got some pretty cool photos.

The photos are not that spectacular but still quite cool. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow will be a snow day and the school will close. It would be nice to have a snow day or a few of them. Lets hope we get more snow overnight.

How was everyone elses day in the snow?

I will give my views on the 6 nations games during the week when I have watched all the games. From what I have seen so far, they have been quite entertaining.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 35

Day 35.

A very successful day in my opinion. Spent about 7 hours at Simpson Autocare with Chris rebuilding my engine for the last time. We had to pick up a head gasket from Motex and then the real fun began. First rule of the workshop is to put the kettle on, so I did and needed the tea to warm up a bit. It was colder at the workshop than outside. In order for everything to go back together, I had to clean the engine head and somthing else but I cant remember the name of it. I will let the pictures do the talking.

A dirty engine block

Still looking dirty

A clean engine head

The tiny part that caused so much bother

Its tiny!

A clean engine block

Getting there.

Nice and clean

There are a couple more pictures to upload but the internet is slow and I'm off out to a friends to have pizza from Dominoes :)

I will upload them in tomorrows blog.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 34

Day 34.

An interesting day at work. It was one of the few days when I couldn't be bothered to get into arguements or keep telling the students to put their phones away or to stop eating. So as long as the teacher didn't see then I couldn't be bothered to stop them. I did get a piece of chocolate orange out of it for not grassing on them. I didn't have a lunch today either as I chose to go to a lesson that I wasn't meant to be in. So I ended up having 6 lessons instead of 5. After work I did a mega workout with Woody and Jules. My back hurts a little bit now but I thought it was quite easy. Friday nights are when I help at the youth club. We were quite short on helpers tonight but it was still lots of fun, until an immature little teenager decided to draw on my arm. I'm only joking about the immature part.

The discssion topic tonight is:


How can England win the Six Nations with three new caps blooded against the Jocks?

First of all, England have minimal chance of winning the 6 nations. They are coming off the poorest world cup performance ever and have less experience than any other team in the 6 nations. The world cup was an embarassment. Although they made it out of the group stages with a stumble, they tripped and fell flat on their faces in the quarter finals against France, a team low on morale and respect for their coaches.


Out with the old.

The old faces have either retired, been axed from the elite squad or just slipped away from spotlight with their dignity intact. The most high profile retirement in recent years was Jonny Wilkinson. He was one player that gave his all every time and will sadly be missed. He wasn't expected to play in the 2007 rugby world cup let alone 2011 RWC. He has held the record for highest international points scorer, record for highest 6 nations points scorer and various other achievement that won't be broken for a long time. 
Lewis Moody the captian for the past 18 months, retired from international duty in October 2011. He led by example from the moment he won his 1st cap to the last second of his last game in an England shirt. At times he was the best in the world and at times he oversteped the line but never gave up leading by example. 
Others name missing from the team sheet include Mike Tindal, Shontayne Hape, Mark Cueto, Andrew Sheridan, Simon Shaw and Nick Easter. Most had a glittering career at the top of their game, some seemed like they could offer more but didn't.


In with the new.


There are several uncapped players in the squad and names that should have been in a long time ago. Chris Robshaw has been deserving of a chance to play for England for so long and he has finally be given a chance. Not only that, he has been made captain as well. Several Northampton Saints players have made it into the sqaud and they too have been deserving of a chance. Lee Dickson, Tom Wood and Phil Dowsen have all played exceptional for the past few seasons.

Englands don't stand much of a chance against a very physical, determined Scotish side tomorrow. They have had a major retirement in Chris Paterson last year who wanted to retire at the top of his game, and he was one of the most consistant kickers in the world. Scotland also have quite a dynamic backs division with Joe Ainsbro breaking the line regularly and one of the Lamont and Evans brothers using their speed and agility to finish. England should be able to match in the forwards but I think Scotland will turnover more ball and have more possession.


Whatever the outcome, it will be a good game. It always has been a hard fought contest for the Calcutta Cup.


I hope you have enjoyed the read. Its getting late now so I best be off to sleep.


Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 30

Day 30.

I didn't think I'd get to 30 posts. I thought I would get bored and give up or forget a few days and not carry on. But we are almost at February and I'm going strong. So once again, a huge thank you to all who read, have read and are going to read my blog posts. It makes me feel good about writing it. 

Today was different at work. Well everyday is different but this was not a normal day. It was pastoral day which means each tutor group stays together and does various activites throughout the day. I was given the honour of working with one of the craziest young boy I have ever met. The subject of this pastoral day for year 8 was sex and relationships. They were learning about different situations they might find themselves in and how they would handle it. It wasn't the most exciting thing to part of but we had some giggles along the way. They also learnt about different forms of contraception which freaked them out a bit, but I guess they have to know that stuff. All in all it was a good day at work but I am also very glad pastoral day is once every half term.

After work I went to the cinema with my sister Sam, to go and see Haywire. I lost a bet sometime last year and agreed to go and see the next 5 films with Channing Tatum in. He is Sams favourite actor and she is crazy in love with him. We were the only 2 in the cinema which felt very odd and I just kept talking out loud because I could. I can't really tell you what the film was about because it wasn't clear at all. It was meant to be a thriller but it lacked any go and substance. I think the story was about a CIA agent getting set up on a mission to be the fall girl and targeted by her employer. The only good thing about the movie was some of the fight scenes and when the film ended. It was a real let down. 

When we got back from the cinema, I headed to the gym. I'm fed up of being fat and lazy so I just packed a gym bag and went. I did 40 minutes on the cross trainer which felt amazing and then 2500 metres on the rowing machine. Every 250 metres on the rower I would stop and then do Russian twists or press ups. I felt a bit wobbly on the way home and felt sick that I had worked so hard. 

That was my day. It was a busy one for me but I feel good! Tomorrow I will mention some motivation videos that I have been watching that have made me want to get back in real good shape.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 28

Day 28.

A day of mixed emotions really. I was really excited to be working on Penny the Peugeot and putting her back together and getting her started. The first stop was a breakers yard at Temple Farm to get a fuel line for Penny. When Chris phone up he was assured they had the right one in the yard somewhere and would take it off for us. However, when we arrived to pick it up, we found out that it wasn't the right part so it would not fit. We tried other breakers yards but we had no luck. Once back at the workshop and the tea was made, Chris started to take the glow plugs out only to find that one had been snapped off inside the engine. This was not good news. I won't go into details about what was said from Chris over the phone to the place we got it from, but they were quite rude to him! He was told to ring back Monday to speak to their mechanic who will more than likely tell Chris to bring the engine back. So as for getting Penny started again, it didn't happen. Chris and I both have our fingers crossed as the dealer said they have another engine coming in on Tuesday.
All of these issues with the car were not something that could have been foreseen. Chris has done an amazing job so far and I know he will continue to do so. I wanted a bigish car for my first car and found one that I fell in love with. It just turns out that a little more work was needed than anticipated, and after a series of unfortunate events and minor setbacks, were nearly there. It just feels like 1 step forward and 2 steps backwards at the moment. But we will get there. So thank you Chris at Simpson Autocare.

Tonight I'm off for a few drinks in town with some friends and I hope it will ease the pain and suffering that is Penny the Peugeot. Of course I'm only joking, but I do hope it will be a good night.

Thanks to the everyone that got thinking about my question I posted yesterday. I had a few replies so thank you to those people. I have to think about having some way of replying to everyone.

I think that is all for tonight.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 27

Day 27.

Wow, another week over. It went quick for sure and I know Monday will come flying around. Oh well, such is life. I'm not going to include a diary today but go straight into a discussion. I'm thinking Fridays will be a discussion night, whereby I will talk about something and give my views on it. It can be quite difficult during the week so I think Friday nights will do for now. Last Friday I spoke about 'Playing God' and how bioengineers have created yeast that produce diesel and if it was the right thing to do. Seeing as I've been verey busy this week, I havn't been able to think properly about what I might like to talk about. But as I'm sitting here thinking, listening to music, the question is already there in the song title:

Whats this life for?

The song is called whats this life for and was from a band called Creed. The song is awesome to listen to and I have so many favourites but this is certainly up there with my all time favourites.

It might seem like a massive topic of debate and will not be settled in one night, but it would be really amazing to hear some comments and views. There are so many backgrounds and different views on life, whats its for, why are we here and is there something more. Maybe I'm a fool for asking what people think so early on in the year but I still want to know. From my background, upbringing, experiences and friends, I believe there is something more. I believe that I will go to heaven once my time here on Earth is done. Whether that place is in some far corner of the universe where no one can reach, a whole bunch of fluffy clouds with big golden gates or something beyond our imagination, beyond our comprehension and beyond our expectations, I don't know. What I do know and believe is that there is something better and perfect after this life. Sometimes I do question it all and think, what if this is it, just this one life and then nothing. Then something or someone always reminds me that there is more than this. Maybe you don't agree with me which is you own opinion and decision, because the world would be a boring place if everyone was the same and it opens up a massive discussion.

Scientists will argue that we are here through billions of years of evolution.

Christians believe that we are here because of Gods love.

Other religions will argue that they are here through their Gods doing.

Atheists couldn't give a banana.

Everyone else is either open minded and willing to listen or closed minded and not willing to listen.

I think I'll leave it there for tonight and post a question on facebook and twitter. As this is a massive topic I will certainly be coming back to it. Please facebook me messages of direct message me on twitter with your views. I would love to hear them.

Maybe it could be a discussion you could have with your friends and collegues?

Next weeks question will probably lead on from this.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 26

Day 26.

Payday! Wahoo! It feels good knowing I have money in the bank. I just need to save it for various things next year.
My day was pretty cool, a relaxing atmosphere at work was what I needed, but by lesson 5 I was ready for a nap.  Lessons 1 and 2 I was with the same class, year 7s. They make me laugh so much. In maths, the subject was angles and triangles. One of the boys couldn't pronounce isosceles and called it islosausages and just kept laughing everytime he said it. To end the day was textiles then science. In textiles they were carrying on with their cushion covers which meant I was being used to cut out fabric and pinning. Real macho work. In science I nearly fell asleep. Not because it was boring, it wasn't. But because I was so tired. The class made their own universal indicator from red cabbage and tested different different acids and alkalis. They loved the practical element of the lesson.

After work, I went straight to the workshop at Simpson Autocare. Chris had is brother working with him today to fit a timing belt for Penny the peugeot and another car. The speed at which they both worked was incredible. I was lost as to where all the nuts and bolts went. Chris and myself made a real mess of the workshop. Had a major oil spill and it required sand to soak up/stop the oil flow spreading.

Just some fun Sam and Chris had.

The sand is covering up the oil spill. That shiny part is the bottom of the engine.

The old engine on its side with more oil spilling out.

A close up of the oil spill.

The spill wasn't anyones fault, we did drain the engines before but this was just what was left in the sump (that big rectangle looking thing).We did manages to get most of the parts on the new engine so all we have to do on Saturday is put it back in the car.

When I got back from Simpson Autocare, I had a lovely Chinese and started writing my blog. I did put on Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Anyway, time for bed now. Thanks for reading. I will have a topic tomorrow night and might have a question as well.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 24

Day 24.

It appears I made a mistake in yesterdays blog. I called the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film The Fountain of Youth. Its actually called On Stranger Tides. I appologise about that. 

Today was a boring day by all accounts. Only 2 of my lessons were good ones, btec sport and science. The other lessons were dull and uninspiring. I won't go into details as there aren't any, but I didn't do a lot. 

After work I went straight to Chris' workshop at Simpson Autocare to continue to work on Penny the peugeot. I won't write too much but I have lots of pictures to show all of you.

Chris removing the last few bolts

The old engine coming loose

Yes, that is an old seatbelt taking the weight of the engine.

Penny, without her engine.

The complete front end taken off.

Her old engine with all the parts on that need to be transfered to the new engine.

Another viewof the front.

Another view of the old engine.

The new engine all cleaned up.

Same as before.

Other side of the new engine, looking a bit grubby.

The new engine but really dirty.

A before shot of the engine I cleaned it.

The new engine from side view.

What Chris and I did tonight was to take out the drive shafts so we could remove the old engine from a bracket holding it in and then finally removed it from the car. It was my job to clean the new engine while Chris removed parts from the old engine. 

Tomorrow after work, I plan on going to the workshop again and doing as much work on it as I can.

That is all for tonight, I'm tired and need my beauty sleep. 

Until tomorrow.

Jim 

New Year, New Blog - Day 23

Day 23.

After 10 hours sleep, I still didn't want to get up this morning. Its not the getting up that bothers me, its the waking up part. I know a lot of people are not 'morning people' but I am not one of those people, well maybe at the weekend.

So the past week, we have had our bathroom redecorated and had a new bath fitted. This has been an annoyance in the morning as I have not been able to shower properly. The new bath looks really good and is massive. Mum has been working really hard on the tiling and that has turned out really well.

Work was fun today and I didn't want my science lesson to end. Jen was teaching the class about alkali metals and how reactive they were. She did an experiment where she put a piece of Lithium, Sodium and Potassium in a bowl of water and the class watched what happened. Potassium was the best one to watch and soon some of the class asked what would happen if she put in the alkali metals which were more reactive. The class were a little disappointed when they were told it wasn't going to happen but the video she showed was good enough. Brainiac Alkali Metals is a link to the the first video and Alkali Metals: Explosive Reactions is a link to the second video. I recommend you watch them, there awesome. 
That was the highlight of work but I did have a Chinese for lunch and the prawn crackers were lovely.


When I got home, I watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest. I started watching the films over the weekend and they are quality films. I think it makes pirates sound cool and hard working. Of the four Pirates of the Caribbean films, I dont have a favourite one but the Fountain of Youth is not the best one. Which Pirates of the Caribbean film is your favourite?


I watched 2 episodes of 24 season 6 with dad after dinner. We always watch it together and both love watching it. They are so detailed and just my kind of programme. 


Thats all for tonight.


Until tomorrow.


Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 21

Day 21.

An early blog again as I'm going out tonight to a social gathering tonight. Its a birthday gathering for Steph, who I work with. So please join me in wishing her a very happy birthday for the 23rd of January.

Today was a mixture of emotions. I was so excited to be picking up a new/working engine for Penny the Peugeot. When we got to the place we were buying it from, twe saw they had charged us £75 more than they said they would over the phone. I immediatley felt very disheartened and angry but at the same time, very relieved and happy that I finally had a working engine. Chris from Simpson Autocare, was not happy at all! A few choice words were said from both of us, but at least we had an engine. We stopped for KFC on the way back, which was a real treat. Once back at the workshop and lunch was finished, we set about taking the old engine and components apart. There were so many electrical wires, pipes, air hoses and clips to take off, I did get a little confused as to what came from where. Unfortunatly we didn't get the old engine out but we did get most of the components off.

Thats all for today, I shall pose a question and topic tomorrow night as I'm already late for the gathering.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 20

Day 20.

Ok, so I have been made aware and I have noticed myself how this has quickly turned from a blog to a diary. Some kind old lady at work has suggested a few things I could do to 'jazz things up'. She says it would be a great idea to not just talk about what has happened during the day or a topic, but offer my views on the subject, like the news. It would also be a good idea if I asked a question or took a poll on a subject. When I ask a question, I'll also ask the same one on Facebook so people can still answer it.

Friday is such a good day for me. I get to see my wonderful year 10s in Btec business studies, my awesome year 8s in english and my adorable year 7s in science. During business studies, a young lady refused to work and I had a little chat to her about an example of when I was at school in the same situation and how I had to deal with it. She did laugh at me as I was a lot worse off than she was is and she did eventually do some work. I felt good for using an example from my own life and helping someone else with it. My year 8s are a lovely bunch. There is such a range of characters in the class I dont know how I handle them. That one lesson I see them in is my favourite lesson of the week. Nothing exciting happened in the lesson today, but the boys all think I'm an assassin who went to assassin school and this job is only a cover for my assassin lifestyle. I play along of course and make them laugh so much. I can't tell them about any of my assassinations or missions as they offically didn't happen. The day ended with year 7 science and I had the honour of taking about 7 kids and doing an experiment with them on my own. I wont go into the sciencey part of the experiment but we heated up an empty coke can with about a CM of water in the bottom on a bunsen burner. Once we saw steam coming out of the can, I picked up the can (I was wearing heat gloves) and plunged it straight into cold water. What we saw was the can implode instantly. It was pretty cool to see.

Once I got home, I watched the newest episode of The Big Bang Theory. It was hilarious! I cant remember any funny parts but I laughed a lot! The character of Sheldon is a genius!

Friday nights I help out at a Christian run youth club called FAST (Friday At Seven Thirty). Tonight was rather special, James Bell got a trend going Twitter about #fast. It was awesome to see so many of the youth tweet and get their views out into the digital and real world. The tweets just kept going and I know that 1000's of people around the world were reading.


The topic that I want to talk about tonight is the bill going through the U.S Congress about SOPA (stop online piracy act) and PIPA (protect IP act). From what I can understand, these old men of America want to pass a law that makes it illegal for any website to promote/show/link to any copyrighted content. I think thats about right, well, in a nutshell. Personally, I think were at a place where the internet is the most important communication tool on this planet. Trying to regulate what is on the WWW is like trying to censor what people talk about on the phone or text. It can't be done. It seems like America is once again bullying her way around the world because something has happened they don't like. So if websites hosting copyrighted material or links were closed, then YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and all the other social networks would close. But why wouldn't iTunes close? Or Spotify? What does everyone else think? Should SOPA and PIPA be passed?

I have plenty more to talk about and I'll post a question on Facebook (if the U.S Congress allows it) about SOPA and PIPA.

Thank you all for reading.

Until tomorrow.

Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 18

Day 18.

I had a headache all day so I shall keep it short and would like lots of sympathy please. I started feeling rubbish when I got to work, maybe I should have gone to student admin and been sent home. Wednesday is also my loudest day so that didn't help.


The day was a good one, apart from the headache. I did shut off for most of the day and nothing interesting happened as far as I can remember. 


Once home, it was straight under the duvet with a film of the giant TV. I had to finish off the Transformers trilogy and watched the 3rd one, Dark of the Moon. I really enjoy those films if you hadn't guessed. 


I had a lovely piece of steak for dinner, needless to say, it didn't last long. 

I checked the number of visits I've had on this blog and its up to 950. I think I'll be hitting 1000 before the night is over. Thank you everyone!!


Now its time for me to watch The Social Network and have an early night.


Until tomorrow.


Jim

New Year, New Blog - Day 17

Day 17.

It was cold! I would say that I read the temperature from the thermometer in my car but my car doesn't work.

Work was quite fun today and it went really quick. Not a lot happened although in year 8 science about half the class were given C1s' and C2s' (verbal warnings) and 2 students were given C3s' (1 hour detention). Its a big class of about 30 students and about 15, maybe more, were on C1 and C2. I've seen 6 or 7 students given warnings in classes before but never any more.


When I got home, I played more Crash Bandicoot and then watched the star gazing programme on BBC2. It was fascinating to see the galaxy and everything in it in so much detail! I got lost in all its beauty and awe, I was quite humbled.


Now I find myself watching a programme called Playing God. Goats that create spiders silk and fermented yeast that gives off diesel not alcohol. It asks some intriguing questions about sustaining life and if it is morally right being able to create new bio-organisms in your own home.

Not a lot for today but heres a thought -

Should we be essentially growing for our increased needs if it means harming the environment around us?


Until tomorrow.


Jim