Category: Random Ramblings


The 2010 “Thank You” list.

Filed Under: Random Ramblings by gaz — 1 Comment
December 30, 2010

So it’s that time again, and in keeping with this tradition that I started a few years ago, here is the gaz.simplymega.com thank you list for 2010:

(If I’ve missed you out then I’m sorry but even I, master of lists, get list over load from time to time.)

Thanks to: Knights that say “Ni!”; Jit, Emma, CGP & the rest of the WYP-IT crew, Paintball Comando, that bridge and it’s taking, staying frosty (cheers Iceman!)  & the paintball dance (Cheers Matt!); Robert Rankin for still writing a load of old toot! Devildriver for another fantastic live experience and 36Crazyfists for Heavy Metal Star Jumps; Seth Macfarlane for Family Guy & American Dad; Craig, Dan & Mark for running the coolest Scout Pack in the Known Universe (up the Bfd North 29th); the Welsh Rugby Union team for the usual heady mix of optimism, skill and pain; Steve MacNamara for leaving the Bulls; Iron Maiden for Final Frontier; Matt Smith for not being a terrible Doctor; Corey Taylor for the best Christmas song in a long time; Stone Sour for Audio Secrecy; Enslaved and Amon Amarth for the best Viking Death Metal on the planet; Dimmu Borgir for doing Orchestral Black Metal the way it should be done (Epic!);  boots for being better than shoes; Jagermeister for simply being what it is; Jack Daniels and Ginger Ale for being my new favourite; the people at Friendly Dragon for being really cool people and running the best Pagan shop I’ve ever been in; Frank the tattooist for offering free removals (someone fetch the belt sander); the bus for not killing Carl; Dr. Dixon for being a superb GP; Trees; Amplifier; the Simpsons and Futurama for being classics; the Gopher in Caddyshack; Stoic the Vast; Toothless; UKPagan for being the best online valley in which to spend time & to Esk, Pomona, Freebird, Birka & Xalle (amongst many others) for making me smile and think in equal measures; to my many friends on Twitter (some I have met, and others I will one day meet), Lorraine Hagan, Simonmac_co_uk, melissalwebb, andrewmorrisey, chasingtao & bkwads to name but a few who make it a valuable place to be; Lily Oak for founding Hedgewitchery Books and for publishing my work & thus introducing me to Jo Lynne Valerie, Amy F Williamson, Margaret West, Faiydae and the other talented souls that contribute there; all and any wildlife presavation organisations out there;  my car for not showing it’s age; Al & Kate for new opportunity to become a Froggie (thank you sooooo much), and to Al, Matt, Az, Jen, Carl, Jamie, David (Trebuchet! Trebuchet!), Adam, Jennie, Helen & Mark for being the best Support team in the history of Support teams. Gareth and Tariq for forming Frogtrade in the first place, and to all my other fellow Froggies including Tempy, Pete, Karl, Red, The Norton, Claire, TomNomNom, Si, Steve, Lee, Danni, Stuart, Mandy, Rebecca, Scawp & Craig; “she’s got a key?” “No, she’s got a foot!”; snow shovels & rock salt; Zombie Monkeys; the buttie run; Jan, Bob, Robin, Mark, Carol, Jonny, Nikki, Helen, John, David, Mum, Dad and all my other family members (this post is not long enough for you all), Tom & Dez for being the legends that they are….
and last but so very far from least, Owen & Morgan for making me the proudest Dad ever (love you boys) and Su – my soulmate – you are an amazing girl and my life would not be the same without you, I will love you forever!

Here’s to 2011!

\m/

X

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I’m not pacifist but come on people…….

Filed Under: Random Ramblings by gaz — Leave a comment
December 9, 2010

The violent protests in London today have achieved nothing. There I said it.

What do you think that wrecking stuff was going to achieve rather than proving that you can show restraint and make you point without causing widespread damage?

Do you think that people who were sitting on the fence on the subject of University Fee’s are now going to be on your side? Really? Of course they aren’t.

Sit in’s, peaceful marches and gatherings are one thing. They make a point, they show people that you have a point to make and it makes them more inclined to find out more about a subject.
Going nuts and wrecking stuff does exactly the opposite.

Now I never went to University, and I don’t believe it’s essential but I do believe that it is a right of anybody with the mental ability to get a degree to get to go to University.
It benefits the individual and it benefits the country.
Should a smart kid who is born to a family that can’t afford the pay for them to go to uni miss out?
Is it right that a not-so smart rich kid gets to go because his family can afford it?
Think of it like this.
Smart kid from a modest incomed family misses out on going to Uni. He never gets chance to develop his intelligence and knowledge, he never gets the tools to harness his natural ability and the world goes without the cure to cancer for another 50 years.
The not-so smart rich kid goes to Uni, does well, becomes an investment banker or a rampant capitalist and gets richer by gambling with other peoples money and in the process makes life even harder for the “have nots” of the world.

Now that is slightly stereotypical, and for that I apologize.  Naturally, smart kids from rich families are just the same a smart kids from poor families and not-so smart kids from poor families are the same as not-so smart kids from rich families.
What I’m trying to illustrate is that financial considerations should not influence educational opportunity.
Idealistic? perhaps.
Impossible? No.

People need to remember that this country was made truly great when people stopped worrying about the cost implications and started treating people fairly.
Without that approach we would never have ended Child labour (because it was cost effective), we would never have been given 2 day weekends , fair pay , holiday pay, sick pay , maternity leave or any of the other little things that we take for granted that out relatives in the early industrial age didn’t have.

So rather than wrecking everything around you why are you not trying to show our decision makers the right way forward?

All those who took part in the rioting today I would like to say congratulations! You successfully damaged the whole cause in the way that the government spin doctors have been trying to do all the way through this.

Well played people, well played.

D’oh!

\m/

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