Sunday, November 30, 2003
14 Days Later
I promised two weeks of Blogging and I managed it. I've found it an interesting exercise, and not the waste of time that I thought it might be, for one thing I've realised that I seriously need to move from Blogger for a number of reasons. The first is that the main page doesn't always load fully, cutting off my posts. Also there is a lack of RSS, which I would have been willing to pay for, but they managed to lose it in the Blogger-Blogger Pro mix and match, and finally I'd really like emailing posts to the page...
Any suggestions as to where I might want to take my business?
Saturday, November 29, 2003
Why Do You Want One Wheel
They are thinking of creating a one wheeled bike. I'd like to know why you would want such tech when normal bikes get along through traffic just fine.
Friday, November 28, 2003
Maths Lesson
(5:30 Wake up + My Birthday + 13 hour shift) X (Repeat tomorrow) = Must Sleep Now...
And good news for decent folk in Newham.
Thursday, November 27, 2003
Some People Just Can't Wait
So, there I am in my Ambulance helping a bloke who was actually quite ill, when all of a sudden the back doors fly open and some idiot decides to start berating me because I'm blocking the road. Needless to say I am not pleased at this, not only because it is embarrassing for the patient, but also because of the sheer bloody cheek of the woman. When I tell he (very politely mind you) bugger off, she replies with the old favourite "I'm a tax-payer, I pay your wages". At this I remind her that my patient, my crewmate and I also pay taxes. At this she is a bit non-plussed, yet still she continues to moan that there is no need for me to block the road. As an aside I did need to block the road, I don't do it on purpose, but it is more important (to me at least, but obviously not to women who are much more important than anything I'm doing) to get to the patient quickly. This womans moaning then gets other drivers upset and they start honking their horns, and the only way I get rid of the woman who was in such a hurry was to pull the door shut after me and tell her to imagine her relative in the ambulance...
I didn't hurry treating the patient either.
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Single
Although I do love my job dearly, there are of course a number of disadvantages. At the moment I am a "relief" worker, which means although I have a main station, I can be sent anywhere in London to cover absences and holidays. I also don't have a regular crewmate, and am essentially the whore of the L.A.S.
So at the moment I am sitting on my backside at my main station with no-one to work with, watching daytime TV.
Bored, bored, bored, bored...
Of course at some point in the next twelve hours I could be rushed off anywhere in London. Being on strange stations is actually quite good fun, as you get to meet new people and lets face it in this job moving around London just means "same shit, different scenery".
But at the moment I'm bored...
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Retreat From The World
Well...
I've just got Star Wars Galaxies so I'm off to retreat from the world for a bit. All I've got to do now is remember to eat...
Monday, November 24, 2003
Frankly Shocking
I'm just looking at some of the health information for the boroughs that I work in, and it makes for interesting reading. Some of the highest infant mortality, Tuberculosis infection and teenage pregnancy rates. Makes you glad to be a Londoner. Look here for some the statistics in a nice graphic form (pdf).
Oh and I love the way government documents talk about "rich and varied ethnic, cultural and religious mix"...
He makes sense...
This post from One Hand Clapping makes some real sense. I don't agree with everything that Donald has to say but this recent post makes some real sense...
...Al Qaeda’s war is not only against the West; in fact, I say that they are not even principally fighting against the West. Their primary war is against other Muslims. What is at stake are lives, human freedom and the very definition of Islam itself...
I suggest you read the whole post.
And more on the same.
In There
I belong to a 3D on-line community called There. It is a great place and I have a lot of friends there. However...It is only open at certain hours of the day, and seeing as the servers are in America, these opening hours are not good for me in the U.K. But I work shifts, so staying awake until 3am isn't a particular hardship for me. Also since coming out of Beta testing there is a feeling that the developers don't care as much for customer support as they used to.
Other than that I'd recommend you signing up and looking out for "Reynolds", I can do you a good deal on a UK T-shirt.
Sunday, November 23, 2003
Pet Driving Hates Part 1
There are lots of things that annoy me when I'm driving. Perhaps the most annoying is people who park in disabled bays. Only today I was shopping and while waiting for the shop doors to open I counted seven people parking in disabled bays. Needless to say all of them looked hale and hearty to me, and lets face it I have seen too many sick people to be mistaken.
What I want to do is slash their tyres..Unfortunately I have a fear of ending up in prison being "love-bitch" to some toothless horror from the darkest depths of Cornwall.
Instead I'm just going to design some immensely witty bit of artwork to slide under their windscreen.
Look out for part two, or see if I forget about doing anything.
Saturday, November 22, 2003
Bored
I'm not running around the woods in the rain shooting at people, instead I'm stuck indoors bored out of my skull. At least The Amp is playing some decent music in it's "Olds cool" segments.
I wouldn't care but I've got loads of stuff to do, but I just can't be bothered doing anything worthwhile on such a dull miserable day.
Moan moan, whinge, whine...
Perhaps I should start writing some poetry...
Friday, November 21, 2003
No Shooting People For Me
Because I still have explosive diarrhoea, and while bears may well "go" in the woods, I'd be just a bit embarrassed. So the plan to mobile blog is off...while the plan to be within 10 yards of a toilet at all times is on.
America to "discard" Constitution
A recent interview with American General Tommy Franks has him stating that in the event of another Terrorist attack the U.S. would discard the Constitution. Wouldn't this mean the Terrorists had won?
Blair forgets recent British history
"Mr Bush is more used to such attacks. He experienced 9/11.
But now the British prime minister was confronted with the reality that Britain, too, is in the front line. "
...From the BBC Newsite...
So we can ignore all those little Irish bombs that went off a few years back? Actually come to think of it, why isn't Bush bombing Sinn Fein back to the stone age, haven't they have had more to do with terrorism than Saddam Hussein?
Not that I'm suggesting it as an option, for a start off I don't think Ireland has anything Halliburton wants, but it does strike me as a bit strange that this war on terror only seems to be only countries that are Muslim/Communist/Oil-rich.
And, yes, I know its simplistic...
The World May Get That Little Bit More Dangerous
The Americans are planning a missile that could be fired from the East coast of American to hit "terrorist" bases in Europe. The Falcon will travel 9000 miles in less that two hours showering death from above. Even scarier are that it could carry Small Diameter Bombs or "other munitions".
Wired seems in love with the technology, but doesn't see to consider the effects on world peace that this system would have.
Would you like the prospect of being bombed at the push of a button from a country far far away?
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Weekend Plans
From tomorrow (Friday) I shall be playing airsoft in a bunker at Kelvedon Hatch. Basically our group, The Fight School, hires the bunker out for a long weekend and we roleplay and shoot at each other like mad. The games plot is loosely based around the Stargate SG-1 TV series, and we have a great deal of fun..
The only problem is that the bunker is a giant Faraday Cage which means that it is hard to get a mobile phone signal in or out of it. My plan for my promised posts over the weekend is that I shall use my Pocket PC linked up (via Infrared) to my mobile phone, while standing outside the bunker (hopefully not in the rain). If it doesn't work then you'll just have to have my posts all on Monday. I might even take a picture or two...
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
Sexy Science
There is a place in London called the Dana Centre where they show science for adults. They run live events like MRI scans of contortionists and collaborative experiments on memory. If you are in London I'd recommend dropping in or getting a ticket from their web-site.
Bush Lands, Changes Tie Quickly
Either sloppy journalism, the worlds quickest tie change or one picture was faked, just look at the two pictures.
I don't intend to rant and rave over what a threat to the world President Bush is...its all been done before by people much smarter than me.
However I do approve of the Chasing Bush campaign. Basically it is a list of place where Bush is going so people can demonstrate against him. If I didn't need to be within 10 seconds of a toilet at all times of the day I'd be joining in.
It's also been 136 days since the invasion and still no sign of the fabled "Weapons of Mass Destruction".
I'll just recommend Baghdad Burning to give you an idea what is really happening in Iraq at the moment. Its heartbreaking stuff.
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Sickness
I see a lot of sickness in my work, it kind of comes with the territory. However despite being around highly infectious people for twelve hours of the day I don't get "sick" that often. Sure I get the occasional cold, but I feel better by working it off. In fact I pride myself on my sickness record.
Except when I have "two bucket syndrome" (as a close friend of mine described it). That is Diarrhoea and Vomiting (D+V in medical terminology).
Anything else I can work with, but with D+V you need to be within near proximity to toilets, something that just isn't possible when roaming the streets of London looking for people who want/need to go to hospital.
Still there is no feeling more pleasurable than the post-vomit, where the last hour of feeling nauseous is temporarily over.
Got to look on the bright side...
Bush is about to arrive in England and the cost of security for him is valued at £5m. My mother (not normally a hotbed of revolutionary zeal) suggested that we could save the money by having him assassinated before he arrives...
Blair's spokesman said "...he believes that the majority of people welcome President Bush..." which shows just how in touch with this nation our esteemed leader is.
Monday, November 17, 2003
Day One...(of Fourteen)
Today was a weird one...Every patient I picked up was nice to me.
Also you could make a case that they all had a good reason for calling an ambulance. I don't know if this is a sign of the End Times or just something that happens every 1000 days, but it was a pleasant surprise.
I was mainly picking up little old ladies with bad infections, or who had fallen on the floor and spent all night laying on the floor next to an open window. I don't know the temperature but it was cold last night.
There was one man, a 90 year old Sikh gentleman who had a wicked sense of humour, despite suddenly being unable to walk.
It might have something to do with working day shifts...on nights you expect to pick up drunks and druggies, while all the nice people are safely asleep in their beds. Perhaps I need to stop working so many nights...but then what would I have to moan about.
Sunday, November 16, 2003
A Work Ethic
From tomorrow I'm going to be working early shifts until the end of the month, this means I have no excuse not to Blog. So my plan is to write something for this Blog every day until the end of the month, that is 14 days of churning out something interesting. If its not interesting then it'll be long...
Sunday, November 09, 2003
Suicide and Teeth
Tonight has been a funny night, possibly something to do with the Lunar eclipse. In the first hours of the shift there were two people who I wanted to give a good slapping.
The first was a woman who had overdosed on tablets and whiskey, when I first arrived she was crying and looked upset. However, as soon as her (understandably) upset mother entered, the woman started laughing and taking the piss out of her mum. This puts her in the category of suicide attempts that I wish had succeeded.
The second was a young woman who had been hitting her father, when her brother (defending the father) had stepped in and broke the tooth of the woman. This woman was inconsolable over the broken tooth, and would not believe that modern dentistry can make teeth look as good as new (I should know my uncle once had his teeth knocked out with a baseball bat.
The thing is, I always start off being nice to people, but every-so-often you just want to slap them...
...except she had already been slapped.
Payment Point
I get called to a lot of RTA's (that is, for the uninformed "Road Traffic accident"). I'd say that 90% of these are diagnosed as "whiplash" (which is a muscular sprain of the neck - ultimately a minor injury that is treated with painkillers).
I'd suggest that over half of these are in order to gain insurance money, in the trade we call this the "Payment Point", referring to the point in the neck that is painful, and pays out the money.
Tonight I saw the most blatant attempt to get money from an "accident".
I was called to a flyover where two cars had been in a near collision, that's right near collision. There was no damage to either vehicle, nor were there even any skidmarks left on the road. The "patient" was the passenger of the car, and complained of pain on the right side of his neck. He was desperate to go to hospital, for what reason I do not know, as there is obviously no injury.
This was made even more evident when he forgot what side of his neck the pain was on. When I called him on this he pretended not to know what I was talking about. Even the police were not above making fun of this idiot.
It probably didn't help that he is 10 years younger than me an driving around in a red sports car.
Friday, November 07, 2003
Not Fear, Not Hate But Frustration
I was visiting my brother and a couple of friends tonight and when I returned to my flats I saw someone had taken a crowbar to my garage door and had broken into it. Luckily I was driving my car at the time and it wasn't stolen.
...Which is a first as this car has been stolen five times and even damaged "beyond economical repair" once. In fact it's been stolen so many times I stopped reporting it to the police and instead just trawled around the local estates until I found it.
But I've reported it this time because I'm fed up of living in a place full of scum. Even my friends are surprised I live here, so now I have a nice crime reference number, I can add it to the others and start asking the local council to move me from this shit-hole.
What annoys me is quite simply this...I am powerless to stop these people.
If I was mugged in the street at least I'd have the option of running away (or to be more honest fighting back), but because these crimes are committed while I'm not there I am powerless to do anything about them.
Hence title "Not Fear, Not Hate But Frustration".
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
Why Would People Even Think It?
Sometimes I am astounded by the bloodymindedness of people, and sometimes by their stupidity. Now I am astonished at their petty nastiness.
I'm driving my "big-white-van-with-blue-flashing-lights-and-a-siren" to a 1 year old child with difficulty in breathing. While passing a group of Asian youths on the pavement, one of them thinks that it would be a good idea to throw his bottle of coke at the ambulance, thus spraying my screen, obscuring my vision and nearly causing me to swerve into on-coming traffic.
All I can say is that it is lucky for them that I was going to a call, because if I hadn't I'd have shoved my boot up their arse.
Where in the tiny recesses of their minds does it seem like a good idea to throw something at an ambulance running on lights and sirens?
All I hope is that one day they need me, something likely given the amount of people like that who get stabbed in my neck of the woods, and I'm just that little too slow to save their worthless skins.
