Teen Boy Peer Pressure

It was a hot day for the time of year and I sat up at our local water watching the world, but little water, go by.  The water level has been creeping down for years but now it's beyond bad.

About 20 teens turned up on bikes, ranging from about 13 to 16 years old.  Mainly boys but a few girls.  I was sat quite a distance from them but the conditions meant I could hear every word they said perfectly. 

I was not surprised that every sentence averaged at least 3 'fuckings', well it' ssuch a versatile word.  I was surprised by the Cword being used as frequently as it was but hey.

A number of them had swam there the day before and were pressuring the others to jump in now.  The amount of pressure, the ribbing, the "you're a pussy", "you'll be the only one that doesn't" - I felt sorry for them all.

How hard must it be for lads of that age to stand up against the crowd, especially with girls watching.  One by one they succumbed, there was the odd comment of "but you can't see the bottom", "it's very dirty", "it's too cold",...they knew the safety advice, they knew it wasn't safe but they couldn't stand down against the pressure.

I decided to wander past and suggested they shouldn't think about going into the water if they had open cuts already and not to get it into their mouths. They were really open to listening which surprised me and I wandered off again to watch.

Another boy said that his chest had got really tight in the cold water the day before and he was worried it would set his asthma off, nope the boys still ribbed him until he jumped.  I checked for my phone at this point thinking we would be needing an ambulance soon.  A few were warned by others as they moved higher up the jetty to dive higher into shallower water.  In the end only 1 boy didn't go in, his excuse being he didn't have a change of clothes with him but he was ribbed mercilessly,

After they had left I surveyed the rubbish they had left behind and was cursing them with the language they'd just shared so freely but as I saw them all slogging up the steep hill pushing their bikes, still dripping wet I could understand why they didn't want to carry it home.

One lad was still at the jetty trying to start a mini moped, too small to push back, to heavy to carry,  I asked him if he was ok and needed to get it back to the village. He looked at me with "omg a stranger spoke to me, should I run eyes".  I asked him as gently as I could if there was anyone else he could call if he was stuck "I s'pose I'll ring my dad but it's really nice of you to stop and ask, thank you very much".  How polite they all were (despite the colourful language).

I think my point is these were clearly well brought up kids, good bikes, nice clothes, only the odd cigarette between them, they had manners and knew the rules and knew what was safe but slowly, as teens boys are prone to, they egged each other on until they were stretching the safety boundaries.  I knew their parents would be furious, but how can you teach them how to say no in a situation like that. 

That water isn't safe to swim in, it's had dangerous algae year after year, it was freezing cold, it is shallower than it's ever been, you can't see the bottom as it was churned up and seeing the receding water shows there are concrete slabs in places at the bottom.

And yet I watched them have a great time and I was so happy these boys were swimming in the grime rather than standing at shootings, shooting up or a myriad of other news worthy events.

I'm left wondering yet again how we managed to grow to adulthood intact given the stupid things we did and how these kids are going to manage to do the same...

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Google, Cancer and Worry

In the brief interlude for 2 days last week that my back felt better (just before the re herniation) I went to the dentist. He prodded, poked, and muttered, then prodded, poked and muttered some more, then said I had to go back in a week as I have an odd thing on the floor of my mouth. I chirped up "it doesn't hurt", this apparently is not a good thing.

We have spoken before about the dangers of googling any symptom. But after having had a good poke around in the bathroom mirror with a torch in hand I pootled off to google images to see what I had got.

By the time I'd finished I'd got 3 days to live! As the days have gone on I've watched this mark in my mouth slowly disappear despite my constant poking at it to see if it hurts or not. So having given myself complete heart failure on the return from the dentist, I'm now slightly irritated at having to go back for what must have been a painless blood blister of some sort.

So I say it loudly just one more time....DO NOT GOOGLE MEDICAL SYMPTOMS....perhaps I'll actually start to listen to myself one day soon.

Source http://thedoghousediaries.com/3438

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Microdiscectomy recovery week 8 update

After Sunday's scare I've hardly been able to do much at all. I've lain on my side in bed with the iPad, Lain on my side on the floor with the iPad and occasionally sat on my barstool with the iPad.

I've been using the ice pack on my back a lot and I found some sore back exercises that eased me a bit too.  But mainly I've done not a lot except potter around the house and lie down for 3 days. This has made a big difference.

I went to see the consultant today. I have a problem with consultants in general not being 'holistic', for example I mentioned to him that I use ice on my back to ease my leg pain and he just raised an eyebrow. But it works. I think it reduces swelling which in turn means less pressure on the nerve. But I don't really care how it works as long as it does. But he didn't agree.  He also wasn't interested in the fact that my leg feels heavy and alien, like it doesn't want to do what it's told. He told me to 'shhhhhhhh'. He is an abrupt man but he is a good surgeon which is what matters really.

He tested my full leg movement, nerve reflexes etc and said I am doing ok. He doesn't think I've reherniated, he thinks I've pulled hard on the nerve root and I need to rest up to let it settle again.

He also said all the walking I do is too much (well why didn't he tell me to stop before?)  He also said I'm one of the fittest people he's seen at this stage of the game (I said it was down to all the walking I'd been doing but he didn't look impressed!).

We didn't discuss the pain, I kicked myself after I'd came out for not insisting we talk about it but he makes me feel about 5 years old.  In fairness if rest is the order of the day then the pain should ease up as I start to heal again.

He gave strict instructions that I was to walk no more than 1km a day and I should see him in 2 weeks time. If I'm not better by then he will rescan me but I can tell him now if I do nothing ever again forever I'll be fine but I want my pigging life back, I want to do something.

He agreed with the GP about me being off work for 2 weeks too so I don't feel so bad about that.

So rest rest rest....

To get into the swing of resting I drove to our local water instead of walking, but once I was there I needed to feel the wind in my hair so I walked up the hill.  I mapped it out when I got home...1.12km, well I was close!





I have created a page of links for my Microdiscectomy posts and other links I have found helpful. You can find it here. PLEASE FOLLOW THE MEDICAL ADVICE OF YOUR DOCTOR. WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME.

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Avatar Time

In twitter land I have been a bright green cereal bowl for many years. I decided it was time to become me.  The problem with avatars is to work well they need to be a close up. An extreme close up.  I have always wanted a Jane Jetson mask but sadly as life still hasn't caught up with the Jetsons, so it had to be camera time.

It's not as easy as it seems. First off I hit my usual problem of light.  Time to step away from the window!

Then if you decide to use a mirror you should probably clean it first!  I'm unlikely to hear "my what a fantastic streaky mirror effect, how can I do that with my camera?!"

Next, for no apparent reason my head elongated and the light bounced nicely of the wrinkles.  (A horse walked into a bar and the barman said 'why the long face?'!)

Light really is not my friend, if I wanted a lens flare like that I'd use Photoshop.

So once I'd actually mastered a light level that was working I realised looking like you've been folded in half probably doesn't look so great either.

Nor does trying to get every chin you can possibly muster up on show.

I finally started to get some where but I would prefer if the hand had less of a starring role.

I really like this and the fact that I am visible despite being back in front of the window felt like a minor victory.

But this one finally won through. One chin, enough wrinkles to know I've not air brushed it, but diffused enough to not feel too bad about my increasing age.

And at my age this is an extreme close up.  A suspect the next one will need candle light (or botox!)

See more 'Extreme Close Up' at the Gallery.

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Microdiscectomy Recovery Week 8 Reherniation?

Week 7 back at work had been a sore week but I'd made it through.

On Saturday I felt great, in fact I'd had a lovely 6k walk in the sun and gone to a concert in the evening during which I was congratulating myself on how I didn't hurt, my life was becoming normal again.

On Sunday morning we discussed rebooking the summer holiday we had put on hold and then I went upstairs for a shower, bent over too quickly to undress and collapsed in a heap of pain.

I spent the next 2 days sobbing with ice packs on my back.  I've been to the doctors and I'm signed off for another 2 weeks.  I really hope my employers are understanding of this.  I have to say on Sunday I could have given up my life completely, this pain just completely takes over me it's all consuming.

I spent most of Sunday and Monday lying down and today amid ice and pain killers. I'm trying to only take paracetamol because of my bleeding stomach, but paracetamol doesn't really touch it.  The doctor has given me more omeprazole to try to get on top of stomach pain.

This afternoon I've been out for a very slow and short 2k walk back on my walking poles and I'm typing fast before I go re-ice again.

Tomorrow I am going to see the consultant which is the earliest I could get to see him in my area (I am so pleased I'm not trying to do this on the NHS).  I am hoping I get another MRI to show the extent of the damage I have done.

I keep hoping you can strain or sprain or something, that this level of back pain doesn't immediately mean reherniation but I know I've felt all this before.  My leg feels tingly, heavy and in places painful.  I have butt pain back, which hasn't been there for at least 5 weeks and the side of my leg has a stabbing pain.  Also my leg doesn't want to do as it's told all the while, I'm struggling to lift it properly again.


I have created a page of links for my Microdiscectomy posts and other links I have found helpful. You can find it here. PLEASE FOLLOW THE MEDICAL ADVICE OF YOUR DOCTOR. WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME.

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Singletons Menu

HWMBO as been in Australia for a while, the intended reason being to visit his family but he mainly spent it visiting doctors.

When ever he is away I realise I could never possibly live alone and be healthy.  When he is here I cook a proper meal everyday.  I've made great friends with my crockpot this winter producing from scratch stews, curries, hotpots well anything really that cooks slowly. I do fajitas, stir frys, pasta dishes, roasts, ...I cook.

During the week COG eats 3 nights at her father's so it is usually just me and HWMBO.  Whilst he's been away food has been mainly MEH.

Initially I'd started on a diet of :

Breakfast: Oats, yogurt, prunes, nuts
Lunch: Tomato soup, toast, malt loaf
Dinner: Vegetable omelet with salad
Snack: bowl popcorn and frozen yogurt (because I was so hungry)

This was clearly too much effort and became:

Breakfast: Oats, yogurt, prunes, nuts
Lunch: Porridge, malt loaf
Dinner: Tomato soup, toast
Snack: bowl popcorn and frozen yogurt (because I was so hungry)

But the effort was still overwhelming:

Breakfast: Porridge, prunes, nuts
Lunch: Porridge, packet of haribou
Dinner: Oats, yogurt
Snack: very very large bowl popcorn and entire pot frozen yogurt (because I was so hungry)

By Friday after a breakfast of porridge and a lunch of porridge, I stood in the kitchen and looked at all the veg in the fridge and the cupboards of base ingredients and yep, you guessed it - I throw another pack of oat-so-simple into the microwave, finishing my stunning meal off with a pot of frozen yoghurt.

This is not the way to a healthy body!  So it's a good job HWMBO is home. I am always very careful with his diet. Balanced, packed full off antioxidants, a rainbow of veg and for him I cook meat in the meals. (I could be a vegetarian no problem at all).  The sideline of me looking after him means I get a decent diet at the same time.  Man cannot live by porridge alone and for that very reason, despite the wet towels, extra ironing, snoring downsides a partner brings I think I will always need someone to look after because I am incapable of looking after myself.

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Microdiscectomy Recovery Week 7 Back to Work

Towards the end of week 6 I was starting to feel like my recovery had slowed, I was though in a good routine of rest and walking.  But all good things must come to an end.

I'm not sure if it was the drive to the airport, sitting for a long time whilst I had my hair cut or just that I had speeded up my walking a bit but all of a sudden I was floored with dreadful pain again and just 2 days before I was due to be back at work.

Much of the blurb you read suggests going back to work as early as 2 weeks after the op, I didn't feel I was able to ask for more time off after 6 but I did have the option to work from home which I did.

I stopped walking for a few days and just worked. Sitting (even on my kneeling chair) for such long periods was hard and I was taking nurofen (ibruprofen) again.  This gave me a really sore stomach and I got through a bottle of gaviscon too.  I stopped taking pain killers, went back to ice packs and took some Lansoprazole to ease the stomach pain.  I've been mentally tired but physically missing my walking and it's put me back a couple of weeks again really.

I really wish I'd had the bravery to say I need to stay off for a bit longer.

By the end of the week my leg had eased off a bit and I started walking again but only about 4km not the usual 6 and I haven't been able to get out to the local shops either because of working. 

I had also driven my daughter twice this week a short distance and that caused my leg to start hurting again, so really I'm no further forward. 



I have created a page of links for my Microdiscectomy posts and other links I have found helpful. You can find it here. PLEASE FOLLOW THE MEDICAL ADVICE OF YOUR DOCTOR. WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME.

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Duck Test

"She prides herself on calling a spade a spade"
"Any toddler can do that, but it takes a level of cognitive intelligence not to dig a hole doing it."

My Lancastrian cousin made me feel better in an instant.

My own family is all inclusive, we aren't even bound by blood in many cases. I have aunts whose actual connection to me is loosely linked by a second marriage somewhere along the way and yet we love each other dearly, know that we would be there for each other and will always be welcome.  My family room has many elephants in it's corners but we will support each other to ignore them.   Some of it I'm sure is a direct result of our northern roots.

I also have a non-family. A circle I have never been completely accepted into. I'm welcome to sit at the table and eat, my name is on the Christmas cards but when something happens and the ranks close in, I am left on the outside feeling excluded. Meet the Fockers has always had me in stitches. I know just how Greg feels except there is no Jack, there is just a group of people with no understanding of Ohana.

I've deliberated for many years whether it is culture or ostracism.  But I do know the duck test ...

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

So I'm reassigned to the fact that I'm not in the circle, I'm not even a chink the chain never will be and that is not my family. But then I also know that

 a ducks opinion of me is largely based on whether or not I have any bread

And I don't much feel like wandering down to the pond anymore.

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Uluru

This week's Gallery is Colour.

I didn't have a particularly good camera when we were at Ayres Rock 10 years ago, but the colours of it and the whole place were quite special.

It changed colour as you stood and looked at it, it changed colour depending on the time of day, it generally just changed colour!

Some people walked up it, a dangerous activity which the tour guides asked you not to do. It's a bit like a tour bus turning up at your local church and everyone abseiling it before leaving.

There is a great energy there, an incredible feeling that runs in your blood, you can feel it inside.

But whilst there were times of isolation, lets not pretend it is quiet! Tourist's are 'contained' which makes the experience at times, a little underwhelming.

Which is why I liked the Olgas (20 miles from Uluru) so much more.  COG was a wee dot, we borrowed a push chair off the hotel manager's next door neighbour but even in that, the flies and heat floored her.  Whilst our tour party went on a long walk through the Olgas, COG and I sat in the shade of an emergency water station and sang nursery rhymes.  Just us and the massive power of nature, doing what comes naturally to a mother and child.  It is a memory that stirs my heart and will live with me for ever.

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Rust Buckets

Soooo COG had a brace fitted today, that's fairly standard for a child of her age.

My back pain has increased significantly and the sciatica is back in force.  That's also expected given my track record.

HWMBO phoned from Australia this morning to tell me he's got DVT.

Ok world, I surrender.

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Seeking Beauty, Seeing Ugly

It's been a while since I took you on a walk with me.

Today everything seemed beautiful but full of ugly, like spring has still yet to hide the harsh inside.

Barbed wire in the hedgerow.

Thorns ready to hurt.

Up hill battle with no end in site.

Gates barring the future which is still hazy and cold.

There's the promise of a beautiful reflection but marred by a murky surface and a pipe ready to ooze more.

Is a land slip a lovely watering place for wildlife or the threat of total collapse?

Tunnel After tunnel of cold shade

Muddy puddles where the sun won't dry them out.

Still lingering winter harsh, hard and cold.

But the lambs tails shout the start of spring

and the sun will battle through and win.

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Microdiscectomy Recovery weeks 5 and 6

Things are definitely better than they were but  I am still very tired, I thought I would have got over the tiredness by now but some days I'm really struggling.
I have been clothes shopping with my daughter (got a lift in to town and caught bus back) and survived, tired and a leg ache but better than I expected.  I did go easy though, walked slow, she carried all the bags and I did no bending. 

I drove for about 35 minutes there and back this week to do an airport drop off and again had leg pain afterwards and all the following day but I wasn't as sore as I expected, although sore enough to be note worthy.

Standing still makes me hurt, both my back and leg and very quickly.  Queuing in a shop is hard and uncomfortable.

I can carry a little more weight now, lifting the washing powder box doesn't make me wince now, but it's still important not to pick up anything too heavy.  Anything more than 4 pints of milk is an issue still, I feel it pull.

I am still walking 3 miles (5.75km) a day and I am definitely walking a bit faster now, it takes about 70 minutes.  The increased speed might explain why I'm starting to get sore again and I think I probably need to slow down a bit.

I have been wondering about starting some core exercises but I think I'm going to wait a little longer.

I'm starting work again on Monday, that will be post op day 40.  I'm going to work from home because I have my kneeling chair, I'm just not ready to sit in an office style chair for 7 hours.  Working from home also means I won't have an hours driving tagged onto the sitting.  I'll let you know how it goes.

I feel like the healing progress I was making has ground to a halt again and I've been the same for over a week, I really want to see the end of the leg pain I get after exerting myself a little.  Like calf ache after driving, or general leg ache after sitting for 30 minutes.  This is sciatica light, but it is still not what I want.  I have also been back on ibuprofen on and off this week so it is definitely still an issue.

This is a slow healing process and I am too impatient for it!





I have created a page of links for my Microdiscectomy posts and other links I have found helpful. You can find it here.


PLEASE FOLLOW THE MEDICAL ADVICE OF YOUR DOCTOR.
WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME.

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Liar, Liar Birthday's on Fire

Lindy at Squidyboo (I like her blog, it feels like watching my life 7 years ago) did an 'On My Birthday' post.

Well I have a confession, I don't ever use my correct birthday on-line,  it's all part of the privacy game, I try to keep my internet foot print a little removed from me in order to make it harder for the less genuine people in this world (Except my white lie isn't really not genuine, I mean 'other' not genuine people).  So I plan to pick a date I really like for this.  (I am me though and I would happy pop over to your house for a cuppa and tell you my 'real, non queeny' birthday.)

I've always been convinced something big will happen to me on the 21st of a month, I expect to die on a 21st.  So we'll grab that.  Hmmmm, month? I reckon February would be superb, as I can ask for all the things that I was hoping to get at Christmas whilst going round the shops saying things like "oooh look at that, isn't THAT luuuuurveeerlieee, ohhhhh I REALLY like that" and then getting a scented candle instead.

So for the sake of argument my birthday is the 21st February 1973 (yes, 1973, what?!  WHAT?!).

Off I went to hunt down the glorious events of my chosen special day (which I now plan to adopt permantly) and was immediately hit with:

Libyan Airlines 144 was shot out of the sky by Israeli fighters.  Well that suits my interest in Air terrorism.

Episode 11 of series 1 of the Wombles was broadcast "The conkering hero".  Remember that? Well, I mean, obviously, I don't, clearly not....cough, cough.

And episode 1263 of Coronation Street - that was too many already even way back then.

I'm not going to insult your intelligence by giving you anymore rubbish about my new faux date but if you feel the urge to congratulate me this year then pick the day when if it's wet, it'll be wet for 40 days. (and what ever you do don't google that - I was previously unaware of the 40 days no masterbating challenge and I really don't think the rest of you ever need know.....ahhh, whoops)

Happy Birthday Y'all

No, no, those candles do not say 40 and COG has shrunk a lot recently.

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Preparing for Periods and Girl's Puberty

Starting periods can be a scary thing to happen. Yes, the girls are told the practicals of why and how but there are all those worries about how will it actually feel, when will it happen, will everyone know...there are so many worries for young girls and this is a biggy.  These days girls are maturing younger, periods start anywhere from the age of 8, the average is 12 but it's best to be ready.

Do you know how many girls actually start their periods on residential trips?!  More than you would think!  It's really useful that they are prepared just in case.

I know there are lots of Guiders and mums with prepubescent girls that read this blog and I think this will be useful to share with you. You know I don't normally do sales, but the Lil-lets teen starter pack is a  lovely little cosmetic bag that holds :

4 Day teens ultra towels with wings
2 Night teens ultra towels with wings
2 Lite Silk Comfort compact applicator tampons
1 Regular Silk Comfort compact applicator tampon
3 Lite non-applicator tampons
Plus a small booklet with 'everything a girl should know about puberty and periods'

It's available from Boots for £3.99, either in store or on-line.

Take out the tampons and I think it is the perfect 'keep in your bag in case'. 

I think it's good for them to feel prepared and to get a chance to see and feel the products first, to be comfortable with it.   I couldn't imagine a first timer having the courage to use tampons but isn't it good that they actually get to see them and know what they are like.

I think it's an excellent idea for young girls to have their own but I also think it's a cool piece of kit for a Guide (and Brownie) first aid kit, I recommend you Guiders request a free sample from lil-lets.

Whilst we are talking about preparing for periods, I also recommend 2 books to help:

Girls Only! All about Periods and Growing up stuff by Victoria Parker
I have bought a number of these types of books, read them and didn't give them to my daughter as they seemed "wrong". This one was pitched perfectly when she was 10. There was enough information but not too much. It is based around periods, hormones, spots and body changes. It touches on sex but not in detail and it satisfied her light curiosity without me needing to move onto "the talk". She savoured what was in it and felt happy and confident about it all. She even loaned it to friends. The font is good, the text has a modern chatty feel, it is a good book for girls aged 9-12.

Are you there God it's me Margaret by Judy Blume
This book helped me through a difficult time when I was growing up. I bought a copy for my niece about 10 years ago and then gave a copy to my daughter when she was about 9 (suitable for ages 9-11ish). After she finished it we went bra shopping! (Please don't tell her I told you that.) It voices those 'how, what, when' feelings perfectly, lets young girls know they are not alone in how they feel.  It is another one that did the rounds of all my daughter's school friends.  It was so worn in the end I had to buy a second copy.

And if you want to start an early conversation about sex without having to get all nitty-gritty this is a great book for girls and boys and parents to guide you through the conversation.  The cartoon nudity makes the awkward seem easy and natural, it's factual but gentle and funny.

Good Luck!

*I received a free lil-lets teen kit as a prompt for this post, if you want one just follow the link!

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Self Preservation

In the absense of the Gallery this week, I've decided to use You're Beautiful as a prompter.
a·loof (-lf)

adj.

Distant physically or emotionally; reserved and remote: stood apart with aloof dignity.

adv.

At a distance but within view; apart.

Sometimes is comes as a part of a mending process from a difficult time.

Sometimes is comes from finding out the the order of things isn't quite they way you thought they were, that things you thought had changed probably haven't and probably never will. The distance is part of coming to terms with it.

Sometimes it is simply self preservation.

Remember to come home again

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Sub-Human Vermin - Hate is Taught

I watched Schindler's List on Saturday evening, it's been a while.  It's one of those films that everybody should watch.  I think they should show it in schools.

I was struggling (again) with the concept of the Jews not actually being seen as people.  I understood that they were seen as sub-human vermin, as not counting, but I was still struggling to put myself into the shoes of the Germans and Poles to understand the justification of the hatred.

Part way through the film our little cat brought in a mouse which kitty, HWMBO and myself were chasing up and down the hall.  HWMBO cornered it and stamped, there was a sickening crack of bones and at that moment, as my stomach churned, I understood. 

The damned mouse still ran off, resilient little blighters they are and it shot down the side of a pipe and into the cavity of the house.  Worried it would be chewing through the electric wires as we slept I could only hope that it was dead from it's injuries and not ready to breed.

If the victims of the Holocaust were seen in the same way I see rats and mice, then no wonder they were systematically sent to slaughter.

What is harder to understand is how the world hasn't learnt from the lessons of the past, how the slaughter continues and hatred of people with differences still breeds?

What is worse is, as I was reading around the internet on subject of the holocaust, the sheer number of people that deny the holocaust, applaud it, perpetuate similar atrocities in countries around the world, the sheer scale of hatred in the world frightens me.

Hate is an emotion that eats away from the inside, gnaws like rats.

Hate is taught

One world. One people.

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I'm pretty browned off with living in South London

It's quite amazing how you don't realise how much you use water until you haven't got it.
Today the water is turned off. I am fully aware there is no water coming out of the taps so why have I already soaped my hands up 3 times with no way to wash it off.

The washing machine is jolly unhappy because the water went off part way through it's cycle. (If anyone knows how to turn off the Siemens beep from hell please tell me as there is likely to be a news item tonight "lady axes washing machine to smithereens")

The stale pots in the dishwasher fester in a stinky 'I really don't want to open that door again' way.

I didn't shower early because I knew I would take a muddy walk and thought I would shower after that, so I sit here feeling slightly stinky myself.

I was getting rather annoyed with it all until I started to think about people without running water at all (no this isn't an aren't we lucky lecture) and it reminded me of a BBC report I read a long time ago which holds the funniest news quote ever:

"Only two weeks ago we had the power cut. I'm pretty browned off with living in South London."

If only the power didn't go out once a fortnight everything in South London  would be perfect!

Closely followed by:

"I have just brushed my teeth with mineral water. It is like living in the Third World."

Actually no, if you're brushing your teeth with mineral water you bought at the 7/11 - you aren't in the Third World.

I've just sat back on my stinky haunches thinking how happy I am that at least I have power so I'm not browned off in South London! 

Talking of power did you see this?

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What's the probability my second child will be a boy?

Probability is my archnemisis, it intrigues me and yet regularly baffles me at the same time.

I mentioned it before in seriousness here and more light heartedly here.  

Anyhoo - back to the sex of a second child (if you though for one minute I was expecting LOL). The question being :

I have 2 children, one of which is a son what is the probability of both children being boys.

The clear answer to which is 1/3. Ok, if your not into logical thinking skip to the comments box and pat me on the head now.

A 1/3? I hear myself and you ask!  Yup.  But everytime I remember the answer is a third I have to walk through the cold hard steps of why.  Here we go:

There are 3 possible ways I could have 2 children where one is a boy:

boy, boy
boy, girl
girl, boy
girl, girl

So the chances of having 2 boys is 1/3 - see, simples.  So why do I have to think so hard about it every time?

The problem with probability is there is the gamblers fallacy (stick with me) that will make us start to talk about 'likelyhoods', that's bound to throw you off a path.

But hang on a moment if the gambers fallacy is coming into play here surely the answer is 1/2 regardless?  No, it's all about the way the question is worded and possible outcomes.

If I'd have said "I have 2 children the older of which is a son what is the probability of  both children being boys" then the possible answers are

boy, boy
boy, girl
girl, boy
girl, girl

So the chances of having 2 boys then is 1/2.

But this is about simple mathematics it ignores genetics (and twins!).

So why are you droning on about this I hear you ask?  3 reasons:

Because the news recently declared (yet again) that people aren't embarrassed to say they are bad at maths and should be.  I  disagree because 'good' is relative term.  I am happy to discuss probability but would declare I am bad at maths.  I probably mean I'm not as good as I would like to be and anyway my mental maths stinks but that's because it's a muscle, use it or lose it.

Because I've noticed recently that the more I blog about things I think are going to be really interesting to people the less comments I get, so I'm in reverse psychology mode.

Because I stumbled upon a set of short videos about critical thinking aimed at school children and they set me thinking and that's rarely good for you dear reader.  But they are worth a look:



Here is the Gamblers Fallacy:



and the full set from Bridge8 can be seen here

I promise I'll start blogging again about 'the crazy things those darn kids say' one day soon, do stick with me in the meantime!

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Microdiscectomy post-operative week 4 (days 24 - 31)

I'm definitely improving, I have gone from 1 good day, 1 bad day to 2 good days, 1 bad day.

On a bad day I get dreadful back twinges, the kind that make you stop in your tracks and go "aarrrrrgh" when you walk strange or bend.  But these happen maybe 10 times a day not the whole time.  I see them as a warning to take more care and slow down and also to remember to go low by squatting not bending, to turn my whole body to move not twisting.  I also get pain in my right leg calf, this is where the very worst of the sciatica was (the knife twisting pain) so I think this current pain is caused by nerve damage still healing.

I have continued to walk 3 miles a day, but fairly slowly - it takes me about 80 minutes, and I still use my walking poles for extra support but I don't think I rely on them now like I did before, I just really like walking with them.

I have not been biking or swimming.  It's too cold for me to swim at this time of year, even indoors and I really take no pleasure in biking on roads.
I went to the shopping mall on day 26 having already done my 3 mile walk, this was too much and Sunday was a sore day. I also went to a school concert on day 29 and I sat for about 45 mins of it, this immediately restarted the calf pain and it stayed for all of the next day too.

I'm now back to residual soreness but it is nothing compared to how I was even just prior to the operation.  I used to lay in bed at night thinking how if I hit my leg with a lump hammer to break it it might stop the pain and would have been happy to have had it amputated, I am serious.  Now it's just a grumbling tooth that flares up occasionally.

I know though that I still can't sit for extended periods, this makes driving difficult, I've not gone more than a few miles and sitting is impossible for over an hour. 

Because of the 'bad days' and sitting issues I've been signed of work again for another week, which will take me to 6 full weeks off work.  This worries me, but I'm determined to 'get fixed' before I put myself under any pressure.



I have created a page of links for my Microdiscectomy posts and other links I have found helpful. You can find it here.


PLEASE FOLLOW THE MEDICAL ADVICE OF YOUR DOCTOR.
WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME.

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Exciting Atoms

This week's Gallery is Light.

Many of us declared at the start of the year that we would make an effort to turn off auto and learn to use our cameras properly. I admit I've been struggling to get motivated but this week I've tried really hard.

Light is a form of energy that can be released by an atom.

 

It is made up of small particle-like packets that have energy and momentum but no mass. These particles, called light photons, are the most basic units of light

When an atom gains or loses energy, the change is expressed by the movement of electrons.

Atoms release light photons when their electrons become excited.

This is my bedroom energy efficient light bulb and me playing around with the camera, look closely you can see the dust!

 This is the dining room.

I had a fine evening hopping around with the camera, it's the closest my atoms have got to being excited in a while!

Want to know more about how stuff works? And whilst you're in the mood try downloading the free how stuff works podcast I really enjoy them.

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