Most Commented Lifestyle Blogs (2,470)

I go outside to take a break at work today, thinking that I might enjoy a quick chat while enjoying my cigarette. Five people were sitting at the table with their phones in their face. I sat down at the same table as them and nobody so much as looked up. I started checking my phone (really reading blogs on CS) and sat there for 15 minutes and nobody ever acknowledged me or said a word to anyone else. Finally after I finish my cigarette I got up and went inside and back to work.

There used to be a time when taking break was fun. It was a time for you to chat with your work friends or complain about something going on. I would enjoy talking about my family and pets and hear the other people talk about theirs, plans for the week/weekend, and so on. Honestly, I think that if I had these people on Facebook and emailed them while sitting beside of them they would carry on a conversation.

Everywhere I go people are constantly on there phones. How did this world ever function without cell phones? I remember, as a teenager, having to stop and use a payphone to call home if I wasn't going to be home in time. I remember everywhere I'd go people were always talking. Mind you, this is the south, people don't have to know you to talk to you here. They smile and just start talking to ya, or at least that's how it used to be.

I know it's a new generation thing that is impacting everyone now. They have the latest cell phone and the world at their fingertips. I just miss the days where people would sit down and have good, fun conversations and really get to know people, aside from what they saw on Facebook.

Does anybody fancy a quick shag in my office?

Near where I live they are upgrading a communal area. The old tin roof has been removed and the concrete slab has been extended to twice it's size and now measures 12 metres by 6 metres (roughly 40' X 20').

Brick work has been built to house a brand new 6 burner gas BBQ with rotisserie at one end and a massive 1.5 metre (roughly 5') diameter fire-pit & smoke hood at the other. Huge wooden tables and benches are being brought in for seating. Tom, who makes the tables uses pre-loved timber. The first table that he has delivered weighs in at about 340 kg (around 750 lbs) and the next table to arrive will be a little longer and heavier.....

My part in the project is to build a child safety fence around the fire-pit. I've measured and drawn up the plans, sourced the material, had it delivered (albeit a little latter than planned because the truck broke down) and am now in the process of constructing each of eight panels of what will become an octagon shaped screen that will be bolted to the concrete. One panel will become the gate to enter the fire-pit area.


The new roof supports are going up:



Now the covering:



Looking good with the new BBQ in place also:



The first of two tables and benches arrives:



Weighing around 340 kg (around 750 lbs)we need to use rollers to move it into place:



Hard earned rest:



Preparing the posts for the safety screens:



Next one to be riveted:



A post that has the hinges riveted, the screens will be secured to those hinges:



The eight completed safety screens:



The smoke hood for the fire-pit arrives:



The stand that supports the smoke hood goes up:



The fire-pit and smoke hood in place, also showing one of eight safety screen panels on the right:



End of work today (Tuesday) just managed to snap this pic before I lost all the light so it's a bit blurry as it was taken with my mobile/cell phone, just like all the other pics. The screen is all joined together but only free-standing, not yet bolted to the concrete. The panel closest to the front is the gate.



As of Wednesday evening all the posts have been bolted to the concrete..... JOB COMPLETE..



Stainless steel dome nuts replaced the Dynabolt nuts for a better finish:



The Magnetic gate latch fitted:






The flue was fitted yesterday Sun 7th July and the fire-pit fired up for the first time:




THE END OF THIS BLOG


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Some people rent all their lives, and some buy as soon as they can scrape up a deposit

Some tenants would like to buy but only if they found the perfect place.
Some buyers regret buying and sell even at a loss to get out of a bad property.

Some tenants are careful, paint and decorate and keep their place immaculate, with constant small improvements - if there is a garden, it is kept in perfect order. They'd be devastated if they were given notice to leave.

Some tenants don't do a thing to the place, not theirs so why bother? When it gets too much of a mess they can move on at any time

Some tenants are actively destructive - they should care, the most they lose is the deposit, right? They flit and disappear having near destroyed the place

Some owners, true, true, are also pretty lazy and neglect the property

If this was on a single's profile, I'd find it interesting to see how a careful responsible tenant, versus the owner of a ramshackle ruin, works out romantically - whether a tenant by choice, or an owner by preference, is more stable in a relationship

I have no idea how that works out, by the way. The countries I have lived in, most people are home-owners, and I know in other countries most people have to be tenants, so my research is very restricted! A guy living in a cardboard box under a bridge is likely not a great prospect on so many levels anyway

My daughter called round today for a couple of hours. We spent half of that time discussing cleaning products. If anyone had predicted that scenario five years ago, both of us would have said they were crazy.

Emotions are a strange thing; you never know what might trigger them, and it is quite often small -seemingly insignificant- things that stir them up unexpectedly.

The seemingly insignificant things that stirred my emotions recently were two packets of seeds; chive seeds, to be precise. I found them in the suitcase I bought last year to take on a trip that never happened. They would probably have remained forgotten and undiscovered indefinitely had my daughter not asked to borrow the suitcase, and I not checked to make sure it was empty before giving it to her.

I was supposed to be taking the seeds with me on the trip that never happened, and although there were several much more regrettable issues concerning its non-occurrence, the seeds are the most poignant reminder of a failed adventure.

Onions, we all know about, but who knew chives could make you cry?

Have you ever thought about this. What if people who expelled all that energy exercising put it to doing something productive....not productive on a selfish level so they maintain their abs or their biceps.....but instead why not put it to use building a house for somebody who is homeless. ...or raking somebody's leaves that are unable to. Or, help them clean up their house.....or walk to the store for them to pick up what they need. or....dig a hole to put a fence post in.

Exercising just seems like a unproductive use of energy.... I am all for staying healthy while exercising....but wouldn't it be nice to convert that energy into a greater good? They have tried to capture that energy but converting exercise bikes into generators....that is a good start in my opinion. But when you go out and build something or be part of building something....trust me...you work muscles you didn't even know you had.


Just a thought from about a year ago.

I want to write a poem
But I'm not sure if I should
It's about the process of aging
And the effects which are not so good

Anyway, here I go and
No matter what you may think
The time will come when
Your health will not be in the pink

Your skin will start to sag
And wrinkles will appear
It's a natural process
One which you should not fear

Your body joints which once had
A lot of flexibility
Will begin to tighten up
And cause you pain and anxiety

Your ability to focus
And to multi-task
Will weaken as you age
And become a thing of the past

You may find yourself asking
Did I do that or not?
For your sake I hope
That does not happen a lot

Some folks reading this may say
Such things will not happen to me
In response I say to you as you age
Let us just wait and see

Is it only me that is getting 3 to 4 pop up ads jumping up at once on your screen with this site? For me, that is what is going on and it actually makes it very difficult to use this site. Heck, I hardly even use the site anymore, and that is even difficult to do. lol

would you feel at ease on an aircraft knowing that the pilot was a 22 year old ????,
why you may ask ,,, well after watching a documentary on budget airline pilots,,
the majority of the pilots are in the early 20s ,,,