Who's to Blame?

If you have something wrong with the item that you’ve bought, who’s to blame? If you discover the fault straight away, it’s easy to force the seller to correct the problem before you leave their premises. But what happens after that? Most vendors will honour any damage noted within a set time period but the sooner said the better. After all, they’re probably not going to see the great scratch on your item when you drop it on the floor as soon as you’ve taken it out of the box. But dealing with returns can be trickier. Is it the manufacturer to blame because of that lazy assembly line employee who forgot to pack that crucial last part in your box because the lunch bell rang? Or is it the warehouse lackey who’s rushing around trying to get as much done as possible in the short spell of time that he has?

Black Sheep Square 1 at the Bramley Cottage, Redditch

There’s nothing small about this cottage on a main road which serves a variety of estates. It’s gone from a simple boozer with a play area for the kids to a destination pub for fine dining and meeting up with friends. A long bar takes centre stage, while tables veer off into the end for fine dining. A drinking area hasn’t been forgotten and there are tables just for this purpose. There’s also a variety of alcoves for more intimate areas. And there’s no bad apples here. There are at least three real ales on the bar; one of which is usually tied to a beer brewed just for the pub chain. Others are from national independents. If it’s a weekend, you may see a fourth. There’s also a fully stocked bar with other known brands, and they put the colour of the beers out on show so that you know what you’re getting.

Time Zombies #timezombies

Across time, there has been trouble. Things haven’t always worked out the way they should have. One day, on his way from being sacked at work, Tom takes a shortcut through the graveyard in the rain. He trips over a very loose gnarled tree root and goes face down in the mud; while his takeaway pizza goes flying. As he gets to his feet, he discovers that his glasses are cracked. He makes a grab for a box-like object and comes on home; unaware that he’s being watched by an unseen creature examining the text on the pizza box with a strange glass-like object. Meanwhile, Tom returns home and puts on his spare glasses to discover that instead of a pizza box, he’s ended up with a large picture book with complicated wheels inside to turn. In despair, he throws the book onto his bed and hits the shower. When he returns to his room, the book is glowing.  

You Will be Upgraded

We’ve been upgraded! We’re getting a TiVo box and a new router which will give us faster speeds. We won’t notice our router so much as all our equipment is ancient anyway. But the ability to record live TV will be very useful. We’re told that it’s also very easy to set up and we won’t need an engineer and all the equipment will be delivered to us. We just choose when to set it up then call them to activate the new equipment then plug it in. there’s a new set of wires that we will have to screw off and on but they come with instructions. It kind of went to plan but for some reason we had to run through it twice. When we finished, we ended up with a load of equipment that we should stash away in case we have a cold war and need it back. But we have another problem. The supplied remote only works the box; it doesn’t work the TV. Instead of giving codes for manufacturers or publishing them on-line, you have to play around typing in the codes hoping that you’ll hit the jackpot.

Black Spot

I’ve had the same phone for quite a while. When I first got the phone, all was well, but within a few years there’s always been a bit of a black spot in the corner when I take photos. I took the camera out of the case to give it clean but it doesn’t make any difference. Then I realised that it was the case that was fraying so I decided to get a new case. But it doesn’t seem to make a difference. Third party products aren’t what they were. It seems that the firms that supply them aren’t trying any more. When you buy a product and it’s brand new then they want to be as compatible as possible. But when you’re buying something that’s near the end of its shelf life, you kind of get the impression that they’re not trying any more. Either that or they’ve reached the end of their stock and you end up with the rejects that other people have returned.

Piecing it all Together

Wahey! I get to piece together a curvy chick with large boobs as part of a Christmas present. I’m not a big Trekkie fan but I do know the context of the character and I’ve watched the occasional episode. The trouble is that there is a hell of a lot of blue. So much blue in so many different shades makes this jigsaw very complicated. Perhaps the Star Trek wardrobe department should shell out for a few more colours. It took three months to piece together. It got to a stage where the only way forward is just to sort the pieces by shape rather than looking at the colour. And it’s easy to go wrong there too. But once you’ve got used to looking at knobs and holes, you can get into a rhythm. At least this way my friend can see that it’s completed, And Mum can have her tablecloth back; albeit with a bit more sawdust.

Quote me Happy

Happiness is easier to achieve when you’re five years old. You’re looking at what’s around you rather than into the future. When you’re a child, others work hard to please you but when you’re an adult you must work hard to please yourself, or at least share in the happiness of others to make life just that little bit more bearable. Is that why many people have children; as their happiness is easier to create? It makes you wonder why should you do a job that doesn’t make you happy or bring happiness to others? Instead you should aim to do something that does, or at least make a change. You might think that being a doctor is great and comes with lots of benefits, but the higher you climb, the greater the responsibility. Is that something that you really want to take on? It sure is easy when you can go home with the satisfaction of a job well done without any worries.