As part of an assessment, I took an IQ test. I scored 200. I think that caused them some consternation, because they asked me to do another one. I scored 205. I refused the third time.
To put that in context, my (amused) doctor has an IQ of 140. Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein scored at 160, so that would put more on par with Emanuel Swedenborg, the theologian, scientist and philosopher at 205.
Wouldn't it? Would it heckers like.
Thirty years ago I considered taking an Access to Nursing course. There were a number of criteria to fulfil, such as qualifications, demonstrated ability, an exam to pass, and an IQ test.
I had a chat about it over a pint with a friend, a professor at a local Uni, who mentioned with a broad grin that their psychology department was doing a short project called 'How to pass an IQ test". After a good natured debate - he didn't want me to do the nursing course - I said, right then. You're on.
The title is of course a joke. Everyone passes an IQ test.
How did I do on the nursing course? Pretty good actually. It was just challenging enough to be good fun.
Then came the phone call about the IQ test. They thought there'd been an error, and would I mind doing a retake? Why? It was 190. "A bit too high". Eh? ok, I said. They were very nice about it when it came back again as 205, and very apologetic, but would I mind awfully?.... Yeh, actually, I would mind.
"The result was inconsistent with the requisites for completion of the course" Which is hogwash speech for either "What's someone with an IQ like that doing on the course, it's suspicious", or "Nurses aren't supposed to score 205". Ouch.
Though it's nice to know that I still score that after 30 years and a few Strokes, it confirms my belief that such tests are in no way a measure of intelligence. It's something, like anything else, that you can learn to do. Consistent demonstration of ability in those fields of endeavour you choose, that makes you happy is.
~~~~
A bit of common sense comes in handy too. For instance, if you ask the wife, shorter than you "Put that in the bottom cupboard for me will you ducks?". If she grumpily says "Why?", shut up. Don't quip "Because you're closer to the floor than me". Hmmm. Not very bright.
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Foraging
Have you noticed how the prices of food basics have crept up lately? Apparently it's down a few months of wet weather that has left crops well below supermarket standards, left farmers with low yields and root veg such as potatoes, carrots and beets rotting in the fields or soon afterwards.
Apparently people don't want pale salad and wonky veg. I have sympathy with the farmers. Most of my little crop has been wiped out by sodden soil and a snail and slug invasion. You plan for at least a 1/4 loss anyway - the snails get some veg and salad, the hedgehogs and birds get those and other garden pests. Even snails are worth eating, if you don't mind hand feeding them to cleanse them. Not really worth the effort though :)
But I've lost two thirds stock. but I'm quite used to wonky carrots, and with a bit of barter I've managed to acquire 4 lbs of gooseberries, 5lbs of early cooking apples, with a promise of more later. I've had a good crop of sweet plums to trade with later. Some of the stuff I've bartered for will be re-bartered or turned into jams and chutneys in exchange later for late season veg.
It helps if you know a few little tricks. For instance, spring onions. Spring onions are immature onions. If you simply use the green leaves, cut 1/2 inch above the white bit - then put the white part with the roots in a glass of water, and change the water every couple of days. Kept on a windowsill, it will keep producing leaves for weeks for salads or cooking.
If you are feeling adventurous, same as above, but plant in compost in a plant pot, and allow to develop. Use when your patience runs out.
Likewise, if you buy onions, red or white, chop the root end half inch from the root. Float on a glass of water for a few days, then transfer to a pot. It will produce 'spring onion greens' eventually. I'm told they may even, given time, produce onions. If you don't mind planting some cloves of garlic the same way, the leaves offer a mild and delicate garlic flavour to salads.
I was asked recently whether you can grow carrots, beets, turnips and swedes from the tops you may cut off? Not in my experience. But you can produce gorgeous, delicate, beet, carrot, turnip, swede leaves for salads, soups and casseroles. Frequently used in restaurants. Which reminds me....
I'm off on a wobble with some cooking apples and frozen gooseberries to a neighbour with a "weird 8 foot weed taking over her front garden" It's Fennel leaves - I estimate about 5lb in leaves alone. Nice in salad and soups, and I feel a recipe for home-made aniseed sweets coming on.........
Apparently people don't want pale salad and wonky veg. I have sympathy with the farmers. Most of my little crop has been wiped out by sodden soil and a snail and slug invasion. You plan for at least a 1/4 loss anyway - the snails get some veg and salad, the hedgehogs and birds get those and other garden pests. Even snails are worth eating, if you don't mind hand feeding them to cleanse them. Not really worth the effort though :)
But I've lost two thirds stock. but I'm quite used to wonky carrots, and with a bit of barter I've managed to acquire 4 lbs of gooseberries, 5lbs of early cooking apples, with a promise of more later. I've had a good crop of sweet plums to trade with later. Some of the stuff I've bartered for will be re-bartered or turned into jams and chutneys in exchange later for late season veg.
It helps if you know a few little tricks. For instance, spring onions. Spring onions are immature onions. If you simply use the green leaves, cut 1/2 inch above the white bit - then put the white part with the roots in a glass of water, and change the water every couple of days. Kept on a windowsill, it will keep producing leaves for weeks for salads or cooking.
If you are feeling adventurous, same as above, but plant in compost in a plant pot, and allow to develop. Use when your patience runs out.
Likewise, if you buy onions, red or white, chop the root end half inch from the root. Float on a glass of water for a few days, then transfer to a pot. It will produce 'spring onion greens' eventually. I'm told they may even, given time, produce onions. If you don't mind planting some cloves of garlic the same way, the leaves offer a mild and delicate garlic flavour to salads.
I was asked recently whether you can grow carrots, beets, turnips and swedes from the tops you may cut off? Not in my experience. But you can produce gorgeous, delicate, beet, carrot, turnip, swede leaves for salads, soups and casseroles. Frequently used in restaurants. Which reminds me....
I'm off on a wobble with some cooking apples and frozen gooseberries to a neighbour with a "weird 8 foot weed taking over her front garden" It's Fennel leaves - I estimate about 5lb in leaves alone. Nice in salad and soups, and I feel a recipe for home-made aniseed sweets coming on.........
Friday, 24 August 2012
Makers
Granddaughters second birthday. Bear and Tots have been busy making lots and lots of buns, then their off. Tho' it's only a few minutes away, I've sent up my home-made pizza dough for her dad.
I won't be going. From long experience, as the evening wears on the adults will have a few drinks.
Granddaughter and I will do our own thing later. Granddad is making her something and she can help me finish it. Catch 'em young and turn them into Makers, and they'll never want for anything ever again.
~~~~
Projects under way.
Charlie's present. yeh, it's overdue, but that is quite deliberate because I want her help. I know she's only two, but that's the idea. If I may be blunt, I want to catch her now while she's young. I've had multiple strokes and I don't know if I'll have any more. But in twenty five years time, when she's looking at a blank wall, or thinking of a gift, I want her to think "What would granddad do?" That will be my legacy.
Besides - who said birthdays should last one day?
On my infrequent trips out with Bear, I've come across chunks of layered sand stone rock. I find it exciting to think that when in the last ice age, the glaciers ground through the valley's below and shoved aside chunks of a period when it was much flatter, the valley's didn't exist, and there were shallow warm seas and ponds that laid down layer upon layer of sand and silt.
In honour to my land ancestors, I'll be carving one into a copy of an oil lamp. In Europe, the oldest found on land, is 17,000 years old. And yeh, I know sandstone is absorbent. Then I want to carve a Boar, which will be a challenge. It's crumbly stuff.
My sister makes memory books. Not scrapbooks. Gawd help anyone that calls them scrapbooks. Since I do bookbinding, I'll be make a few starters for her. Making sewed covers, pockets, embroidery, stitched animals and figurines and secret places is beyond me though, eh, Josie? :) .
I want to make a little model steam roller from scratch. I did it from a kit when I was a kid, and I've looked around and been horrified at the prices. So using materials at hand from recycled materials safely is going to be good fun.
Dray x
I won't be going. From long experience, as the evening wears on the adults will have a few drinks.
Granddaughter and I will do our own thing later. Granddad is making her something and she can help me finish it. Catch 'em young and turn them into Makers, and they'll never want for anything ever again.
~~~~
Projects under way.
Charlie's present. yeh, it's overdue, but that is quite deliberate because I want her help. I know she's only two, but that's the idea. If I may be blunt, I want to catch her now while she's young. I've had multiple strokes and I don't know if I'll have any more. But in twenty five years time, when she's looking at a blank wall, or thinking of a gift, I want her to think "What would granddad do?" That will be my legacy.
Besides - who said birthdays should last one day?
On my infrequent trips out with Bear, I've come across chunks of layered sand stone rock. I find it exciting to think that when in the last ice age, the glaciers ground through the valley's below and shoved aside chunks of a period when it was much flatter, the valley's didn't exist, and there were shallow warm seas and ponds that laid down layer upon layer of sand and silt.
In honour to my land ancestors, I'll be carving one into a copy of an oil lamp. In Europe, the oldest found on land, is 17,000 years old. And yeh, I know sandstone is absorbent. Then I want to carve a Boar, which will be a challenge. It's crumbly stuff.
My sister makes memory books. Not scrapbooks. Gawd help anyone that calls them scrapbooks. Since I do bookbinding, I'll be make a few starters for her. Making sewed covers, pockets, embroidery, stitched animals and figurines and secret places is beyond me though, eh, Josie? :) .
I want to make a little model steam roller from scratch. I did it from a kit when I was a kid, and I've looked around and been horrified at the prices. So using materials at hand from recycled materials safely is going to be good fun.
Dray x
Thursday, 23 August 2012
Tired
Right, sorted. This blog should be viewable now. Sorry about that. A glitch at googles end.
Son is a little better. In the end we all got fed up with being fobbed off by A&E and talked to the GP, who had a look at him end of surgery, and sent him off to the Hallamshire hospital.
Who kept him in overnight, both injected and gave him intravenous antibiotics. The following day they discharged him across road to the dental hospital, who partly drained an abscess, and sent him home with some powerful antibiotics. He looks much less like Mr. Balloon head now.
Now comes the tedious task of finding a dentist that will take on an NHS patient. Very difficult :(
More later.......
Son is a little better. In the end we all got fed up with being fobbed off by A&E and talked to the GP, who had a look at him end of surgery, and sent him off to the Hallamshire hospital.
Who kept him in overnight, both injected and gave him intravenous antibiotics. The following day they discharged him across road to the dental hospital, who partly drained an abscess, and sent him home with some powerful antibiotics. He looks much less like Mr. Balloon head now.
Now comes the tedious task of finding a dentist that will take on an NHS patient. Very difficult :(
More later.......
Monday, 20 August 2012
Sanfransisco
Scott McKenzie, who sang "If you're going to SanFranCisco" died yesterday aged 73.
It was released in 1967 - when I was blurbblurbub. Respect.
It seems insertions of youtube video isn't working at the moment and working with html isn't either.
Try this. Sanfrancisco
It was released in 1967 - when I was blurbblurbub. Respect.
It seems insertions of youtube video isn't working at the moment and working with html isn't either.
Try this. Sanfrancisco
Sunday, 19 August 2012
Bit of a worry
My lad, after suffering from toothache a couple of days, began to feel unwell. He had a chat with a pharmacy, who recommended a gel-stuff-thingy. After he awoke at 6am with his face and lips very swollen, he spoke to NHS Direct a couple of times and was referred eventually to an emergency dentist, who gave him an appointment for this evening, and suggested if his temperature rose beyond 38C he should be taken to A&E.
There was a worry that he might be allergic to the gel recommended by the pharmacy, but since he has no breathing problems, that was ok.
He's spent the day with us, and the swelling has got much worse, so much so his lips look like he's had implants, his face is swollen and one eye is beginning to close. His temperature has hit 39 C (102.2 F) .
We've got him a lift to A&E with his mum. My guess is that he needs antibiotics. It's a bit of a worry.
There was a worry that he might be allergic to the gel recommended by the pharmacy, but since he has no breathing problems, that was ok.
He's spent the day with us, and the swelling has got much worse, so much so his lips look like he's had implants, his face is swollen and one eye is beginning to close. His temperature has hit 39 C (102.2 F) .
We've got him a lift to A&E with his mum. My guess is that he needs antibiotics. It's a bit of a worry.
Friday, 17 August 2012
Kindness
It's an odd thing kindness.
The overt lottery winner who wins acclaim from the papers. A hungry acquaintance with a gift. A brown envelope through the letter box with a tenner. A stranger who says you have a kind face, strokes it, and walks on.
A kiss on the cheek. A peck on the lips from a neighbour, a trusting cuddle from anyone's kid, a phone call saying "I miss you". What do you need? What can I do? Can I help? Can you reach that?
A touch, a hand on a shoulder, a firm handshake, a laughing cuddle from a mate, a friendly punch on the shoulder, a laugh when you don't get a joke, the feel of an unshaven cheek on yours. A gentle touch, the smell of perfume, sweat, closeness? An arm around you?
Be held, to hold, to feel.
Good. Isn't it? Try it.
The overt lottery winner who wins acclaim from the papers. A hungry acquaintance with a gift. A brown envelope through the letter box with a tenner. A stranger who says you have a kind face, strokes it, and walks on.
A kiss on the cheek. A peck on the lips from a neighbour, a trusting cuddle from anyone's kid, a phone call saying "I miss you". What do you need? What can I do? Can I help? Can you reach that?
A touch, a hand on a shoulder, a firm handshake, a laughing cuddle from a mate, a friendly punch on the shoulder, a laugh when you don't get a joke, the feel of an unshaven cheek on yours. A gentle touch, the smell of perfume, sweat, closeness? An arm around you?
Be held, to hold, to feel.
Good. Isn't it? Try it.
Sunday, 12 August 2012
Thought for today.
If you are a person, such as I, who depends on carers, be very careful.
'Dependant' is situation aware. The effects of stroke are on a sliding scale. However, people get confused that the control centre which affects the limbs, speech or cognition - the brain, being also the mind, are mutually inclusive. Not so.
Inside that body is often a mind that's perfectly functional. My experience is that carers go for the practical. What you are capable of is what you are. Not so. Which makes a stroke survivor is no different from anyone else.
How often have you fought to express yourself, or reached and hit your physical limits? How often have have you had to back off and wait until you needed to rest?
But if you have carer's there's an extra danger of a slow creep between care and control. For instance, I've been told I can't have a holiday because 'it wasn't suitable' I can't go to a theme park because 'it wasn't suitable'. They did. I don't even know the pin number for my benefits. Honestly, that would look very iffy if I wasn't aware. I have people getting upset when I refuse to do what I'm told. But they do what they want when they want. Don't you?
I've never been to a Burger King, or to buy myself a pair of jeans, a t-shirt or a café or a coffee shop. A pizza or a take-away, a football match ? Things people take for granted. It doesn't matter whether it's worth it. It's the principle. Why can't I - within reason?
If I was in prison, I'd get at least an hour exercise a day, and early release for good behaviour.
I've been rebellious and wobbled off to the shop on my own. It took ages, and it takes me a couple of days to recover. But it's my decision. I could do without the ear bending.
I think I'm reasonably lucid, and I'm very grateful. But. What do you think?
'Dependant' is situation aware. The effects of stroke are on a sliding scale. However, people get confused that the control centre which affects the limbs, speech or cognition - the brain, being also the mind, are mutually inclusive. Not so.
Inside that body is often a mind that's perfectly functional. My experience is that carers go for the practical. What you are capable of is what you are. Not so. Which makes a stroke survivor is no different from anyone else.
How often have you fought to express yourself, or reached and hit your physical limits? How often have have you had to back off and wait until you needed to rest?
But if you have carer's there's an extra danger of a slow creep between care and control. For instance, I've been told I can't have a holiday because 'it wasn't suitable' I can't go to a theme park because 'it wasn't suitable'. They did. I don't even know the pin number for my benefits. Honestly, that would look very iffy if I wasn't aware. I have people getting upset when I refuse to do what I'm told. But they do what they want when they want. Don't you?
I've never been to a Burger King, or to buy myself a pair of jeans, a t-shirt or a café or a coffee shop. A pizza or a take-away, a football match ? Things people take for granted. It doesn't matter whether it's worth it. It's the principle. Why can't I - within reason?
If I was in prison, I'd get at least an hour exercise a day, and early release for good behaviour.
I've been rebellious and wobbled off to the shop on my own. It took ages, and it takes me a couple of days to recover. But it's my decision. I could do without the ear bending.
I think I'm reasonably lucid, and I'm very grateful. But. What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)