It had to be true

No, the "furnace man" doesn't know what he is doing.  He just graduated from school, he was hired by a heating company and he has so screwed up on the job of installing our furnace that only the vents and the pieces of metal that line those holes in the walls and floors are usable.  It will cost $3K to remove what he did and replace the furnace and building the main trunk line.  The cold air return will simply be from the air in the room down into the furnace and the heat coming from the furnace to the rest of the house will rely totally on thermodynamics from heating the crawl space and rising up through the floor vents.

I wasn't shocked when I got this news.  I wasn't the least little bit surprised.  More I was supremely disappointed and disgusted. 

Then the coup de gras was that the contractor who gave me the bid and explained what needed to happen didn't get that I was trying to hire him!!!!!  HEY BOZO, WHEN A PROSPECT SAYS HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO START YOU BETTER GO RUN FOR A PURCHASE AGREEMENT!

Now I have to call him back.

That's what comes from trying to tell me rather than listening. 

Men, you can't live with 'em and you can't shoot 'em.

Don't have to worry about any one reading this

Sometimes I just want to scream as if that would release the negative feelings and energy toward thinking those things that don't help me.  But it doesn't, I already know that.  And I don't really want to scream.  But I do cry.  I cry a lot.  I believe that its myself that is making me feel so bad.  The "stinking thinking" as they say.  But I don't know, I seem to really think the best of things most of the time but I do have an undercurrent of believing that no one really cares, they're all out for themselves.  With Gerald it isn't true, he tries but what can he do?!  My kids are out on their own as they should be.  And I am here alone and that 's not really so bad.  Sure I wish the house were done and no, the furnace still isn't hooked up nor is the stove top.  And subsequently neither is the laundry tub.  But I dunno that's just a pain its not my angst.


Right now, my back is killing me.  I know its because I don't have good posture or  the right table height to chair or something, but I'm working on it.  I would be using the office chair Gerald got for me but it was stored in the garage and is absolutely filthy.  I was going to clean it using the laundry tub, I mean I was going to use the tub as a way to convey soap and water or something toward that chair but... I dunno, do you really wash a chair?!

New house to date

Okay, okay I know its not of the house, but ya know, a doggie picture is cuter than OSB

Building a house + writing a thesis = Not much time for blogging

Visio is a great program for VISUALIZING not so great for BUILDING
Trust me :-/

What doesn't make a horse safe to ride

Things I've learned in the past five years:
1.  A short horse

2.  An introverted horse 
3.  If the horse seems to like you then they won't hurt you 
4.  Hoping you've done the right stuff before now
5.  Being attracted to a horse and imagining a relationship

6.  Acting as if the horse read the same books or watched the same videos as you

6a. Buying another book or video 

7.  Using the same techniques as someone else did with another horse

8.  Buying different tack 

Hear! Hear!

Sterner Stuff

by Kim W. Stallwood

October 28, 2009 1:24am

Filed under:

• Animals in Agriculture
• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

It seems that yesterday's pronouncement by Lord Stern, author of the British government's report "Review on the Economics of Climate Change," recommending a vegetarian diet caused such a fuss that he subsequently released a
clarification.

I think that once people understand the great risks that climate change poses, they will naturally want to choose products and services that cause little or no emissions of greenhouse gases, which means 'low-carbon consumption'. This will apply across the board, including electricity, heating, transport and food. A diet that relies heavily on meat production results in higher emissions than a typical vegetarian diet. Different individuals will make different choices. However, the debate about climate change should not be dumbed down to a single slogan, such as 'give up meat to save the planet'.

The Grumpy Vegan heard him interviewed yesterday morning on BBC Radio 4's "Today" program. Go here to scroll down and listen to the interview. Stern is a most impressive speaker and advocate for global warming who understands the important relevance to animal food production and environmental degradation. It's clear that some in media want to trivialise Stern's message on the environmental impact of animal agriculture while he, Stern, is skillfully raising the issue of vegetarianism in a way which puts the issue before the public in a rational way.

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Go Veg to Save Planet, says Lord Stern

by Kim W. Stallwood

October 27, 2009 1:33am

Filed under:

• Animals in Agriculture
• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

Eating meat could become as socially unacceptable as drink-driving because of the impact it has on global warming, according to a senior authority on climate change. Lord Stern of Brentford, former adviser to the government on the economics of climate change, said people will have to consider turning vegetarian to help reduce global carbon emissions. "Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world's resources. A vegetarian diet is better," Stern said.

The Grumpy Vegan trying not to feel too smug as he reads People may have to go vegetarian to save planet says Lord Stern but it's good to see someone who represents mainstream thinking catching up with what us vegans and vegetarians have been saying for decades.

Plus!

There's the recent shocking revelation that

A widely cited 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock's Long Shadow, estimates that 18 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions are attributable to cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, pigs, and poultry. But recent analysis by Goodland and Anhang finds that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions.

So says the prestigious Worldwatch Institute. Just can't seem to wipe that smile off my face. But, seriously, want to save the planet (and, by the way, us humans)? Go vegan! Further, it's clearly more than that but it's a big start. If Singer thought meat should be taxed, perhaps, we'll have to start charging unrepentant and persistent meat- and dairy-eaters with genocide, crimes against humanity and, of course, the animals. Just a thought. Admittedly, a deliciously evil one.

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More on Bovril

by Kim W. Stallwood

October 20, 2009 11:25pm

Filed under:

• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

There's a question as to whether Bovril is vegan or not. Here's a link to a BBC Web site report that talks about Bovril going veg. Here's another link to Wikipedia that says Bovril had to re-include beef ingredients because the European Commission told them they had to. The official Bovril Web site is too stupid for words and totally unhelpful. A fine example of too much money thrown at a Web site to make it clever but fails to include the most basic information.

So, what's a Grumpy Vegan to do?

Buy Marmite instead.

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Vegan Bovril!

by Kim W. Stallwood

October 15, 2009 5:52am

Filed under:

• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

A survey in August found that two percent of British holidaymakers refused to leave without a jar of Bovril - although seven percent felt the same about Marmite.

Even more importantly, Bovril goes vegan! So, we can no longer disparagingly call Bovril, "Bullocks bollocks."

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Idle Thoughts About Vegetarianism at the ASI Diary

by Kim W. Stallwood

October 14, 2009 6:39am

Filed under:

• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

In an idle moment (admittedly not as a rare as I would like to think they are but still rare nonetheless) I found myself deducting the number 1974 from 2009 and thinking about the result: 35. This is the number of years I've been a vegetarian; 33 of which as vegan. Frankly, it surprised me. Of course, I know I've been a vegetarian for a long time but it seems so much longer now having done the maths. So, it's true: as you get older time appears to pass more quickly than how it does when you're younger.

Idle Thoughts About Vegetarianism

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Hastings Film Challenge--Anebriate

by Kim W. Stallwood

September 22, 2009 8:34am

Filed under:

• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

"Anebriate" is the name of the film a group of Hastings ne'er-do-wells, including the Grumpy Vegan, made and submitted as part of this year's Hastings Film Challenge. The film is now available to watch at the Hastings Film Challenge; however, it's a bit of a tortuous process to get to it:

1) Click on the above link
2) Click on the 2009 Winners Movies
3) Scroll down on the right-hand side bar to No. 11 Best Use of Prop and click on it.
4) Enjoy the film!

The Hastings Obscurer said we were "unlucky not to walk away with major awards."

Our film had to be a romantic comedy, called "Anebriate" and feature a table.

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The Grumpy Vegan in the Top 50!

by Kim W. Stallwood

September 17, 2009 2:31am

Filed under:

• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

Online Vet Technician Degree ranks the Grumpy Vegan among the Top 50 Blogs for Animal Lovers.

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Rye Harbour Earlier this Week

by Kim W. Stallwood

September 17, 2009 2:27am

Filed under:

• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

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Hunting for Newcomers Week

by Kim W. Stallwood

September 14, 2009 5:16am

Filed under:

• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

Hunts will open their gates to newcomers in October for “Hunting Newcomers Week” (10-17th October). Newcomers to hunting will get a taste of hunting, entirely free of charge, when hunts nationwide will open their doors to those with an interest in finding out more. Packs of all descriptions are giving people the opportunity to try exempt hunting, to learn more about the way hunts work and the role they play in the British countryside. Hunting Newcomers’ week has been very well supported countrywide by hunts, with packs in all areas taking part. Hunts will give both people who ride — and those who don’t — the opportunity to hunt and see what it’s all about.

Try hunting for free!

The Grumpy Vegan looks forward to lessons in raping for free, pillaging for free, war for free, imperialism for free, racism for free and other goodies.

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Coastal Currents and Hastings Film Challenge

by Kim W. Stallwood

September 5, 2009 9:23am

Filed under:

• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

Often, the best ideas are the simplest and most creative.

The Grumpy Vegan likes living in Hastings, East Sussex, England. It is for no other reason that it heaves with creative and innovative people, including artists, film makers, writers, painters. Throw in a healthy number of misfits, bohemians and what-have-you's and, well, you get the picture. In short, the Grumpy Vegan fits in. Anyway, two arts festivals are currently underway in a crowded annual calendar of many events of different types.

The first is the Hastings Film Challenge.

Now in its 4th year, The Hastings Film Challenge is an exciting opportunity for everyone (of any age or background) to make a short 3minute film against the clock in an atmosphere of fun, creativity and good-hearted competition. You have 5 days to script, film, edit, and master onto Mini DV or DVD a completed film.

Participants are arbitrarily given a title, a genre and a prop which has to be part of the film you make. There were about 24 entrants this year. The Grumpy Vegan was part of Tim and Georgia’s team. Our designated title was “The Inebriate.” The obligatory prop was a table. It had to be a romantic comedy. Our efforts started late Saturday afternoon in our local, The Jenny Lind. After much throwing around (and away) ideas we settled on the concept of a woman who speed dates in a pub. She meets a series of awful men and gets drunk in the process. She eventually collapses on the pub table (aka the obligatory prop). She starts the film by listing the qualities she looks for in men: dependable, reliable, sturdy and so on. The film concludes with her in bed, with a glass of wine and looking very happy. The camera pans across to reveal she’s in bed with the pub table! Yes, we knew it’s stupid. But you try making a 3-minute romantic comedy in less than five days featuring a table!

Last night the Grumpy Vegan watched more the 20 submissions at the Hastings Film Challenge awards ceremony. The range and creativity were amazing. Our team won "Best Prop" prize. Other prize winners were deserving. Above all, we had tremendous fun and hadn't laughed so much in ages doing it.

The other festival is Coastal Currents which takes place in Hastings, Rye and Bexhill.

This year’s festival focuses on contemporary visual arts with the theme ‘hidden Hastings’, revealing new and exciting work by local artists, in unusual locations all over the town. There are a wide range of events and activities to appeal to all – from families, community groups, and visitors to the area; to arts enthusiasts and specialists. These include exhibitions; film screenings; open-air theatre productions; art trails; sonic art and live music; storytelling and spoken word evenings; an art car boot sale; book art bibliotherapy and even guerrilla gardening. Many of these are free of charge. In addition, Coastal Currents provides an opportunity for local artists to create bold and innovative new work, visible to a large audience; and the chance to critically engage with other artists and organisations through a carefully coordinated series of free talks and events. It is through the commitment of artists that this festival has become the popular and successful event it is today.

The diversity and number of events taking place is incredible. One taking place near the Grumpy Vegan’s seat is “Bread Bird Houses” by Nathan Burr.

Burr’s intervention among the trees in Hastings Memorial Garden is “a desire to overcome alienation in an ecstatic embracing of nature and community”. The bird houses are literally fabricated from loaves of bread and bread sticks. Bread Birdhouses can be used by the bird population as a home or a food source. The latter choice suggests a Hansel and Gretel like scenario with the birds eating themselves out of house and home. Members of the public who discover Burr’s project are transformed into amateur twitchers and will walk away with a heightened awareness of the local feathered wildlife.

Here’s a link to Nathan’s Web site to learn more.

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When the Grumpy Vegan Won't Recognize Racism and Sexism

by Kim W. Stallwood

August 26, 2009 4:58am

Filed under:

• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

It's good to see vegan prisoners in the UK are now permitted to buy non-animal products from two recognized sources. The Grumpy Vegan wonders whether they will have more choice than the rest of us who live on the outside. Yes, there are more vegan products and services than there were when I went vegan more than 30 years ago. But don't you think we should have made more progress by now? Yes, it's easier than ever being vegan. There's really no excuse not to be. This is why I get so irritated with folks who should know better. Next time I'm with someone who orders meat in a restaurant or pours milk in their coffee I think I will lament the fact that women have made so much progress toward equality. Don’t you think we've gone too far in multi-culturalism? Did we have to give so much of the Empire back to the natives? Why can't children work eight-hour days in factories? What's so wrong with conscription for the poor? Not sure if the Grumpy Vegan's subtlety will work. But I sure get mad when people did stupid things exploiting animals in my presence when they know my life is dedicated toward their liberation. I'm mad as hell when they won't recognize speciesism. So, I won't recognize their precious sexism and racism.

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Hastings Veggie Dining Club

by Kim W. Stallwood

August 25, 2009 11:40pm

Filed under:

• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

Nut roasts never photograph well and this is no exception. Nonetheless, it was delicious! Photo credit: Karan Mantri

The Hastings Veggie Dining Club recently made a return visit to the excellent Land of Green Ginger for what could be almost described as a Christmas in July three-course dinner except that it was non non-denominational and in August but was three-courses. We started with a delicious chilled tomato soup garnished with olive oil and roasted seeds. The entree was a traditional nut roast with Chef Andrew Thornton's unique flavourful twist. This was followed up by pears poached in red wine. "Yummy!" declared the 15-strong Hastings Veggie Dining Club members.

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The Professional Curmudgeon

by Kim W. Stallwood

August 25, 2009 11:23pm

Filed under:

• Living the Grumpy Vegan Life

In a world that values sunshine over the saturnine and hope over harrumphing, it's hard to be a professional curmudgeon. In the animal rights community (where the competition for Chief Grouch is fierce), that vital role was ably handled by the late Cleveland Amory, whose dyspepsia was a key component of the barbs he so effectively aimed at hunters and other animal exploiters. The banner of bile is now waved by Kim Stallwood, a.k.a. the grumpy vegan, who first refined discontent and dysphoria into an art form in his editing of The Animals' Agenda magazine, and then in two books he edited for Lantern: Speaking Out for Animals and The Primer on Animal Rights.

Actually, I'm kidding. Those two books are inspiring and thoughtful examinations of how one can help animals in distress and through policy changes rather than belly-aching about how awful everything is. Plus, Kim is distressingly sweet-tempered when you get to know him (which, of course, you are thoroughly discouraged from doing), and now that he is back in his native England after doing time in the U.S. for many years, he's distressed to find unwelcome shafts of sunlight brightening the winter of his discontent.

Fortunately, this being the world we live in and our exploitation of other animals showing no sign of stopping any time soon, Kim retains a measure of grouchy glory, blogging and helping to run the excellent Animals and Society Institute. In all these and other endeavors, of course, Lantern wishes him luck, and hope that we don't see him around.

The Professional Curmudgeon by Martin Rowe, co-founder of Lantern Books, which hosts the Grumpy Vegan Web site.

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Happy New Year

Hope you stay safe and sound all year :-)

???

Once again I got turned down for a Soil Conservationist job
The note said that my self reporting my qualifications showed that I was not among the most qualified
Let me tell you something
I think they are looking only for folks who know the programs
Has nothing to do with scientific knowledge skills or deductive reasoning
NOT that those things aren't important
But you tell me how a recently graduated undergrad who worked summers for the NRCS during school gets hired and I don't?  That's what's missing.  I mean, I get it, but good grief, how do I get my foot in the door?
God is trying to get me on the right road and gosh, I'm trying Lord, I'm really trying

Amen, sister

http://www.cafepress.com/crazybastard.410346013

A Must See

http://www.bendecho.com/3435ecda06-ode-to-meep