Our Met Office, Who Art In Heaven

So stepping down from my global warming soap box was no hardship whatsoever. I'd looked into it, with more vigour and attention than I originally planned, I'd drawn my own conclusions (critical thinking - get a load of me) and moved on. I used to get annoyed or to a lesser degree - bothered, by people subscribing to every alarmist news story they heard / read. Now, I just do my very best to ignore it.

However one thing I do like to do when I have some free time (ha!), is to peruse the news pages of The Independent's web site. Every single time they do a story about global warming there's a number of people on there arguing about it. A couple of usual suspects, namely someone called Scooby2 and someone else called Icarus-somenumbersorother.

These two are part of a fascinating breed of apparently intelligent people, who point blankly refuse to acknowledge any evidence, point, or opinion to the contrary of their own. For my money, intelligent people don't do this. Blinkered idiots do this. Ignorami if you will. Intelligent people aren't supposed to. They can counter your argument effectively if they so wish, and then you can counter back and maybe you'll both learn something along the way and MAYBE, one of you may change your opinion.

I'm being idealist.

Still, for me it remains a viable course of events. These people however, resort instead to chest-beating and childish name calling. If you dare question what they're saying, they'll belittle you, ridicule you, chastise you and tell you in no uncertain terms that you're a moron. The irony is tangible.

Its fortunate for me that I stepped off the soap box before I happened upon this interesting little world, for I can imagine myself getting quite wrapped up in it. I drop the odd comment in here and there, usually just to wind people up for tis fun, but I don't get into the statistic quoting rants of many.

Global warming has become the new religion, and scooby and icarus are just two of the many high-priests of it. Just as you couldn't say anything nasty about God a couple hundred years ago without being burnt at the stake, so too must you keep your questioning mouth shut about all matters pertaining to the reliability of global warming stats.

Of course if you're reading this you have exceptional taste, and you know as well as I do that the point of science is to question...well, everything. And not just once either. Again and again. Despite what Barack says, the science is never settled. Look at the way atomic theory has changed, look at the way the theory of gravity has changed. Google phlogiston if you want to see how times change and how scientists get it wrong. In fact the 'climate change' phenomenon started in the 70's when scientists claimed the earth was heading towards an ice age, and we need to act now to stop it. Incidentally these same scientists are now advocates of global warming. Do they go where the funding is? You decide.

As a species, we are ever learning, and nothing is certain. Its to be embraced, not backed away from.

To take the piss out of someone who disagrees with you is the action of someone terrified that there is a hole in what they're saying, and any further enquiry and it runs the risk of being exposed. So they shoot you down with attacks on your character or your opinions. The comparisons between religious nut jobs and global warming activists are many, and they're eerily similar. Their behaviour fascinates me, as it should being a Psychology student, but sadly unlike many behaviours its not kept to the individual. This behaviour is affecting the budgets and actions of the world's biggest economies (except China), ergo its affecting the lives of everybody, its also breeding a lot of paranoia and bullying.

Making the human race feel guilty for its progress is an odd thing to do. There's people on the Independent site talking about there only needing to be 1 billion people on the planet. That's all well and good, but what do they want to do with the other 5 and a half billion? Genocide? Who decides who lives and who dies? What criteria will they use? Its ridiculous to the point of absurdity, and what used to be funny to me is taking on a darker hume, as radical opinions are leading on to threats of death for 'non-believers'. Talk about a step back in time.

Imagine we were talking about race, and someone threatened death for anyone who agreed with multi-culturalism. They'd be extremely unpopular and considered some manner of right-wing extremist with dangerous opinions. We may only be talking about the weather, but the sentiment remains. Their behaviour would be deemed unacceptable, yet I can quite happily say we should hang 'deniers' and I'd be applauded for it.

I've pointed out in the past how many of these advocates of the new religion are anti-human. An appalling thing to be. How odd then, that their actions set out to save the very humans they purport to hate. It is odd, but many religions are full of contradictions.

A Reindeer Sauna

I have returned from Finland. A country that constantly amuses itself at other peoples inability to deal with a little bit of snow. Of course Finnish cars are equipped with special tyres so they can drive on surfaces we can't but still...doesn't explain why their airports are always open and ours can't handle a few flakes.

As we descended through the candy-floss clouds and into Helsinki, it was a joy to see the sun was blazing. Combined with the fresh, very fresh in fact, air of Finland it makes for an ideal environment for me. I loves it.

Our promoter met us at the airport which is customary, then led us to his van where he'd bought us each a welcome bag of various CD's and some confectionery. That is most definitely not customary, but it was very sweet of him. His name was Big Daddy. He was kinda big but not as big as Big Dave from Newquay. He's big that lad. Besides, most psychobillies are huge. To earn the nick-name prefix of 'Big', you'd have to be mahoosive.

Another joyous feature of Finland is that a lot of gigs tend to be in hotels over there. The same hotel you're staying in. So you can play rock star and sit in your room being moody until show time. That's if you want to be a twat of course, I'd rather hang about back stage drinking and being a rock star there.

Big Daddy treated us to a rather fine dinner. We all sampled reindeer soup, which tasted a lot like bacon. I then had Steak a la Maison, which is Finnish for A Nice Piece Of Steak.

The gig itself was nothing to write home about attendance wise. The town was rather isolated, even for Finland, and its rather confusing as to why the gig wasn't put on in Helsinki, rather than driving two hours away to play in a small town. We had fun though, and even though we hadn't played for over a month, there were some moments there when we were really "'avin it".

After the gig, we decided to sample the sauna. I'd never been in one before. I loved it. We were all in there enjoying it when the door opens and the sound man asks us if there were any more towels and could he join us. We said yes to both so he closes the door. A minute or so later he opens the door again and enters. Stark bollock naked. You know those times when you don't know where to put your eyes? That was one of those times. Conversations seem a struggle too. Blame the language barrier. Really its the fact that a strangers penis may be comparable in size to your own, but when you know you shouldn't be looking at it, it becomes the biggest thing in the room.

Showered and feeling like a million Euros, we decided we were hungry. At four in the morning there wasn't many places to eat but we ventured out anyway. As luck would have it, there was a burger joint round the corner from the hotel and the splendid lady within cooked us up some cheeseburgers and chips. Chuffed to fucking bits with our haul, we headed back to the hotel, commenting on how freezing it was and looking forward to our meal with many more beers. As we got to the hotel we pushed the door...it was locked. We knocked. Nothing. We banged on it. Nothing. We pressed the buzzer. Nothing. We looked to each other, and I can't speak for the others but I was wondering who would die from the cold first. Miles was the skinniest, so I was putting money on him. Steve W was the largest so he might have made it to the morning.

Thankfully after a good few minutes of panic, someone addressed our cries and let us in. The relief should be bottled and sold, it was that good. After a couple of hours sleep, we were on the road again. Sans breakfast.

We're back in Finland in April. It should be a better gig people wise. One thing about that damn country though; I always get shocks. Static shocks from everything metal I touch. Not sure why I seem to be the only one afflicted either.

We're off on tour this week. 9 days round Germany and the Netherlands. Should be interesting, I'm really looking forward to it.

Anti-Human

So I've left Facebook for a bit. No biggie, I'll be back. No-one's been crying about it, least of all me.

I have been questioned though, as to why I left a social networking site. Firstly, it was a tool of procrastination. Deadly when you're trying to get stuff done. Self-discipline is a good thing. I took my own toy away from myself, so I would stop playing with it.

Secondly, I grew tired of the anti-human stance that was being paraded around by some of my 'friends'. Those same friends won't be there when I go back on Facebook, I shall be culling the hell out of them. Sadly, their anti-human agenda is all too prevalent today.

The problem with the world today it seems, is people. The world is over crowded. We're using up all our resources. The whole damn party is getting out of control. So, logically the solution would be to put a stop to people giving birth. That's the first job. Secondly, to 'prune' humanity down here on earth right now.

Who to get rid of? How about the people moaning about how many people there are, and about how evil the human race is. The people that see humans as a cancer on the planet, purging it of its beautiful waters, destroying its eco systems. They clearly don't like this place, so they should go. Then who? What about that third world lot? They're clearly not contributing so give them the chop. Should free up some space.

I jest of course. Its an insane idea but seriously....what else is the solution then? There isn't one and...there shouldn't be a solution anyway because there isn't a problem. You're a human being, you have a right to be here, and you have a right to reproduce. Its how we perpetuate the species after all.

Environmentalists will tell you you're no good. You're no good for not caring. Fossil fuels you see. Evil things. Oil? Wouldn't go near it. Its the devil's semen.

Let's be stupid for a minute...

Plastics are made using oil. Examples of which include: Mobile phones, laptops, plugs, computer keyboards, pens, cooking utensils, many, many things.

Rubber is made using oil. Examples of which include: tyres. Roughly 10 per cent of a tyre is made from oil (synthetic, not crude). Your trainers too. Oh, and those little fings on the end of pencils.

Petrol and diesel are made from oil. Bless 'em.

So with all that in mind, how can anyone be angry at oil? How does the average environmentalist presume their food got to the shops? (diesel, made from oil, powers lorries and trucks that run on rubber, which is made from oil, and have cockpits made from plastic, which is also made from oil) How can an environmentalist use power at home? Not only would it require a plug (plastic), but also the power they use reliably comes from the burning of fossil fuels.

Oil is all around us. There is no way you can avoid it. Its a good thing.

I grew tired on Facebook, of people going on about the environment. WE are a part of the environment. As sure as fish, monkeys and elephants are, and I grew tired of feeling like I had to apologise for that.

The problem I had was, there was no arguing with them. There was no discussion. The climate change brigade have faith. Faith in science, until the science goes against their faith, then the science is wrong. You can't compete with faith. AGW is the new religion, and its followers are just as brain dead as a scientologists'.

Coupled with the blinkers, is a tremendous amount of aggression. Argue with one, you'll see what I mean. You can put 'There's probably no God' on a bus these days. A bunch of atheists did just that. It riled up a few grannies, that was it. But if you say 'Global warming is a myth' you'd better run, because they'll shout you down, bully you, call you a flat-earther, and get everyone to point and laugh at you.

I had the animals thing too. The notion that animals aren't aggressive like humans is crazy. Just crazy. Instinctual aggression is arguably more vicious than human aggression. We are aware of consequence, animals are not. My plan? Ban Walt Disney. His anthropomorphising has turned everyone soft. There is violence in the animal kingdom, and its the cute and fluffy ones you have to watch the most. One girl I was friends with on Facebook...she'd make you puke blood if you read her posts. Anti-human, pro-animal, complete bullshit. She won't be there when I return. She's first for the chop. At one point, she posted something inflammatory and pleaded with people to argue with her about it. Some tried, and she went mental at them for not caring.

This, this just won't do. The bleeding heart, 'look at me I give a shit' bollocks designed to make the bleeder feel good about themselves is what pisses me off the most. Their life is so empty, they struggle to fill it with purpose. I'd urge them to go and be a parent. It would be the biggest shift in their world they'd ever experience. But why would they want to know how special it feels to be a parent? Humans are bad, and this world is over-crowded anyway.

Andy Gray, Richard Keys - Loose Men

This is a hot topic right now, but it alarmed me today when my Psychology lecturer sided with the idiots and said it was right that Gray was fired and Richard Keys resigned.

If you don't know the story - presumably because you've been living under a rock on Mars - I am not about to relate it here. I could simplify it, although the PC among you may accuse me of missing the point through simplification.

Instead, lets look at 'sexism' in Britain today. I direct you firstly, to the most horrific, horrible, sickening bunch of bitches ever to grace our screens...the Loose Women.

Click on this clip, and watch just the first 32 seconds of it.

You'll see Jackie Brambles pull a sad face as if men are pathetic for making an issue of this, and you'll hear and see Coleen Nolan ask what the problem is with men being branded 'stupid and lazy'. They don't have a problem with that. Its okay to brand a gender stupid and lazy on national television. Now, get someone to go on TV and brand all women similar adjectives. You won't last five minutes.

Okay now STOP. If you're a woman...you may be smiling, you may be thinking this blog pointless or pathetic or just another 'man' not being a 'man' about things. You probably refuse to accept that there is a point here. Get on with it, right?

This is a huge part of the problem. The 'ladies' (yeah, right) on Loose Women can say what they please about men. The reason for this, is that there is a tremendous amount of pressure on men to cut down on sexism. They must be seen to be treating both genders equally. Women however, have no such pressure. Their behaviour - however sexist - is permissible. 'Man-bashing' comments are accepted and even encouraged.

This is not equality. Equality would be reserving the same scandalous face for Andy Gray as you did for Coleen Nolan. And that just did not - and will not - happen.

The hypocrisy is very real, and it shows no sign of stopping. The TV advert discussed by the sexist bastards on Loose Women was not banned, despite its derogatory portrayal of men. It was meant as a 'joke' Jackie Brambles tells us. Interesting how when its a joke about men its funny, and when its a joke about women, its sexist. Thankfully Lynda Bellingham tries to talk sense into the proceedings but is met with a rather weak excuse from former Mrs Chris Evans, Carol McGiffin, namely that women have been patronised for years in TV adverts.

So in the interest of equality and moving on...men should now get the piss ripped out of them? Progress.

As the discussion moves on, they almost come to their senses until Nolan steps up again with another sexist remark about men, and not women, doing DIY, "Why keep a dog and bark yourself?" is her opinion on it. Brilliant. Just imagine if that were a man talking about a woman doing cleaning on national TV. He'd be torn limb from sexist limb.

Following on from this, McGiffin makes reference to the size of her boyfriend's penis, saying "He's aVERY grown up man" and holding her hands some distance apart.

How is this any different from the exchange Richard Keys found himself in? If a male presenter talked about the size of his girlfriend's tits, what do you think would happen?

And the thing is, Keys was off air. The cunts on Loose Women are very much ON air, they know what they're saying and...here's the thing that really winds me up:

THEY GET AWAY WITH IT.

Feminism isn't about being more powerful than men, its about having the same rights as them. You need to tell more women this, they seem to have forgotten. I'm all for them having the same rights as us. I don't believe in glass ceilings, I think a woman should be on the same pay as a man if she's doing the same job as him. This is obvious stuff that sadly isn't happening. More does need to be done in those areas but you can see the gaps closing. Slowly but surely, women are catching up and its a splendid thing.

If you're a man out there reading this ask yourself: Would you press charges if a woman hit you?

I'm guessing the majority of you would say no. Why? A blow to your ego? Possibly. Its just not the done thing is it? But, in the name of all that's equal, it damn well should be. I don't agree with hitting women so by definition, I don't agree with hitting anybody. We're equal, and violence sucks.

Now check this out, there's no real need to watch all of it:

This was to be a meeting to discuss the possibility of giving male victims of domestic violence the same social services that are currently only available to women. See what happened? 'Feminists' - I use quotations because they're not feminist, they're sexist - charge in and start coming out with several different flavours of bullshit. What's wrong with giving men the same care if they've been abused? Equal, remember? I think, given the pressure on men to be tough, it was damn brave of those gentlemen to even attend and what happens when they do? A bunch of ignorant bastards storm in, too blinkered to realise that yes, you can commit a violent act against a man and yes, its still wrong.

I believe this hypocrisy should be addressed. Andy Gray has unwittingly stirred this up, and I hope people are paying attention and I hope they're smart enough to realise it stinks. Some women will dismiss it as 'whining' but you should ask yourself why they're doing that. Are they scared? Of what....equality? But that's what they're after isn't it?

A Useful Guide

Some may take this as preachy. Others may wonder what the hell I know. I care not, this is my space and I'll post what I choose.

I have spent the last 15 years playing in bands. I'd played in bands for a while before that but we rarely gigged and were very crap. Once I formed Far-Cue with Badger, we started gigging heavily. Once I joined Frenzy, I gigged even more. Both bands provided many lessons, many experiences that I wish to put forth now, so for anyone thinking of starting a band read on and learn from my errors. I see a lot of local bands doing their first or second gig and I feel that if they were armed with this guide from the start, the world would be a better place for them...and me.

1) You are not more important than the person standing next to you.

And I don't just mean your band mates, I mean the audience too. So you can play an instrument, so you can sing. How do you know what they can do? The ability to do something does not elevate you above those that can't do it. This rule should apply to everyone from Bono to Bad News Bob. You are not special. You are there to entertain, not so that people can kiss your ass.

2) Your gear does not define your talent.

So often I go and watch local bands who spend hundreds - sometimes thousands - of pounds (usually paid for by the parents) on gear and they're shit. "All the gear no idea" as someone once said. Learn to play well, both in private and in public first, then worry about spending money on gear. Let me tell you this: when you start gigging often enough you won't want to spend money on gear. Your instrument becomes worn and damaged, covered in beer and sweat, and it can break your heart.

3) Once you have set your gear up. LEAVE IT ALONE.

Guitarists are the worst for this, followed very closely by drummers. They set their gear up, dial in a sound and volume, then proceed to wank themselves silly playing their latest riff or fill, thinking that the whole venue is interested in just how well they can play. Once you've established that your gear works, why carry on playing? What are you achieving? If you have a problem, by all means sort it out but if you want to warm up your fingers you can do it unplugged. Drummers too, set your kit how you like it then leave it. Its not going anywhere.

4) Be a set-list Jedi.

If you're going to be brave enough to play your own songs in a new venue, consider throwing in a crowd-pleaser every now and then. Its a drain on your audience's patience to constantly throw your own material at them. Reward them for this patience with something they know. They'll thank you for it. Also, if you're unsure of how a song may go down, park it next to one you know will be well received. It's like giving it support.

5) Watch the other guy.

I've seen many new bands commit this crime. You're not the only one on stage. Just because a song has gone a certain way in rehearsal, it doesn't mean it will go that way live. Watch everyone else before a song starts and definitely as it ends. They may do something, they may not do something. There could a problem - a dropped stick, a broken string, someone tuning up. Someone could be wiping the sweat from their face and as such will be unable to come in. You'll never know if you don't use your eyes.

6) Don't expect your friends to support you every time.

Your first few gigs will no doubt contain a great many of your friends and family. They won't be there every time. They won't experience the same giddy thrill as you do when you perform. They're proud of you, they just have lives of their own. Besides, it's good to escape from that safety zone, it gives you confidence.

7) Respect the landlord.*

Or whoever owns the place or is putting the gig on. You are one of many bands they get to play and if you don't want the gig or think you're above it, they'll find someone else. Refer to point 1. You are not special.

8) Don't do it for the money.

Do it because you love it. When you stop loving it, quit. There will be very little money playing the toilet circuit, so you need to find another source of motivation.

9) Plug up.

I don't do this, and I don't know anyone else who does either but, take it from someone with perpetually ringing ears: wear ear plugs. Medical science has not yet found a cure for tinnitus.

10) Just because you've packed down, it doesn't mean everyone else has.

Drummers go through hell with their stuff. If you're the lead singer and only had to pack a mic away, don't be a cunt. Help people with their gear. You'd appreciate it, so will they. Refer to point 1.

11) Only ten per cent of your time in a band is spent on stage.

The other ninety is spent doing boring things like writing, rehearsing, web site-ing, networking, negotiating, fixing vans, stealing microphones. Its one of the reasons you should really enjoy the time you get to play because the rest of it is hell. If you don't do the boring stuff however, you won't get the good stuff.

* Some landlords are impossible to respect because they're idiots. Do not play their venues.

Furthermore, though you should be appreciative of the gig, don't be ripped off either. If YOU accept a low fee for playing, then the landlord will use this as a ball park or example for other bands and you'll drag everyone down to your idea of pay. Go too high however, and you won't get to play. Use your common, and your self-respect. People rarely see what goes on behind the scenes and as such they don't know how hard you've worked for that hour and a half on stage. Make sure your audience rewards you with appreciation and the landlord rewards you with beer and money.

Simple isn't it. Now go. Do.

As Simple As You Make It

Lord Reith, first director-general of the BBC, once said "There are some people whom it is one's duty to annoy".

For me, these people are environmentalists. Why do I have such a beef with them? Well, its because they're prime exponents of that which we are all guilty of. Well, two things actually.

The first is confirmation bias and the second is motivated reasoning.

Confirmation bias is where you look for the thing that backs up your belief and ignore everything else. So if you are a feminist for example, you'll constantly notice ways in which women are repressed, and ignore the progress in equality.

We are all guilty of confirmation bias. One and all. However, in the case of environmentalists, they are not happy with just accepting that which they find useful and rejecting anything they don't. Instead, they aggressively attack that which contradicts or challenges their beliefs. This aggression means that they are unable to rationally discuss or intelligently defend their argument, resorting instead to childish labelling. They call anyone who opposes their view 'flat-earthers' or far more simply, 'idiots'.

For me this makes it very difficult to take anything they say seriously. The science for a lot of environmentalism is not yet proven. It remains a very difficult thing to prove. The problem is the cost of acting on this speculation or hypothesis is running into billions of pounds. I certainly hope they're right. I hope the planet is dying because if it isn't, its the biggest waste of money humanity has ever been guilty of.

Further to confirmation bias, there is motivated reasoning. This is where we accept what we wish to believe with less scrutiny than that which we don't. So anything that backs up your belief needs less proof than that which does not. Its a bit more detailed than confirmation bias but no less effective.

Wind farms for instance. An environmentalist looks at them and sees clean energy provided by Mother Nature. This is because that is what they want to believe. They don't want to know the ins and outs of it. They haven't looked into what happens when there's not enough wind to turn the turbines. Why? Because its inconvenient to their ideals. I have looked into it because I want to annoy these people with things that contradict their beliefs.

I'm churning these thoughts over in my mind because today I read a newspaper article about incineration plants. There's plans afoot to build a great many of these and to burn a lot more rubbish rather than put it in landfill. This is because the EU have imposed landfill restrictions on us and we have to bow down and do whatever it takes to make the EU happy.

Of course our friends of the earth are up in arms about it. But, they're not happy with landfill either. So, we can't burn it (CO2) and we can't dump it in landfill (damaging to the environment and also CO2).

What then, is the answer? Here's the problem: they don't know either.

Once again they're happy to point out all the things we shouldn't be doing yet never offer an alternative. If any of you have kids, you'll know what it's like to deal with an indecisive petulant child every now and then. This is the hard-core environmentalists to a tee. Whatever you suggest, they piss and whine about it yet never have an answer themselves. If you don't have an alternative, I might argue that your best course of action is silence.

We are obviously all guilty of things such as confirmation bias and motivated reasoning. We don't want to be wrong about things if we can help it, and reading or hearing evidence contrary to those opinions we've done alright with up to now can be rather scary. It means we have to re-evaluate, re-think, and perhaps admit to being wrong.

The beauty and brilliance of science is the way in which it continually questions itself. New evidence comes to light and it has an effect on previous thinking. As such, there are very few definites in the world. Obama claimed the science behind climate change is 'beyond dispute'. ALL science is subject to dispute. By its very nature it is. Just because Barack Obama says it, it doesn't make it any more true. He is a man, that's all. He takes a shit like everyone else.

It's my opinion that those that lose their cool first in an argument are more likely to be wrong. Once they start getting shirty it's because they're being backed into a corner, so they come out fighting. I look at a lot of Forums and discussion pages on the internet, and I guarantee you, those that get pissy first are the environmentalists. They act like you don't care, like no-one could possibly care as much as they do. They act like they're trying to save this planet and you're trying to destroy it. They act like you're an idiot, and they've read the lot.

The truth is most of them know as much as you. We're all just guessing, hoping, floundering. The difference is i'm not shoving my guess-work down people's throats. I'm not extrapolating billions of pounds from the governments of the world to fund my guess-work. I'm not putting my guess-work across as science.

The sad truth is, a lot of humans have it pretty good on earth right now. They don't have a war to fight, they don't have pieces of a war to pick up. They don't have to hunt for food or worry about displeasing a God. They've had the universe explained to them, they don't think illnesses are curses. They know stuff. As such, they don't know what to do with themselves. So they find themselves a catastrophe, something they can feel bad about. And then, with all the evidence of a TV evangelist, they go out into the world to put things right.

Annoy these people. Press their buttons. It's remarkably easy. They deserve to be irritated. Consider it your duty.

Perspectives

Rather than write some kind of review of the year, i thought it far better - and hopefully more interesting - to write about an observation. I've made this observation before, after i was promoted at work, but now as i find myself a mature student, this observation becomes more apparent and ultimately more grating.

My observation is difficult to spell out succinctly, and would make for a rather poor blog post so i'll explain it all and you can see what i mean.

Sometimes you do things that surprise your family, friends and best of all, yourself. Me going to College was one such move, and me going to University was another. When you become good friends with someone, its kind of the deal that you want the best for them. It comes out of love and its the same reason people in supposedly stable relationships break up; because they want the best for each other.

I only have a few good friends, friends whose opinion i'd value and take on board. I got mixed reactions to going to college, but mostly positive reactions to the news that i was going to University.

Now, here's where it gets weird. It's usually the case that you mock the things you don't understand. A lack of understanding can bring about fear, and the fear is dealt with by taking the piss. It's all very interesting and i've only touched on the surface here, but just give it some thought and you'll realise it to be true.

I had, and continue to have, some piss taking for being a mature student. This is fine, i can both take it and understand it. However, the problem i have is with people saying how much i've changed since starting University. I'm sure i have changed a bit. People always change in new situations. Its how we adapt. What i think people miss though, is how their attitude has changed towards me.

This brings about more change than i've gone through. Now, people think whenever i say a word with more than 3 syllables, it's because i've learnt it at University. Whenever i say something interesting, it's because i learnt it at University. Whenever i argue my point, i'm being arrogant because i think i know it all because i'm at University.

The sad truth is, i've always been arrogant with my point of view, i've always tried my best to say things that are relevant and interesting, and because i like to read i occasionally pick up words longer than 3 syllables. I make no apologies for any of it.

Trouble is, people seek out the things that back up their theory and ignore everything else. I'm expected to change into a smart-arse snob through University attendance, so anything that can be seen to be related to that is plucked from a conversation and expanded on. The rest, the bits that are 'still me', are ignored because they don't back up the expectations.

It's selective listening. The down-side is i get accused of changing into someone horrible when really, it's the people listening that have changed the way they're listening to me.

The environment you find yourself in changes your behaviour. It has to. People change all the time, and its a good thing. I don't know why you should be ridiculed for changing yourself, especially if the direction you're trying to head in is For The Better. I detest those people that rip the piss out of others trying to give up smoking. Anyone who does is both a smoker themselves, and utterly incapable of giving it up themselves. It's envy, pure and simple. I've seen these cunts blow smoke in the faces of those trying to give it up, in an attempt to what? Get them started again, to what? Spend tens of thousands of pounds on cigarettes, for what? To die a painful, cancer-ridden death. That's a friend is it? You can keep that kind of friend.

I suppose i should feel flattered, that the old me was such a splendid chap people don't want to see him go, but living your life to suit others is insane and will leave you very bitter. You'll say you're angry at everyone else but really you're just pissed with yourself for letting them dictate how you've lived your life.

I cannot change the behaviour of others (or can i?), but i can learn to ignore it. Of all the piss taking about being 'back at school' i seem to receive, i find it humorous that those doing the piss taking are the ones acting like they're in a playground.