Twenty Six Pence Worth of Problems

Got home this evening to a less than happy household. The washing machine had finished its run and rather absent mindedly forgotten to remove the water from itself. Cue wet kitchen floor and much angst.

I thought it might be a wheeze to take a look in the pump filter. I was kind of hoping that something had stopped it from draining properly. I found three coins (and it wasn't even a fountain). A grand total of 26 pence. I guess someone (not me - I dream of having so much loose change) had left the cash in their pocket, from there it had made its way into the internals of the machine and bunged up the outlet. We did two washes and it seemed to work OK.

I've always had a problem with washing machines. Ages ago I bought one of the first computer controlled ones because it is a well known fact that "the mechanical controllers always go wrong". After two failed motors and a broken drum bearing I have revised this theory. I now buy the cheapest one I can get and then throw it away after a few years. This one was quite cheap, and for it the tip may be looming.....

Invigilating People

Spent the afternoon invigilating an exam: "Elements of Politics".

Question 3: "To what extent are traditional social cleavages still relevant for explaining political behaviour today?"

We engineers never got questions with words like "cleavages" in them.

Camden Lock

Camden Lock
Originally uploaded by RobMiles.

Just a Sunday in Camden Lock a week ago. Nice place to be...

This is a test post from Flickr which seems to have worked. I'm going to put the odd (and I do mean odd) picture up there every now and then.

Normal Saturday

Had a normal Saturday for the first time for a while. Normal is nice. Footled around with a few things, went up town and didn't buy anything. Good (and economical) times.

One in the eye for Rob

Went for an eye test today. Not before time. I've been meaning to go for a while, at my age the eyes are one of the many things which can go wrong with ones' self.

Only I would have an eye test on Friday 13th. At least I didn't go for laser surgery (I've done some research on this, and it turns out that they don't actually put lasers into your eyes - so it seems a bit pointless really).

Anyhoo, it was off down to Asda and into the chair:

"Can you read that chart over there on the wall?"
"What wall?"

I wanted to use my favourite gag:

"Have your eyes ever been checked?"
"No, they've always been blue"

- but the chap was more interested in giving me a proper eye test than exchanging old jokes. It turns out that my eyes have changed a bit, nay a lot. And that I now need varifocals. These are the ones that let you closely examine someones' nasal hair whilst appearing to look over their shoulder into the distance. I can't wait.

Apparently the difference between my long and short sight disabilities is so great that there was some discussion as to whether or not varifocals will work. I can imagine the scene behind the counter:

First Optician: "I'm not sure that this is a good idea"
Second Optitican: "Why not?"
First Optician: "Well, the power of the lenses. In the wrong hands they could...."
Second Optician: "Yes, I know all about that, only a man with unusally strong mental abilities could control them and use them as a force for good"
(looks over at me trying to read the numbers on my Smartphone...)
Second Optician: "..and I think we might just have found him."
Me: "Is that a three or a five?"

The new glasses arrive in a few weeks.