draliman on life

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

Have you ever ‘”dined and dashed” (i.e. eaten the meal and then run out the restaurant door without paying)?
No. Who would do that? I guess if you’re starving and have no money.

Have you ever been in a car accident and either left the scene of the accident (providing it was a fender bender and not serious) or denied culpability for causing it when you did, (if it were minor or serious)?
No.

Have you ever found a wallet or purse or some money (over $20) in the street and just taken it, thinking ‘finders keepers, losers weepers? Or would you be ‘good’ and hand it in?
No. But that was back in the day, when it was still easy to find a police station that was open to the public. I’m not sure where to hand something like that in to be honest. In the village, I’d hand it into the little shop/post office.

It’s technically theft to keep money you find on the street, but I bet handing in a £20 note would create £100 worth of paper work for the police and piss them off.

What was the last thing you stole or shoplifted? If you never ever considered doing that, tell us your secret!
The “last thing I stole or shoplifted”? That makes it sound like a thing loads of people do! My secret? I’m not a thief.

Here’s a picture I took on a recent wander. It’s foxgloves, which I left alone and didn’t steal.

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

What do you think of professional motivational speakers? Do you think they motivate?
For sure! They motivate people to spend their hard-earned cash to turn up, buy their book and come back again. They have that knack of getting people really excited about changing their lives during and shortly after the talk, but then the feeling fades and you have to go back for another fix.

Do you have a favourite flavor?
Yes.

While out walking, you hear a rustling in some bushes. What do you think of?
Someone’s getting frisky! Or it’s a werewolf. Or a vampire. Or a small rodent.

What’s your ideal temperature (nature-wise)? Hot, cold, temperate and mild, humid or bone dry?
Low 20’s and sunny during the day. Mid-teens overnight. Low humidity. I can’t express it in terms of hot/cold etc I’m afraid – scorching hot in Cornwall is mid to high twenties, which I know many people would scoff at and not consider hot at all!

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

How comfortable are you speaking in front of large groups of people?
Love it, being up there, the centre of attention, all eyes on me, standing in the spotlight.

Wait, that doesn’t sound like me at all.

Hate it, being up there, the centre of attention, all eyes on me, standing in the spotlight.

Final answer.

What would be the best thing you could reasonably expect to find in a cave?
Buried treasure. A dead body. A hitherto undiscovered monster crab. A huge vein of old (this is supposed to say “gold”, thanks Peter!). Ooh, a mermaid.

What did you think was going to be amazing but turned out to be horrible?
Salted chocolate. No, that’s a lie, I expected that to be horrible.

What’s the silliest thing you’ve observed someone get upset about?
All sorts of things. It could be me, it could be someone else. It’s usually something where you get into a “heated discussion” and both sides are so stubborn they refuse to back down, even though it gets sillier and sillier.

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

Is it ever okay to commit a crime? Please explain.
Only if you’re very rich and have no conscience. That way you’ll get off with it and you won’t care who got hurt.

Do you deal with change well?
I don’t like change. It always takes me a while to get used to things.

Do you like birds? The sound of bird song in the morning, taking pictures of them, as food? 
Yes to all! I don’t have many photos of birds though as they keep flying away. Here’s a couple of gulls.

What’s the least used item of clothing you own?
Probably my suit. I wear it one to two times per year (Christmas parties). It’s cool, though. It has a little waistcoat 🙂

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

In your opinion, does patriotism require the belief that one’s country is the greatest on earth?
No. And people who blindly believe that scare me. There are lots of ways you can define “greatest on Earth” anyway. I believe the UK is one of the best places to live overall, but not the best. Basing it on economic and military, it’s probably China but I wouldn’t want to live there.

Why is patriotism considered by some to be the highest of virtues? What is so important about love of country? Shouldn’t we be more concerned about humankind, or the planet as a whole, rather than a single country?
It’s good to love your country. I don’t know who considers patriotism to be the absolute highest of virtues. Sounds like blind faith, no questioning.

What is the relationship between decisions and consequences?
Absolute. You make a decision, it has a consequence. Any decision, big or small. Decision – get out of bed. Consequence – day has begun.

What is social justice?
That’s when someone in the village does something wrong and a mob shows up and dangles them from the nearest tree.

Oh, wait, I just Googled it. It’s not that at all.

What’s one body part you wouldn’t mind losing?
My head. No, I need that. My little toe.

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

What’s something you really resent paying for?
All types of insurance. I don’t like having to pay “just in case”. Grr. Of course, you’re glad of it if your house burns down or your house unexpectedly explodes.

What was the most unsettling film you’ve seen?
Star Trek 5 – The Final Frontier. How could they make something that bad in the midst of the great Star Trek, and actually think it was okay to release and not burn it?

Do you judge people?
I think everyone judges people, whether intentionally or not. The moment you see someone you form an opinion, which will alter over time, but that’s a form of snap judgement.

Finish this sentence: “Back in my day, we…”?
…spent long hot summers riding around the place on our bicycles during long hot summers holidays, not a care in the world…

Gratitude – Please feel free to share an uplifting photo, thought or meme to show your own gratitude. We can all use some good vibes!
A small but significant easing of our lockdown has allowed us to meet one person from outside our household outside, as long as we maintain the 2 metre distance. I went for a couple of walks in the country roads around the village with my friend.

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

Do you have a favourite kind of tree?
Yes, definitely. I’m trying to remember what it’s called. It’s that one with a sort of rough brown bit at the bottom, then it gets narrower as it goes up and sort of branches out into smaller bits. And there are green bits on it higher up.

Hopefully someone can identify it from that description. To summarise – brown at the bottom, branching out, green bits at the top.

What bridges are you happy you burned?
I don’t recall burning any bridges. I like to keep open a way back.

Would you sacrifice yourself (die) for a stranger?
Ha! No, I seriously doubt it. Nobody can truthfully answer that question until they’re actually in the situation, though.

How have your priorities changed since the C-19 virus took over?
I don’t think they have. I’m doing the same things in a different way, that’s all.

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

What can you break even if you don’t touch it?
My first thought was “the heart”. Other people have gone with “a promise”. Apparently there is “a real answer to this”. I wonder if it’s something real rather than an abstract noun.

I, of course, can break many things without touching them due to my Jedi powers.

What’s the most useful thing you own?
My brain. Without it I can’t remember how to use all the other useful things I own.

What’s The Silliest Reason You’ve Ever Gotten Into A Fight With Someone Over?
I can’t remember the last time I got into a “fight”. Probably with my one of my ex’s. You know how that goes, eh? 🙂

If You Were A Snake, How Long Would You Want To Be? No, size does not matter.
Ah, the snake. Universally a symbol of insidious back-stabbing nastiness. Slipping through the grass of life, a word here, a remark there, causing trouble and moving on, slippery, slidey, they cheat, they lie and are never seen, motes of dust, shadows in the night…

Sorry, what was the question again?

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

Do guns protect people or kill people? Or both?
A gun is just a tool, it’s the person pulling the trigger that kills. Technically, there’s very little reason for anyone outside of law enforcement and armed forces to own a gun (aside from pest control). Unfortunately in some countries ownership of guns has propagated so widely that people now buy guns because all the criminals have guns. It’s hard to get back from that.

Is it more important to be respected or liked?
I think I’d rather be liked. And respected. Respected. Liked. Why can’t I have both?

Like and respect me, dammit.

Is having a big ego a negative or positive trait?
I guess it’s a big positive if you’re a powerful business leader, as it’s a cut-throat environment. Unfortunately it doesn’t transfer well from big business to running a country. It just makes you look like a complete prat. Mentioning no names. Ahem.

Depending on your point of view, is death a new beginning?
Well, that’s the question, isn’t it. We’re all agreed that it’s an ending. Whether something else starts, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

In your opinion what animal is the most majestic?
Ah, that would be the majestic meerkat. Gaze in wonder as he scurries majestically around the desert, or wherever it is meerkats live. Feel that catch in your throat as he stands majestically on his hind legs, gazing with majestic solemness across the desert landscape, or the landscape of wherever meerkats live.

Truly the king of beasts.

What seemingly innocent question makes you think “It’s a trap!”?
“Does my bum look big in this? If you love me, you’ll be honest…”

What weird potato chip flavour that doesn’t exist would you like to try?
Surely every possible flavour of crisp has been already produced by now? There’s some weird stuff out there. I found a site listing some weird flavours, including squid, cucumber and cinnamon and sugar (erk!). However, it’s an American site as it also listed, as being really “out-there” from across the pond (ie. here), prawn cocktail crisps. I grew up on prawn cocktail crisps!