Will I ever call video shops dvd shops?

I have no idea babes, I don't call them video shops anyway. I generally don't use them & when I have to refer to them it's by the brand name rather than the generic term 'video shop' i.e. Blockbusters etc.

You could say 'I'm just nipping out to the DVD shop', I'm pretty sure it's personal taste & have a vague suspicion they were called video shops as early as the 80s when they first started surfacing & you could rent a video there. Because technology has moved on quite considerably since the days of the first video shops, we may very well be calling them 'Blu Ray' shops in the not so distant future, although, I'll be surprised if that ever actually catches on either....They're actually still video shops regardless.

The first video I saw was when I was about 10 or 11. It was called 'Blue Lagoon' & stared Christopher Atkins & Brooke Shields. I can't say I enjoyed it very much really, I don't remember that much about it. I think, looking at reviews of it, it must be quite a 'pretty' film. I haven't even got very many memories of it, which is odd, I guess it covered some contravesial issues for the time it was made, but I only know that because I looked it up! I was babysitting for the lady up the road who used to do my hair (no idea what her name was) & I thought it was so cool that she had her own video player/recorder, she took me to the 'video shop' & told me I could choose any film I wanted to watch while I was babysitting their daughter(I'm pretty sure she got a horror film to watch when she & hubby got home). I chose Blue Lagoon, partly because it was one of those 'everyone else I knew had already seen it & I hadn't & wanted to see what the fuss was all about', but also, I think it was possibly the only film I knew the title of! Things have really changed on that score...I own alot of DVDs now.

I used to have alot of Video tapes, so many that I had no where to put them & just used to line them up. Over the years I've replaced them with DVDs & added quite a few to my collection. I have films for whatever mood I'm in & always have something to watch. James used to watch 'Raow King' over & over & over when he was little, he used to smack his dad or I round the head about 7am shouting it & bouncing up & down. Lovely wake up! Jake was a Toy Story freak...he loved Buzz completely & used to stand on the edge of my bed with his arm thrust up shouting 'Finny finny finny OOoooooonnnnn!' Then preceeded to turn around slowly & gently slide of the end of the bed onto his tiptoes & then breathe a sigh of relief when his feet were firmly planted on the floor. Zanna was 'Miss Hocus Pocus' & still is...we often still watch it when we have a girlie afternoon, just the two of us...i've seen it so many times I can almost word for word it now lol.

When we finally got a video player/recorder in our house, my mum taped Calamity Jane for my sister & I. We watched it, sang along to it, danced around the house singing to it while we were doing the housework (& Elvis but we won't go there just now!) and generally completely loved it. When I had a brief stopover in Chicago in February I saw a hoodie that said 'Just Blew In From The Windy City' on the front. I knew it had Dollys name all over it.....she loved it...so many memories. We've tried to get our girls interested in it of course & although they watch it, it's just not the same. My sister & I still know every single word & can sing all the songs (badly lol) but Shhhh don't tell anyone, it's our secret!



Stray & I will always have 'Two dollars & fifteeeeeeeeen cents!'....Shiv & I will always always be 'reaching for the moon'.

Video is still an apt term for the shops that rent & sell moving pictures. Digital video refers to DVDs, Blu ray, MPEG4, etc. & Analogue video includes VHS & Betamax. So it's still ok to call them video shops at the end of the day, they rent & sell moving pictures. So, because DVD is just a type of digital video, if you called them 'DVD shops' you wouldn't be right, but you can still call them that if you want to :)

If you dont have any super powers and could pick one which power woudl you pick and how or what would you do with it?

I have a super power. I don't let on very often because most people would think I was bragging & then I'd have to prove it & it gets complicated. I'm not shy about sharing that fact on here but I can't go into details even with you. They'd lock me up & do experiments on me!! He he he.


I would find it difficult to choose a superpower for myself actually (good job I have one already!). Even in games I've played, where you have to choose your own power, I've hummed & harred & always wished I'd picked a different one. So to 'pick' a power for 'real life me' I would find very hard, although, I would quite like to have the powers of a vampire. Not a Twiglet vampire (the acting's wooden so Bob renamed it & Christa giggled), the sparkling would put me off, but if I HAD to be one I'd rather be Alice than any of the others. I like the fact they can fly, are very fast, live for a looooong time etc. The bloodsucking doesn't sound fun but I suppose I could if needs must lol. They just seem to have the whole package instead of a single power, a bit greedy perhaps but I'd rather that than just being able to fly or whatever.

Time travel is a bit of a fascination too....I'd hate to go back & live my life again, but some bits it'd be nice to visit. I'd like to say I'd use any superpower I had for the good of others but I'm not so sure I would actually lol. I can be a bit of a selfish bint when I choose!

This is a short version....I'm getting nagged, but 'I'll be back'!

OK, I'm back & I've thought a bit more about this whole 'time travel' thing. I think that's the one I'd like best. From a personal view, I'd like to time travel so I could go back & view the bits of my young life that have affected me as an adult & try to see them from a different point of view. I think alot of the things we go through as children have a way of feeding the insecurities we have & perhaps this would be a way of slaying the demons? Who knows, must be worth a try though.

I'd like to see my mum too & my dad before he got sick.....& my little dog. See, I'm selfish! It's all about me! lol.

I'm not sure how I'd use the power for the good of mankind.....perhaps I'd do a 'Bill & Ted', consult with world leaders & past philosophers.....I don't know but I'm sure I'd be able to find a way. This one might need a bit more thought.....

I have this in my head at the moment....

Which sick bastard first decided to eat eggs? We don't eat anything else that comes out of an animal's arse, so why eggs?

Since the beginning of human time we have eaten eggs. There's no record I can find on 'who was the first person to decide to eat an egg'. It's a long time before anything was written down & their name was more than likely a mere grunt!

Wherever eggs could be obtained they have been eaten. Different kinds of eggs were & still are eaten in different parts of the world. Ostrich and chicken are the most common.

Eggs are relatively easy to obtain, excellent protein sources, adaptable to many different types of recipes (from simply boiled, fried, or stuffed to complicated quiche, custards or meringues), and fit the bill for meatless fasting days required by some religions. In this last role, eggs have been the object of much religious symbolism and tradition. Over time, some groups have encouraged the consumption & decoration of eggs in celebration of certain events. Others have decided eggs are filthy food which must be avoided.

Eggs have been known and enjoyed by humans for many centuries. Jungle fowl were domesticated in India by 3200 B.C.E. Records from China and Egypt show that fowl were domesticated and laying eggs for human consumption around 1400 B.C.E., and there is archaeological evidence for egg consumption dating back to the Neolithic age. The Romans found egg-laying hens in England, Gaul, and among the Germans. The first domesticated fowl reached North America with the second voyage of Columbus in 1493.

I very much doubt I'll ever be able to get to the bottom (he he) of this one! lol

P.S. The worlds most expensive coffee comes from the bottom of a civet, the red raw beans are eaten & partially digested by the weasel like animal & are then pooped out. The civets digestive system takes the bitterness out of the beans. It can cost up to $50 a cup & is served in tiny cups, a pound of it would cost $600 approximately. So eggs aren't the only things consumed that came out of another things arse (although technically, chickens eggs are hens periods & don't come from their arses) :)

Why were the butcher the baker and the candle stick maker in a tub together??

I just asked Jake, my 15 year old & he said... the butcher wanted to beat his meat, the baker wanted his buns hard & the candlestick maker wanted to wax his rod! So much for asking a 15 year old! lol

Anyway......

One night amid a fearsome storm, three friends sat chatting in a pub. The wind was howling through the trees & the moon had gone into hiding amidst the dark clouds circling fast overhead. The friends were getting ready to face the treachery outside when they heard an almighty crash come from the back room! With their coats half on they ran to see what the commotion was & found the landlord & his good lady pinned to the floor by a huge boulder. They looked up & saw an old oak, that had stood in the village for years, had come crashing through this part of the roof. The rain was lashing through the branches & soaking the faces of the helpless couple as they looked up, terrified of their fate. The water sloshed around the ankles of the three friends as they tried in vain to help the unfortunate ones, a river bank must have burst. Damn, that was all they needed! Herculean strength was all that would be able to move the tree that was on the boulder that was pinning them to the ground! Who would save them! They needed a miracle & they needed one fast!

As anyone who's anyone already knows, miracles usually come when you need one & all of a sudden....*poof* up popped Fuckup The Fairy! Now as fairies went, Fuckup was very unusual in the way she went about granting her wishes. Her magic wand had given up the ghost several centuries before, so she had resorted to finger twiddling & farting at the same time, which seemed to work quite well, except....it wasn't always the most accurate method of delivering spells. The three friends stood back in amazement as Fuckup started whispering under her breath & twiddling her fingers towards the unfortunate couple on the floor. Loud sounds were also emanating from the small fairies nether regions, but the three friends didn't think it was the time to say anything or burst out laughing somehow. Despite the drama unfolding all around, smirks could still be seen on their faces when the moonlight poked it's head through the swirling clouds. It was scary the way this fairy worked!

Within minutes, the couple were free of the boulder & trying to stand, despite having injured themselves in the fall. The three friends were stood staring drop-jawed at Fuckup, who explained that she was actually trying to think of butterflies so the tree & boulder could flutter away in the storm. She had instead, succeeded in making rather a mess with the raw meat, dough & candle wax...She blushed crimson in the stormlight 'bloody brain & it's stupid crushes' she thought, trying to regain her composure & failing miserably in the midst of the three handsome hunks!

The injured couple retired to the upstairs undamaged part of the pub to fix their wounds & Fuckup decided she had better go before she made even more of a klutz of herself! The three friends, by this time soaked to the skin & up to their thighs in floodwater, tried to work out the best way to get home. They went to the front door just in time to see a tub float past. Clambering in, they sailed off down the village street, luckily in the right direction...good job they all lived close to one another! What were they going to tell their wives about Fuckup? They all decided not to say anything, who would believe them if they mentioned a farting fairy & had just come from the pub!?

This is why I think the butcher, the baker & the candlestick maker were all in the tub together, it was after the pub & before the rotten potato!

A little while ago we froze a packet of crumpets. At the time, the sealed plastic packet seemed to contain a lot of air.

A little while ago we froze a packet of crumpets. At the time, the sealed plastic packet seemed to contain a lot of air, but after four months in our freezer it had contracted tightly against the crumpets, which had also shrunk. After two more months at room temperature, the whole package appeared to have shrunk still further, though with no sign of mould or decay.The ingredients are listed as flour, water, yeast, raising agents, E450, E500, salt, sugar, preservative, calcium propionate. What's
going on?

^^^^That's the full comment^^^^

Firstly, EEEWWWWW! Who keeps a packet of pre-frozen crumpets for 2 months? If I'd done that there's no way I'd announce it to the world! You can bet the world reads this too....because it's mine & I'm amazing!

Anyway, my first thought on this would be chemical reaction....that somehow the yeast reacted with the E500 (sodium bicarbonate), but they're both rising agents that work independently of one another. Yeast likes a warm environment & E500 doesn't really care I don't think. Water is quite high on the list of ingredients so maybe that has something to do with it too?? Hmmmm.... high water content usually means mould though.......So, maybe there's a reaction with something that sucks out the water, preserves the crumpets by drying them out & uses up any air in the packet in the process making it constrict round the crumpets.....(these dots are my mind working, each one is 500 brain ticking overs).

What uses oxygen up.........sec, need to Bing......Yeast metabolizes sugar to produce carbon dioxide and ethanol, also known as alcohol, in the production of wines, beers and other spirits, but also in the production of bioethanol:
C6H12O6 → 2 CO2 + 2 C2H5OH

Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter when there's no oxygen. Foods packed in air don't store as well as in oxygen free gasses. This is because air contains oxygen which oxidizes many of the compounds in food. Bacteria, one of several agents which make food go rancid also needs oxygen to grow. Food storage companies have a couple of different processes for removing the oxygen:

1. Displacing the oxygen: This is done by purging out all the air in the product with an inert gas. Nitrogen is almost always used because it is the most inert gas known. People doing their own packing occasionally use dry ice which gives off carbon dioxide gas, and probably works just about as well.
2. Absorb the oxygen: Oxygen absorber packets do just that. Air contains about 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, leaving about 1% for the other gasses. If the oxygen is absorbed, what remains is 99% pure nitrogen in a partial vacuum.

OK, now I've looked into it a bit more I reckon it has to do with the packaging. If there's no oxygen, there can't be mould because it can't grow. Also, if an oxygen sucking gas was used to package the crumpets, some of the water content would disappear as well...any leftover moisture found in the crumpets could interact over time with the E500 and create a small amount of carbon dioxide gas too.

Right, to answer the question, I think perhaps the gas used to pack the crumpets sucks the moisture out of them & causes the packet to constrict (perhaps because of the extreme temperature) or, there's a carbon dioxide producing reaction in there somewhere. I'm NOT a rocket scientist though as I keep mentioning :p

P.S. Stray, I'd thump him for insinuating you're not good at chucking things away. He probably hid the packet somewhere just so he could do an experiment! lol

Why do roadworks put up signs saying "Wait here at the red light" when that is what you do at traffic lights normally anyway?

Hiya Bronwyn :)

There's usually a sign that accompanies temporary traffic lights telling drivers 'when red light shows wait here'. This is used instead of the white line at a regular set of traffic lights. It's illegal to pass the white line for any reason when the light is on red. A driver should also stop at the line/sign on an orange or amber light & can only go through the lights when they're on green if it's safe to.

When temporary traffic lights are used it also usually means there are roadworks & the workmen have maybe had to make the road alot narrower. To allow drivers in both directions pass, the sign is normally placed as far to one side as possible so there's a big enough gap.

So, to answer your.... Ok, Bronwyn has a question:

Why do roadworks put up signs saying "Wait here at the red light" when that is what you do at traffic lights normally anyway?


The sign telling drivers to 'wait here' is the same as the white line in the road at regular traffic lights. If someone passes the sign, it means they've broken the law if the light is on red & that's how the police know whether to send them a ticket or not :)

P.S. The police stopped me the other day & told me I'd jumped the traffic lights & I said 'Don't be daft, they're over 12 feet tall!' he he he:)

If the fireflies were so nice and taught the bloke to dance n stuff, why did he then keep them prisoner in a jar rather than let them go home??

I swear Emrys should have been a cat.

Anyway - if the fireflies were so nice and taught the bloke to dance n stuff, why did he then keep them prisoner in a jar rather than let them go home??
That's the whole comment.

Personally, I think this bloke was very selfish! But only if you take the lyrics of the song by Owl City literally (sorry, momentarily distracted....I'm such a Gleek! Puck is soooo cute in this one! lol...Ok, I might be drooling but I'm back).

I don't think they're meant to be taken literally, he's a young adult that can't cope with the stuff going on round him. It's making him unable to sleep, his head's in turmoil & he's sick of lying there wanting sleep to take him to a nicer place. I think everything's going too fast in a kind of 'stop the world I want to get off' kinda way but when he tries to get off (go to sleep), all the demons in his head take over & he needs the light to send them away. Hence the fireflies. He may have memories of fireflies from childhood that he thinks about & until he does, sleep is impossible.

The fact he wants the comfort of childhood is evident in the video setting, it's full of toys and gadgets that young people would love. Many of us experience problems with sleeping when times get rough, I know I do (although to be fair, I don't sleep much at night anyway)...He needs the comfort of the light from the open door, to soothe him when he has bad dreams (as children do) perhaps the light 'dancing round the room' (disco ball hanging by a thread) is actually his 'fireflies' and the 'jar' is a place in his head he goes to when even sleep doesn't provide the goods, his 'Happy Place' (I'm pretty sure that light on a disco ball would look like fireflies when your eyes are closed). The fireflies are probably his good childhood memories and he sees them when he shuts his eyes & the light dances. Even when all seems lost he keeps just a bit of his childhood in his head to relate to when things get too much.

Taken literally not letting them go & keeping them in a jar is a bit cruel. Keeping something away from loved ones just because it makes you calm & happier isn't a very nice thing to do. Nobody likes goodbyes, they generally hurt & are upsetting but we can't hold onto living things just to satisfy a need in us. But clinging to a bit of childhood to comfort us to sleep isn't a bad thing :)