Up and Running

Well how time flies, week two already, and the Shed is up and running like a March hare when me old greyhound Lurch, bless her soul, would take off after it in the 40 acre paddock. I had a go at that Wordpress site and tried out a blog there, but I think I'll stick with the one I know so here we are. Meanwhile I added some of me mates' blogs in the sidebar, that went alright and makes them easier to find, I hope you've checked them out.

Me mate Merryjack said by all means put a badge in from his Flickr site and show people some nice photos from his part of the world so that's there too, and I think that might just about cover week three at the same time.

Then there's a shot of the Shed for all to see, most of the time I'm in me office on the right hand side, I'm there right now. That's where I keep the merino stud books, any stray magazines with interesting articles that the Missus won't have in the house, as well as all the farm records back to Grand-dad Russell's time, more about that later.

There's a daily quote as well, that can cheer a bloke up when it hasn't rained for a while and the crops and stock aren't looking too good or when it's rained too much and they still aren't looking any better.

I got the visitors map of the world up and running so tell your mates about it and before long we'll have so many red dots, it will look just like the one on the school wall used to - with the British Empire all in red.

Then I found this moon phase widget which I'm pretty pleased with because it's useful for planting crops, going fishing and explaining why the dogs are restless and the dingoes and foxes are on the prowl; and why the black dog can creep up on a bloke if he's not careful, more about that later.

Then there was a bit about blogging etiquette I quite enjoyed, because if there's one thing I learned from Mother it was always keep your manners handy, especially around the ladies, because you won't get far if you don't, and I'm sure that still applies.

Although in my experience manners are just as important in the company of blokes because you won't just get a refusal, more like a knuckle sandwich and have your height measured on the floor. Of course on the Internet you can't give a bloke a wink when you make a personal remark to let him know you're just kidding, no offence intended, present company excepted and so on; and I don't hold with making cute faces from punctuation marks as a substitute for expressing yourself properly, alright?

On the other hand Touchstone's Reproof Valiant or Retort Courteous (As You Like It, V,v) is probably going a bit too far! Here it is from old Brewer's dictionary -

Sir, allow me to tell you that is not the truth. To use Touchstone’s illustration: “If a courtier tells me my beard is not well cut, and I answer, ‘That is not true,’ I give him the reply valiant, which is the fourth remove from the lie direct, or rather, the lie direct in the fourth degree.”

The reproof valiant, the countercheck quarrel-some, the lie circumstantial, and the lie direct, are not clearly defined by Touchstone. The following, perhaps, will give the distinction required: That is not true; How dare you utter such a falsehood; If you said so, you are a liar; You are a liar, or you lie.

 You can check up on that one at the source if you like and to help you out I've put a link straight to the Bard, over there in me links; because a bloke wouldn't want to be caught short when he needs to verify a quote from the less well known plays or sonnets, the ones he doesn't know by heart that is.

Anyway hoo-roo for now and I'll be seeing you later, your old mate, Jacko