6.45am in London, UK, and I've just got out of bed. Morning all!

[Taxloss]

The early shift in the Lounge is always the worst ... the smell of stale cigar smoke, perfume and sweat ... the sticky carpet ... the empty beercans ... the overflowing ashtrays ... Matcom snoring soundly in the bathtub ... a spray of what appears to be barbecue sauce on the wall ... the horror, the horror

[Heidi]

1. Mornin', taxloss!

:hi:

[Taxloss]

2. And the very tippety-top of the morning to you!

:hi:

I'm on the laptop in the kitchen in order to avoid disturbing a still-slumbering Mrs Taxloss, checking my email, reading the headlines and drinking a coffee. It's still quite dark out - darkest time of the year, here ...

[HEyHEY]

3. Eleven at night here on the West coast of North America

Dude, it's like...tomorrow where you are

[Taxloss]

4. Yup, it's 7am, Tuesday 22 November 2005!

So far the day's fairly typical - there's not much advance waning to give.

[HEyHEY]

10. Well, if the world ends - shoot me an email so I can go out in style

[Taxloss]

13. Yup, you'd easily have enough time to get thoroughly wasted.

I might be a bit too busy to write the email though.

"Dear HEyHEY,

Turns out, the Sun's gone nova. You have about six or seven hours. Empty you bank account and get to Spearmint Rhino as quickly as possible.

See you soon, Yours, Taxloss.

PS it's already Tuesday here! How weird is that?"

[MissHoneychurch]

5. good morning

just got to work. A bit after 8am here :hi:

[Taxloss]

7. Western Europe ... Always a bit ahead of us ...

I'm still in my dressing gown. But you didn't need to know that.

:hi:

BTW thanks for that link to all those cartoons - Mrs T, a huge cat fan, LOVES them!

[MissHoneychurch]

9. yah, I have the trying to wake up part already behind me

more or less :D

you're welcome for the link. Even though I love the comic strip "9 Chickweed Lane" I didn't know about the collection of all the cat strips till my brother pointed it out to me.

[Taxloss]

11. We Guardian readers in the UK get "Doonesbury",

"Dilbert" is also popular, but there are dozens of brilliant US strip and political cartoons that pass us by. And the US misses out on "If ..." and "Alex".

[NMMNG]

6. Top o' the morning to you Taxloss

And what's this about the early shift in the Lounge? Don't be dissing the night crew--I'm part of it you know. ;-)

[Taxloss]

8. Morning Buffy! No dissing - envy, if anything.

Looks like I missed a good party.

[NMMNG]

15. There's always something going on during the night

Glad you could join us!

[Taxloss]

16. Nice to be here! Who's that horrid woman in your sig? n/t

[NMMNG]

19. Margaret Perrin, the fundie whackjob who was on "Trading Spouses"

She traded places with a new-age hypnotherapist. The entire time she was in the other home she was uptight about everything--their gargoyle statues, astrological charts, mandalas, a star they had hanging in the back yard, etc. She also had numerous meltdowns (temper tantrums essentially) such as when she was asked to co-host a radio program with a psychic, and at the end when she was telling her family about the experience. There was so much material just from her antics that they were able to stretch it into two episodes.

[Taxloss]

21. Ugh. In the UK that programme is called "Wife Swap".

I find it hard to watch. Mrs T loves it. This Perrin character sounds like a right scumbag. Someone should show her the gargoyle-encrusted Gothic cathedrals of Europe.

[Arugula Latte]

22. Sadly, we have that show as well.

"Trading Spouses" and "Wife Swap." What bounty!

[NMMNG]

24. If she had a clue as to the real purpose of gargoyles she wouldn't fear

them. However, like most fundies, she is ignorant (and willfully so). Therefore she fears most everything and wants it to be censored or outright banned. I feel bad for her family--having to live with the likes of her.

[Taxloss]

25. Yes, what were the rest of her family like?

The ignorance of these people is often astounding.

[NMMNG]

27. They seemed pretty normal

The older daughter was a little bossy towards the younger one, but none of them were raging fundies like the mother. The father was quite rational and never butted heads with the new-age mom while she was there. At the end when the fundie mother was having her major tirade they were all standing there looking terrified, as if what they wanted most to do was run far away.

[Moochy]

28. She's a GOD WARRIOR

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2681739?htv=12

Here is a right horrible clip that will show you her in all her glory!

The animated GIF is taken from this clip. (shudder)

:hi:

[southlandshari]

12. Morning darlin'!

:hi:

[Taxloss]

14. Good morning there Shari!

Burning the midnight oil?

[southlandshari]

17. As usual.

Damned insomnia.

:D

How are things in my favorite little country forum? I stroll through there regularly, but you guys are giving me nothing, I tell ya. Not even a flamewar over a football match every now and then!

:P

[Taxloss]

18. It's just the usual stuff by the usual suspects.

On the important stuff, we tend to agree with each other or at least differ so slightly that argument is senseless. Wait until Blair goes and there's a Labour leadership election ... sinister chords

[southlandshari]

26. Hey - whatever happened to UKDUer Anarcho-Socialist?

I haven't seen him around in ages!!

:(

[Taxloss]

29. I'm still in touch with him, slightly.

I'm sorry to say that he became very disillusioned with DU and left.

[southlandshari]

30. Ah, crap!!

Would you please tell him I asked about him? I feel badly that I lost touch with him - we had a friendly PM exchange going for quite a while, then I took a new job and real life got crazy and I didn't hold up my end of things. Tell him I miss him, ok?

:hi:

[Taxloss]

31. I'll drop him a line, but I can't guarantee he'll get it.

It was not a specific person or grievance as such that drove him away. I'm not putting words in his mouth, I hope, when I say a fair number of DU Brits were somewhat dismayed by DU's reaction to the 7 July attacks and what followed them - the conspiracy theories and suchlike.

[southlandshari]

34. I remember that well.

Moderating the UK country forum during that period was how I got to know so many of you. I seem to remember another fine UK DUer who left for a period (despite my pleas for him to stay) but thankfully came back not too long after!

:hug:

[Taxloss]

36. Yes, not a nice time.

Vlad and Anarcho left, which was a real shame because they were both great. I took some time off as well.

[mr blur]

32. I could rant about religion again if you like,

then you could come in and tell me to behave and then we could have a locked thread and then I could complain about that and then you...
:evilgrin:
Drop in and have a cup of tea sometime :hi:

[southlandshari]

35. That sounds fun!!

And very, very familiar!

;)

:hi:

[Arugula Latte]

20. 'ello, Taxloss.

Had your cuppa, yet?

Oh, man. I just loooooove the internets. Talkin' to people across the world in real time. What could be cooler? Well, except Dick Van Dyke singing "Me Old Bamboo" in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

This oughta wake you up:

A gentleman's got a walking-stick,
A seaman's got a gaff -
And the merry men of Robin Hood
They used a quarterstaff;
On the Spanish plains,
Inside their canes,
They hide their ruddy swords,
But we make do with an old bamboo
And everyone applauds!

One! Two! Three! Four!
Five! Six! Seven! Eight! ::::

Me old bamboo, me old bamboo,
You'd better never bother with me old bamboo,
You can have me 'at, and me Volvo too,
But you'd better never bother with me old bamboo.

A-punting on the beautiful Thames
You use a sturdy pole (*corr know woddImean*),
To protect their fair complexions
Ladies use a parasol;
And it's useful in the underbrush
To have a hefty spear,
But what we do with an old bamboo
Makes everybody cheer!

Five! Six! Seven! Eight!
Nine! Ten! Eleven! Twelve! ::::

Me old bamboo, me old bamboo,
You'd better never bother with me old bamboo,
You can have me 'at, and me Volvo too,
But you'd better never bother with me old bamboo.

A pilot in an aeroplane
He steers it with a stick (*corr*),
A collier in the pits of Wales
He leans upon his pick (*well*);
Now every wheel of an automobile
Revolves around a shaft ("I arst ya*),
But what we do with an old bamboo
Makes everybody daft!

Thirteen! Fourteen! Fifteen! Sixteen!
Seventeen! Eighteen! Nineteen! Twenty! ::::

Me old bamboo, me old bamboo,
You'd better never bother with me old bamboo,
You can have me 'at, and me Volvo too,
But you'd better never bother with me old bamboo.

Me old bamboo, me old bamboo,
You'd better never bother with me old bamboo,
You can have me 'at, and me Volvo too,
But you'd better never bother with,
Better never bother with,
Never both with
ME - OLLLLLLLLLD - BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM - BOO...

Never!!!!!

[Taxloss]

23. Good day to you, me old china.

You're right on that one - this "internet" gizmo is fabulous. When I was young I remember these books that said "and when you're going to school, people in India are leaving school and children in Los Angeles are already in bed!". It's hard to believe until you see it in motion.

[tjwmason]

33. Good morning m'dear fellow.

Wasn't quite around at 6:45 - infact only just managed to fall out of bed at half 8.

[Guy Fawkes]

37. Mind the gap