h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I can sometimes be like that, when no vein is coming

Needles used to be one of my phobias too, but it's one I've managed to get over. Just.

Oh dear, CD. Ms Stress has that problem (deep seated veins, not obvious on the surface).
They're allowed 2 tries each... and once they had to call someone in from a different building... turned out to be an expert.
One hopes that incident caused a training session for 'em all - ?

I'm not as bad as I was. My way of dealing with it is to shut my eyes and/or turn my head away and say, "Just do it."

I dont mind the process of getting blood taken
though I dont watch the needle go in I'm not weird....
the first nurse (the one who couldn't) was really friendly as well
but remarkably I've no bruises today

My mum had a mastectomy followed by chemo a couple of years ago which means that one of her arms is no-go for needles due to the risk of lymphodaema and the veins in the other arm are pretty shot. The only needles which work are child sized ones. But you'd be surprised how many healthcare professionals insist on trying normal sized ones first. Without success.

Deb

Right now, the Commonwealth Games' opening ceremony. I think we are in day 3 of it. Is it ever going to end? Will I get to bed tonight? Will I ever get off this settee? Do I still have control of my bladder? There are fireworks aren't there?

PP.

I thought after a toe curling start, it went quite well. First time God Save The Queen has been sung with such gusto at Parkhead anyway

My Petty Hates today are related to cooking.

1) Saucepans with metal handles on the pan and on the lid. I had to use two pot-holders last night when I drained my veg.

2) Hob controls that are inconsistent/don't make sense. Our hob is mounted in the worktop and the controls are on the right of the hob. You'd think that the two controls at the front would be for the front burners and the ones at the back would be for the back burners. In fact, the controls at the front are for the burners on the right, the ones at the back are for the burners on the left. The lowest knob controls the right back-burner, next is right front, then left front, then left back. I have to check carefully to make sure I'm turning on the burner I want.

Agree with both of those, CD.

PH - people who swear, cuss and yell at petty hateable stuff. They get the people in their vicinity worried about what's wrong (Has he had a heart attack? - No it's only a paper cut / Has his computer crashed and with it our whole system? - No, he's just hit the wrong F-key). These things are not worth more than a gentle "tut-tut" and then get on with your life.

As they say: don't sweat the small stuff. Especially not in this July heat.

This thread is the best place to come and tut.

PH: Websites with no search facility, especially online shops.

I know what I want to buy, but can't find it!

Thirded on the metal saucepan handles! Why, just why?

Sweating the small stuff - astronauts do that. (I'm still reading Hadfield's book)

All my pans have metal handles and I can hold them comfortably. Maybe yours are badly designed?

Metal conducts heat. Do yours have some sort of barrier between the handle and the pan bit? Or are your hands made of asbestos?

I've not looked that closely at the pans, to be honest, but I assume so (cf. my comment on bad design. Having a non-conductive barrier is just common sense)

My hands are definitely not made of asbsestos as I am a wuss when it comes to carrying hot drinks in paper cups!!

Mine are also metal, and no problem at all to hold. Metal conducts heat so they should feel hot. But the fact is they don't. And there's no barrier involved.

Presumably it depends on the alloy involved. Or the shape.

Or take the teapot. The metal handle, fine. The metal knob on the lid, though, will blister your finger if you touch it.

My metal handled saucepans have a narrower section near the join with the saucepan body - thick enough to support the weight of the pans, but thin enough to dissipate plenty of heat. The bit that you hold is way thicker than it needs to be from the point of view of weight, but the thickness makes them good to hold.

My petty hate, is Mrs PP turning up the gas way beyond where it needs to be so that flames are licking up the side of the pan and heating the room rather than the pan.

And filling the kettle to max for one or two cups of tea.

She's sacked.

And leaving the kitchen lights on (In the modern way, it is a bit like an operating theatre in there. A quick count reveals that I have installed lighting with 12 bulbs in there. Yes. My fault. Nobody MADE me do it).

PP.

Handy tip PP - remove every bulb in the house except one. Carry that bulb with you from room to room.

That would only work if all the light fittings took the same bulb. We have at least six different kinds of light fittings (don't ask, it just happened). But then, we don't tend to leave lights on when they're not needed.

As for the other PHs, I totally agree about the gas too high and filling the kettle more than necessary. Hubby's good with the gas, but he does overfill the kettle.

I've been watching that program StreetPatrol on BBC 2 recently, and the presenter asks people in the street what makes them angry, and top answers are,....folk spitting on the street, shouting and swearing while on their mobile phones, and drunks and junkies staggering about in the middle of the day.

Smudger.