Flying socks and an impossible bridge

Nearly 2 years in the job and, while I am still learning all the ins & outs, I feel that my feet are under the table, so to speak.
I don't miss the stress of the old job, the chest pains, lack of sleep, you know the sort of thing, but I still want a little more. I have tried to throw myself into this job, extra time there without putting in overtime claims etc. One thing I have done is to start running an after school club. 'Why, on Gods Earth, would you want to do that?' I hear you say. Or maybe you don't say, but I am going to tell you anyway.
Over the last couple of years the small people that populate the school have appeared to get used to me hanging around. On gate duty in the morning they expect a high five, in the hall at lunch they expect a high five, if I am doing a roof inspection they want to know how I got up there ( I flew. Like Superman, not like a bird.) The teachers here impart knowledge to these kids every day of the week, apart from Saturday &  Sunday obviously, they influence young people in many ways. It may be that these youngsters never realise how they were influenced, or they may, like me, only realise after many years.
We are all the sum of our learning, our experiences and the people we interact with over the course of our lives, be that our parents, teachers, friends etc. I look back over my life and think of the work ethic my parents instilled, the knowledge that teachers instilled etc. I wish I had paid more attention to some, especially my old latin teacher who turned out to be a highly decorated communications expert during World War 2. In my arrogance, maybe, I would like someone, somewhere, sometime in the future, to look back and remember that a certain site manager once told them something that changed their lives. It probably won't happen as I am trying to teach them that engineering can be fun, that Leonardo Da Vinci didn't just paint the Mona Lisa.

We have built a bridge that uses no fixings, bar gravity and friction, to hold it together. We have built catapults that flung a rolled up pair of socks across the classroom. And we have made paper airplanes. We also watched what happens when engineers get it wrong, search for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge on Youtube...
Maybe one day one of these small humans will have a part to play in the human race expanding from this small blue & green planet. And, maybe, they will think back to the time that I tried to explain the difference between kinetic & potential energy, saying ' One day, when you  are sitting in class in your next school, your teacher talking about kinetic & potential energy you will think back to being bored to tears by Mr Giant68'
In the meantime, I repair things, clean things, assist teachers with weird projects, set out chairs for nativity plays and get frustrated by some peoples stupidity.
So, is it arrogance? Probably, but it is all I can offer.

Back to my G&T...

Regards

Giant68 :-)

What is the point...

What is the point of a burger that is too big to take a bite from? Why is there a penchant for restaurants to serve a meal on a roof slate or a spanky paddle?

When I order a super, half-pound burger with extra cheese, bacon, mushrooms, pineapple etc, I want to be able to eat it without having to dislocate my jaw like an egg-eating snake. All that happens is that I get a splat of burger sauce down the front of my shirt and a mixture of grease and cheese in my beard. Now I imagine that somewhere in this world there is someone might have a particular fancy for that but I just get a bit fed up with it.
Many years ago, when I started working for my previous employer, remember them? the ones that cast me on the scrap heap? there was a small Greek kebab shop that used to sell the most marvelous burgers. The bun contained 2 burgers, bacon, cheese, fried egg, chips. Massive. But it was served in a wider bun so that it wasn't a stack the size of the Empire State Building.  Some miles from where I live there is a burger van on the top of a hill that serves similar burgers, although you will get dive bombed by seagulls due to the twats that feed them. The Gutbuster burger is a particular favourite...

Just give me a burger that I can get my laughing tackle round, for Gods sake! I am not Scooby Doo! I can't swallow something the size of  a truck tyre, although i knew a woman once who...no, that is another story.

And what the hell is this trend for serving meals on whatever is flat and can be found in the average workshop or building site? Before long we will be served our dinner from a bricklayers hod!  Call me old fashioned but I would like my meal served on a plate, or in a bowl.

Regards

Giant68 :-)

Faceless health

Just lately I have been ill. And it is this illness that has highlighted how little we care for human interaction in this modern world. The phrase 'my door is always open' has been supplanted by 'my door is closed, if you want to see me then ring the bell and I will eventually respond'

This is how my doctors' surgery has changed, and probably others as well. It used to be that there would be a receptionist sat at the counter. You would come in and make an appointment with her, or book yourself in for an appointment with her. I don't go to the quacks very often so the change came upon me by surprise. No receptionist. An empty counter and a shut door. A sign tells you to use the touchscreen to book yourself in and if you want some human interaction you must ring the bell. When I first started using this surgery there were two receptionists, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Now there is a whole team of them, all with the purpose of keeping you away from the doctor and from themselves. I doubt that it is their fault, or their intention, they have work to do and don't want to be disturbed from that task by members of the public distracting them.
But i feel that a doctors surgery is one of those places where you want to see a friendly face. People who are ill may be scared, certainly nervous, over what may be wrong with them. This is where the receptionist was a friendly face with a little compassion and a smile for you, they knew your name and knew whether your appointment was a vital one or just a check-up. Obviously, this was before the time that they were told to keep the great unwashed from the door.

It seems, these days, that it is almost impossible to make an appointment. My surgery will allow you to make an appointment up to 2 weeks in advance... But there are usually none left when you need one. I have been told that I need to phone for an appointment at 2pm on a Tuesday as that is when the next set of appointments become available. 'Become available??!' In the past, the receptionist had a diary for each doctor, she could make an appointment for you a year in advance if you wanted. Why, now in the age of the spreadsheet and online calendars, have we lost this ability? Surely. it should be easier now? We should be able to make an appointment 100 years in the future if we wanted to? The only way I seem to be able to get to see the Dr is if I start phoning at 8am and keep going until I get through. However, I haven't got the time to do this as I am at work and I think my boss wouldn't be happy to see me sitting with the phone in my hand for an hour. And even when I got through it would probably be an automated voice, remember, the door is closed...

Healthcare for the modern times is a faceless thing that will just become less and less human as time goes by.