This iconistic image played a major part in my formative years and shaped the latter stages of  my degree course. It is an image taken from the critically acclaimed comic book series Watchmen and for me represents the irony that threads through the comic. In it’s own right it conveys a lot of irony with the blood splat and a happy face and on from that more ironically it is the favoured symbol of The Comedian character who deals out death.

The reason it’s here… I simply love the image. It suggests more than the obvious irony, it continues the recurrent geometric motif of a circle with it being reminiscent of a clock face  and the ‘big hand’ pointing at ‘10 to’ the hour, 5 minutes before defcon 5.

I could go on for days about this image, but instead, I’m going to sit back and enjoy.

‘Just’ is such an unneeded word, it is so diminishing and quite condescending and in my opinion should JUST be banished.

Sentences like “Can you just build me a website?” takes away the skill and complexity of what is required to do the job, it diminishes the job and as DavidSaff so rightly says “is a very dangerous word“. Remove the word ‘just’ and the sentence takes on a whole different feel “Can you build me a website?”. It allows the magnitude of the job to shine through.

So please, please be very wary when you use this word and how it can affect the sentence you’re constructing, take away ‘just’ and get a better feel for what you’re actually saying, the world will be a better place for it.

Two couples were playing poker one evening. Jim accidentally dropped some cards on the floor. When he bent down under the table to pick them up, he noticed Bob’s wife, Sue wasn’t wearing any underwear under her dress! Shocked by this, Jim upon trying to sit back up again, hit his head on the table and emerged red-faced. 

Later, Jim went to the kitchen to get some refreshments. Bob’s wife followed and asked, ‘Did you see anything that you like under there?’ 

Surprised by her boldness, Jim admitted that, well indeed he did. 

She said, ‘Well, you can have it but it will cost you £500.’ 

After taking a minute or two to assess the financial and moral costs of  this offer, Jim confirms that he is interested. Sue told him that since her husband Bob worked Friday afternoons and Jim didn’t, Jim should be at her house around 2 p.m. Friday afternoon. 

When Friday rolled around, Jim showed up at Bob’s house at 2 p.m. sharp -  and after paying Sue the agreed sum of £500 – they went to the bedroom and closed their transaction, as agreed.  Jim quickly dressed and left. 

As usual, Bob came home from work at 6 p.m.-And upon arriving, asked his wife: ‘Did Jim come by the house this afternoon?’ 

With a lump in her throat Sue answered ‘Why yes, he did stop by for a few minutes this afternoon.’ 

Her heart nearly skipped a beat when her husband curtly asked, ‘And did he give you £500?’ 

Sue, using her best poker face,replied, ‘Well, yes, in fact he did give me £500.’ 

Bob, with a satisfied look on his face, surprised his wife by saying, ‘He came by the office this morning and borrowed £500 from me. He promised he’d stop by our house this afternoon on his way home and pay me back.’ 

Now THAT, my friends, is a poker player!

As I was walking by the train station this weekend I noticed the new bridge over the River Welland (above). I knew from a planning application for the Harborough Rubber development that this was part of the extension to the Millennium Mile which will run down by the new ’social’ housing development next to Lidl and finish facing the train station.

I’m glad that some socially aware development has been incorporated in the plans for this area and hope phase 2 of the Harborough Rubber development goes ahead with the listed building getting a deserved overall.

Just out of interest, is it still a Millennium Mile if it’s longer than a mile?