I would like to tell you about my Suzuki Vitara.
It is quite possibly the best car I have ever owned. I have no idea what the Suzuki Vitara insurance group is, but it only costs £280 a year to insure for me. It's fuel consumption is in around 25mpg which is quite high for a 1600, but reasonable for a petrol 4x4.
It is a reliable vehicle, and apart from consumables (tyres, fluids, filters, etc) the car has cost less than £500 in repairs in the 4.5 years I have owned it. And as it only cost me £500 I think that is quite a bargain.
It is my first 4x4 vehicle, and I quite enjoy using it off road. As a four wheel drive vehicle, it is more than capable on most terrain. It's only downside is its low belly. But hopefully, in a few months, I will have sorted this problem.
As after the next MOT, I will start beefing it up in earnest to create a nice looking, capable 4x4 car.
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Hamster
Today I aquired a pet hamster.
Purely by accident, I didn't go out to buy one. I didn't buy this one. But when you go round someones house, and they laugh and joke about getting a hamster by accident, and how they are waiting for it to die, even naming the hamster 'not dead yet', I just had to step in.
Yes it's a hamster, yes you can get them for a couple of quid. But still it's an animal. A living and breathing creature.
So they gave it to me, along with a massive bag of sawdust, and a tiny bag of food.
I got it home and after seeing the kids off I cleaned out the meagre little cage that it was calling home.
There was dried in shit covering the built in wheel, they had used the cotton type bedding which is dangerous for hamsters. And the plastic was filthy. So I sat the now renamed hamster (Pepper by the way, as she is pure white and my daughter said she looked like the mints I ate. (peppermint imperials)) into the bowl of a salad spinner, and got to work with some hot water and a rag. By the time I had finished, the cage was much cleaner, but in my opinion it is far too small for the hamster. So maybe tomorrow, I will go into the loft and dig out my small aquarium and convert it into a habitat for the little mite. Will also grab some measurements from the aquarium so I can fit a table in there.
No idea how old she is, but a rough guess would put her at 2. She will enjoy whatever life remains in her.
Purely by accident, I didn't go out to buy one. I didn't buy this one. But when you go round someones house, and they laugh and joke about getting a hamster by accident, and how they are waiting for it to die, even naming the hamster 'not dead yet', I just had to step in.
Yes it's a hamster, yes you can get them for a couple of quid. But still it's an animal. A living and breathing creature.
So they gave it to me, along with a massive bag of sawdust, and a tiny bag of food.
I got it home and after seeing the kids off I cleaned out the meagre little cage that it was calling home.
There was dried in shit covering the built in wheel, they had used the cotton type bedding which is dangerous for hamsters. And the plastic was filthy. So I sat the now renamed hamster (Pepper by the way, as she is pure white and my daughter said she looked like the mints I ate. (peppermint imperials)) into the bowl of a salad spinner, and got to work with some hot water and a rag. By the time I had finished, the cage was much cleaner, but in my opinion it is far too small for the hamster. So maybe tomorrow, I will go into the loft and dig out my small aquarium and convert it into a habitat for the little mite. Will also grab some measurements from the aquarium so I can fit a table in there.
No idea how old she is, but a rough guess would put her at 2. She will enjoy whatever life remains in her.
Saturday, 23 June 2012
Rain
Why do people always complain about the rain?
I welcome it.
I love the way the world looks under the silhouette of the cloud and with the glisten of the moisture upon the greenery which becomes so much more vibrant and alive with the help of a bit of rain.
I love the freshness of the air after a good storm. The smell of the fields accentuated by the damp air that surrounds me.
I love being in the rain, feeling the droplets of life excite my skin as they gently fall upon me. The pitter patter of the drops on leaves, on the window, on the car and especially on the canvas of my tent while camping. I find it relaxing like natures rhythm, telling you that the world is alive and growing. Each little drop eventually gathering to sustain the life of millions of creatures.
I love rain and I really can't understand why people hate it so much.
So you get a little bit wet?
Be thankful for the rain. The day it stops, will be the greyest day of all.
I welcome it.
I love the way the world looks under the silhouette of the cloud and with the glisten of the moisture upon the greenery which becomes so much more vibrant and alive with the help of a bit of rain.
I love the freshness of the air after a good storm. The smell of the fields accentuated by the damp air that surrounds me.
I love being in the rain, feeling the droplets of life excite my skin as they gently fall upon me. The pitter patter of the drops on leaves, on the window, on the car and especially on the canvas of my tent while camping. I find it relaxing like natures rhythm, telling you that the world is alive and growing. Each little drop eventually gathering to sustain the life of millions of creatures.
I love rain and I really can't understand why people hate it so much.
So you get a little bit wet?
Be thankful for the rain. The day it stops, will be the greyest day of all.
Thursday, 21 June 2012
Jimmy Carr and taxes.
OK, my first rant.
I cannot see why Jimmy Carr had to apologise and stop his completely legal tax avoidance scheme.
Source
I think it unfair that he was singled out in this way.
They are on about prosecuting him, and forcing him to pay back the unpaid tax.
Why should they?
About a year ago, UK ministers were criticised for wasting taxes on stupid expense claims. Ministers claiming for second homes, staff that didn't exist and in one case, a house for ducks. Many of these claims were for over £50,000 in total. And were any of these people prosecuted? No.
So I think that before these ministers complain about Jimmy Carr's tax avoidance, perhaps they should look at themselves for wasting taxes.
All these ministers that stole all this money of false expense claims, not one was prosecuted. Yet the total bill was several millions.
Fair play to Jimmy Carr for finding a loop hole.
I cannot see why Jimmy Carr had to apologise and stop his completely legal tax avoidance scheme.
Source
I think it unfair that he was singled out in this way.
They are on about prosecuting him, and forcing him to pay back the unpaid tax.
Why should they?
About a year ago, UK ministers were criticised for wasting taxes on stupid expense claims. Ministers claiming for second homes, staff that didn't exist and in one case, a house for ducks. Many of these claims were for over £50,000 in total. And were any of these people prosecuted? No.
So I think that before these ministers complain about Jimmy Carr's tax avoidance, perhaps they should look at themselves for wasting taxes.
All these ministers that stole all this money of false expense claims, not one was prosecuted. Yet the total bill was several millions.
Fair play to Jimmy Carr for finding a loop hole.
Introduction.
I always wanted to start a blog. Never knew how to get into it. But after some reseach and a desire to share my wealth of knowledge on other subjects, I started on. Now I know how easy it is, I thought I would start another one for my own personal musings.
So here it is.
Come on in, sit yourself down, and read about the storms that rage in my mind, or the things that get me asking why? how? what? when? where?
About me.
My name is Jason Stokes, and after googling my name I am not the American Sportsman. Thus trying to get jasonstokes as a blog name was nigh on impossible.
So I tried my initials. J.L.S. But apparently there is some child boy band with that name. I am currently suing them for using my name.
So I had to call myself jasonstokescouk which was ok as I already owned the domain www.jasonstokes.co.uk so that sort of worked.
Anyway, my name is Jason. I am a single parent currently out of work, and trying to find work at the mo that fits in with my kids.
I live in the North Wiltshire area.
Hobbies and interests include, but are not limited to:
Radio Controlled cars,
Computers and gaming,
Drumming,
Model making (to be fair, I haven't done this properly in over 15 years)
Walking around,
and exploring abandoned mines.
I am the sort of person that will look at both sides of an argument or dispute, and will rarely take sides unless there is evidence to support one being a stronger candidate. My blog will often contain these sort of views.
I know it's early days, but I hope you enjoy reading that which I choose to share with you.
Jason.
So here it is.
Come on in, sit yourself down, and read about the storms that rage in my mind, or the things that get me asking why? how? what? when? where?
About me.
My name is Jason Stokes, and after googling my name I am not the American Sportsman. Thus trying to get jasonstokes as a blog name was nigh on impossible.
So I tried my initials. J.L.S. But apparently there is some child boy band with that name. I am currently suing them for using my name.
So I had to call myself jasonstokescouk which was ok as I already owned the domain www.jasonstokes.co.uk so that sort of worked.
Anyway, my name is Jason. I am a single parent currently out of work, and trying to find work at the mo that fits in with my kids.
I live in the North Wiltshire area.
Hobbies and interests include, but are not limited to:
Radio Controlled cars,
Computers and gaming,
Drumming,
Model making (to be fair, I haven't done this properly in over 15 years)
Walking around,
and exploring abandoned mines.
I am the sort of person that will look at both sides of an argument or dispute, and will rarely take sides unless there is evidence to support one being a stronger candidate. My blog will often contain these sort of views.
I know it's early days, but I hope you enjoy reading that which I choose to share with you.
Jason.
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