I hope she doesn't take it personally, but when Miss Ashley Layfield fluttered down from the top of the wardrobe and accused me of not following through on my 2010 goal of 'learning the ukulele' she found me in unreceptive mood.
In fact, the phrase 'massively grumpy' could have easily flowed from her cardboard lips, and been thought accurate.
There's something about the accumulated weight of a month's worth of snow which sharpens the complainitve powers, despite the recent thaw.
I am motivated to change those parts of the world which, though fairly trivial in some respects, irritate me most, the world views which are clearly insane, or at least make no sense from here.
For instance, Marks and Spencer believe that all women over a certain size have the same length of leg, or at least they seem, as a corporate entity to think that 'medium' will do, whereas slimmer consumers are allowed more variance in stature.
I would like them to believe otherwise.
Our Internet provider thinks that it is perfectly acceptable for customers to pay for 50mbs of bandwidth, whilst supplying 0.5. I'm seeking to disillusion them.
My grocery store is happy that, having ordered a selection of festive fayre 3 weeks in advance, it is then perfectly OK to run out of everything on the list, leaving us with a Christmas menu which lacked a certain seasonal flavour. I disagree.
Our local GPs surgery appointments system is working towards the standard of patients planning their illnesses three weeks in advance, in order to maximise efficiency. I am at odds with this outlook.
Meanwhile, our local council maintain the error of judgement that it is more important to conserve grit stocks than to keep roads open during inclement weather. I find myself unable to fall in with this casual stance.
So when it became clear that machinima.com have the notion that it is quite ok to allow sexual insults and derogatory remarks to be left unmoderated on featured videos they found me in a non-conciliatory mood.
This isn't my video.
..but it has been made by a member of the Moviestorm community, of which I feel a part.
For some reason the 'youtube is full of fourteen year olds there's nothing you can do' statements bandied about by many seemed no longer to apply.
Maybe I am seeing things differently, or maybe the recent cold front has knocked some sense into me.
There will always be those who look for unmoderated venues to show off, to post their hateful comment graffiti and to generally behave in a manner which lies outside accepted social behaviour.
These are angry wee people with more venom than sense.
Each generation kicks up a new batch, and eventually, if they are lucky, life finds a way to set boundaries, or knock some sense of respect into the lost souls.
The endless supply means that dealing with each individual isn't practical, and they will always find some venue to express their self-centred world view.
For some unknown reason this assault and battery has somehow been thought inevitable by Machinima directors.
The truth is that it only flourishes where it is allowed to do so, and enough is enough.
Machinima directors are not punch bags, obliged to take vile insults in order to have their work seen by a wider audience.
If machinima.com wish to derive income from the hard work and creative endeavour of essentially amateur filmmakers then they have a duty of care to provide a an environment which is safe from verbal violence.
This is easy to manage, and non negotiable.
It's time for a change of attitude.
In fact, the phrase 'massively grumpy' could have easily flowed from her cardboard lips, and been thought accurate.
There's something about the accumulated weight of a month's worth of snow which sharpens the complainitve powers, despite the recent thaw.
I am motivated to change those parts of the world which, though fairly trivial in some respects, irritate me most, the world views which are clearly insane, or at least make no sense from here.
For instance, Marks and Spencer believe that all women over a certain size have the same length of leg, or at least they seem, as a corporate entity to think that 'medium' will do, whereas slimmer consumers are allowed more variance in stature.
I would like them to believe otherwise.
Our Internet provider thinks that it is perfectly acceptable for customers to pay for 50mbs of bandwidth, whilst supplying 0.5. I'm seeking to disillusion them.
My grocery store is happy that, having ordered a selection of festive fayre 3 weeks in advance, it is then perfectly OK to run out of everything on the list, leaving us with a Christmas menu which lacked a certain seasonal flavour. I disagree.
Our local GPs surgery appointments system is working towards the standard of patients planning their illnesses three weeks in advance, in order to maximise efficiency. I am at odds with this outlook.
Meanwhile, our local council maintain the error of judgement that it is more important to conserve grit stocks than to keep roads open during inclement weather. I find myself unable to fall in with this casual stance.
So when it became clear that machinima.com have the notion that it is quite ok to allow sexual insults and derogatory remarks to be left unmoderated on featured videos they found me in a non-conciliatory mood.
This isn't my video.
..but it has been made by a member of the Moviestorm community, of which I feel a part.
For some reason the 'youtube is full of fourteen year olds there's nothing you can do' statements bandied about by many seemed no longer to apply.
Maybe I am seeing things differently, or maybe the recent cold front has knocked some sense into me.
There will always be those who look for unmoderated venues to show off, to post their hateful comment graffiti and to generally behave in a manner which lies outside accepted social behaviour.
These are angry wee people with more venom than sense.
Each generation kicks up a new batch, and eventually, if they are lucky, life finds a way to set boundaries, or knock some sense of respect into the lost souls.
The endless supply means that dealing with each individual isn't practical, and they will always find some venue to express their self-centred world view.
For some unknown reason this assault and battery has somehow been thought inevitable by Machinima directors.
The truth is that it only flourishes where it is allowed to do so, and enough is enough.
Machinima directors are not punch bags, obliged to take vile insults in order to have their work seen by a wider audience.
If machinima.com wish to derive income from the hard work and creative endeavour of essentially amateur filmmakers then they have a duty of care to provide a an environment which is safe from verbal violence.
This is easy to manage, and non negotiable.
It's time for a change of attitude.