GrumpyDaddy

Some sort of normality has returned to our household today. After nearly a week and a half of ilness both the twins are back at school today. That said, I'm still expecting a phone call at some point to come and bring Pat¹ home. Not that's he's really ill anymore, but he's in complete mard-arse² mode thanks to a week at home.

In the true style of parent blogging I'm going to moan about my lot. I've no real reason to, the fact I can sit here spending time to blog shows I'm a privilaged person, but parent blogging is all about moaning about stuff. In a moment I may start moaning about stuff I have no real training or expertese in such as the methods used to teach reading at school or the design of buggies, or some other stuff I know nothing about.

I know it's a bit late for talking of new year resolutions but earlier in the month I couldn't actually think of anything I wanted to promise myself in 2012. After some thought I've now decided on something - partly inspired by the approach of the BBC radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage.

Over the years I've embroiled myself in many a compex argument with creationists and those that subscribe to the intelligent design concept. The sad fact is these people are too into their delusions and lies to admit their error. You can't change the opinion of people this stupid. And I've come to realise I'm just wasting my breath.

The other problem with debating with creationists and especially intelligent design advocates is that they believe that their view is of equal value in a scientific discussion as those who offer real scientific theories. In trying to debate with these muppets we've given them credence, which is far from what they deserve. They peddle their "evolution is just a theory" nonsense at length - despite not understand what "theory" actually means in a scientific context. They believe that "theory" means guess, it doesn't.

Hello and a belated Happy New Year. There's been plenty of anticipation and excitement in our household over the festive period because 2012 signals change for our little family. I've held off mentioning any of this over the last few weeks until plans were finalised.

The big news is that my wife has got a new job. Okay, for most of you that's not very exciting. But as she's a vicar that means change for all of us. The most visible change is that we're going to be moving. Not far. We're leaving our sleepy West Dorset village and heading to another sleepy West Dorset village some half an hour's drive west.

We're moving to a large vicarage - which is nice. But it also means lots of change in how we live our lives. With my wife taking over a full time role I'm going to become one of those fabled beasts - a full-time house husband. Scary eh? Okay with the twins at school it's not going to be too tough in childcare terms - just me and toddler Will most days. But during the school holidays I imagine the stress levels will rise.

2011 has been a great year for rock music, in particular for progressive rock and melodic death metal. While I still hold that 2009 was the best rock music year of recent times I still think there are plenty of great records that should be on your shopping list when those Christmas vouchers come flooding in next week.

Check out my musical review of the year over on my music blog Grumpyrocker.

I wrote recently about how I wasn't well at the moment and some of the rather unpleasant procedures I've undergone to get to the bottom¹ of whatever is wrong with me.

If you remember I had two tests lined up. I've been very nervous about these tests, more because I've been scared of what they might find. Partly because I tend to worry about such things anyway and also because a stupid GP scared the Bejaysus² out of me.

Well the experience of the first test was fine. As fine as being fed feet first into a giant radioactive doughnut can be anyway. We can save on electricity bills now as I'll glow in the dark for a year or so. In the week since the CT scan I'd not heard from my GP or consultant and took that to mean "no news is good news". After all if they'd found anything in there they'd have called me, right?³.

Do you ever just read something and hold your head in your hands in despair? I did when I just read some online debates among tens of parents on whether they let their children play games rated for adults. Seemingly intelligent and well educated people can be seen trying to justify allowing their children to view the most violent of content. These people know how violent the content is, they can't even plead ignorance of that. Yet out of some misplaced pride in their child's ability to function as an adult or perhaps a typically modern and lazy aproach to let their little darling have whatever he wants they would attempt to justify their reckless stupidity.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Many years ago - before I began a career writing about videogames - worked in a videogames store. We would often have parents walking up to the counter with a violent game intended for their child nexrt to them. In such cases we would point out the nature of the content. In many cases - thankfully - the parent would be shocked and it would be clear the child had lied about what was in that game case. In all too many cases though - especially among the educationally bereft - the parent would reply that they didn't give a toss (or something stronger). And in those cases we wouldn't sell them the game either.

Eagled eyed readers will notice there's now a Mumsnet Blog Network badge displayed in the right hand column of this site. This this daddy is now one of the certified bloggers on Mumsnet. I've only been involved for a week or so but the debate among the many bloggers that caught my eye during this time is over "mummyblaggers".

What is a mummyblagger? That's a blog where the writer seems to be going all out to get as much free stuff as possible, filling the site with more reviews - well let's be honest very thinly disguised adverts - for whatever free junk some lazy PR rep is willing to send them. I've written of my dislike for this kind of approach in the past.

Something odd has happened to British television in the last couple of years. The gameshow, once a staple of primetime television, has disappeared from our screens.

Or has it?

I've not enjoyed the latter half of 2011 thanks to a lingering illness. What's wrong with me? My guess is something as simple as kidney stones, but it has been a tough few months that has seen me at times feeling a-okay and other times in pain and having to take to my bed.

The months have been frustrating and scary too thanks to the inibility of various general practicioners to prescribe a coherent treatment regime. I've seen four different GPs over the last few months and this has not been entirely satisfactory - from one locum who felt she'd tell me it could be cancer (but then did nothing at all to help in this regard) to another who told me my symptoms couldn't be kidney stones (the whole internet and a consultant urologist say he's wrong).

The truth is I'm fed up with the whole thing. Fed up with being unwell for months on end and fed up of dealing wih an organisation - the NHS - I don't have great faith in. And as we'll come to later - I'm coming to some embarrasing conclusions about my general health and my own culpability.

Sounds too dry? Don't feel like reading on? Go on, there's a good bit about a doctor sticking his finger up my bum. Well good for you reader, less good for me and my bum and for that matter dignity.

This is my favourite photograph I've taken for quite a while. It's a pretty simple affair, my daughter Kitty catching the breeze on the jetty at West Bay in Dorset.

The Tory Party conference is never really a source of joy to right thinking people as it is often the source of stupidity, selfishness, racism disguised as immigration policy and general fuckwittedness. But they've outdone themselves this week - as have the business leaders present.

We live in a time where we are all being asked to tighten our belts. VAT is at 20 percent which is a huge burden on the lower paid and poor who it affects disproportionately. Sure Start centres are closing, as are libraries. Councils are cutting back on services. The armed forces are being decimated by a shortsighted and dangerous foreign policy. Our nation is being stripped bare in the name of the Tory defecit reduction plan.

Someone somewhere has really fucked up our nation and we're now having to pay for it. But who is to blame? Well you'd think, given the policy ideas coming from the Tory conference, that workers are to blame. Yes the poor workers of this country are to blame for wanting things like access to legal redress, support when ill or pregnant, somewhere safe to work and a workplace free of discrimination. If only we could return to the days of toddlers working under spinning machines then the economy would grow and all would be well. And while we are it, can we cut the top rate of tax down a bit, some execs are down to the last three or four luxury cars.