When I suggested this on Facebook, the very first response I got was ‘Don’t be hasty’. Now while i’ll admit this was a throwaway comment initially but throwing the idea away completely may actually be the hasty thing.

Let us consider this..

My initial dea was to ban sex in the months September, October and November so as to avoid the result of another poor child doomed to sit an academic exam on his or her birthday like i have practically every year I’ve been a student – but I was thinking small, there are far more reasons why this is a good idea!

May, June and July are not only exam times, they are perfect holiday times – they are also (usually) hot and being in late stage pregnancy in hot weather is no fun at all, I know this from experience!

So banning sex 9 months previously immediately removes that possibility.

It would enable the maternity services to organise their departments and train their staff while allowing a decent holiday rotation as there would be a three month cessation on the actual delivery front (obviously pre-natal care, emergency and premature deliveries would need to be catered for) it also means there would definitely be time to show prospective parents around the wards and answer any questions in full.

It removes the stress/competition aspect, if you know there is no hope of sex after a date then you can relax and just be yourself instead of having that at the back of your mind – and if you like the person then waiting 3 months will just heighten the anticipation and improve the sex when it happens (theoretically)

..It also gives you three months in a year to concentrate on building and mending relationships without sex muddying the waters – something that would work wonders for the Kelly, Terry and Tigers of this world.

Ok, so there are holes in all of this – August and September are fairly hot these days as well; but we could remedy that hole by adding an extra month or so to the ban – perhaps even radically add to the initial suggestion by banning sex for 6 months a year..

We could then plan our population and healthcare services a lot more efficiently as those resources could be shared across departments – I’m sure there are some patients for whom an hour in a birthing pool would do wonders, not to mention the extra beds/ ward availability.

I know that we’d probably have an explosion of births during the other 6 months but the previous 6 would have prepared for that – and there’s likely to be a reduction overall in birth rate if we can only procreate for half of the usual time.

Which would result in more resources saved for the planet! Less landfill, less energy waste = Win!

It’s an idea worth thinking about – but I know every single man on the planet would vote against the adoption of such a scheme and a least a third of the women would agree so.. *sigh* once again my brilliance is condemned to the scrapheap.

..But it’s good to dream of a better world isn’t it? just a shame none of us will ever agree on how to create it.

(Now, feel free to leave your scorn and hole pokery in the comments – I’m already expecting an onrush of spam after the numerous usage of the word sex in this post.)

Most folks are aware of the GTD method created by David Allen and coming up fast behind in the awareness stakes is the Pomodoro technique created by Francesco Cirillo.

Both try to offer guidance in the most effective way of completing tasks and making the best use of your time, however the problem with a ‘one-size fits all’ philosophy is that the one-size never fits quite right for anybody.

The main problem with these methods and techniques is that you spend time trying to find the right combination of hints and tips that work for you when if you just carried on working instead of worrying about HOW you’re working, the jobs would get done anyway.

Where information is concerned the real winner between effective time use philosophies and the real time web will always be the web.

I’ve tried list making – but human rationalisation kicks in when I’m ‘not in the mood’ to complete the next task, procrastination kicks in during research when during the course of the task I follow a set of links to something interesting yet unrelated  to the subject being researched.. Habits are called habits for a reason.

With the wealth of information available on-line it is next to impossible to focus unless you have a very narrow band of interests and few people can claim this; even within one subject area there are multiple sub-topics to keep up to date with.

The real time web is not GTD friendly; it slaps you in the face with the fear of being left behind if you don’t read every interesting and relevant link sent your way. Twitter is definitely the worst culprit as, if you don’t click on a link as soon as you see it, the stream will carry it away and you have missed out on an opportunity to maybe learn something useful. Then there are the numerous unread feeds in your reader that throw silent accusations at you every time you log in, you add the things you don’t have time to read to bookmarking sites, subscribe to RSS in the hope you can catch up..

It will never happen; the real time web holds too much and it goes by too swiftly for a human to digest. It turns you into a receiver instead of a creator as you struggle to stay afloat in the tidal wave of information headed your way.

To counteract this, aspects of the pomodoro technique may be a little more helpful for folks like me who struggle to stay ‘on task’ and feel the need to play catch up all the time.

The focus booster timer is an effective way of making sure you take regular breaks and if you are a freelancer will also help you to account for the increments of time spent working on a project. That 5 minute break as you walk away from the computer means you can digest what you’ve been reading and look back over the task you are supposed to be doing; it helps you to re-focus and possibly even have a eureka moment as you mentally reorder the last few hours.

This is the most creative I’ve been on here for a while, and yet still I’m talking about old news; the words ‘practice what you preach’ have never been more apt..

Just think back over your last few weeks, have you created anything you can truly call your own? Or have you amalgamated, digested and regurgitated a number of interesting things from the web? Regurgitation is not necessarily bad; people like things to be presented in different ways after all – but how creative is it?

..On the other hand, I’ve ONLY got a month or so left to finish my current crop of assignments and sit my exams.

Scary.

But hey, that’s why I’ve been so sparse on the blog front and twitter/ facebook activity has been of the dip in/ dip out variety, I’m a busy gal with a lot on her plate (but then if you follow this blog you know that about me already)

I handed in my game description and program design last night and decided that even though I have several other assignments to do I needed to wind down; my pacing schedule is non-existant these days which has led to a recent ME/CFS relapse.. C’est la vie I guess!

..Anyhow, my wind down entailed of watching season 2 of Veronica Mars (great series, recommended viewing in my book!) and creating a couple more of what I refer to as ‘t-shirt necklaces’, they’re the ones that are beads threaded on wire to create a loose choker – practically baby proof! Izzy has pulled and tugged at mine for hours and all they do is bend; not an issue since you can bend ‘em back!

I can make a decent one in about 30 -40 minutes depending on what beads I’m using so I’m thinking that once my course is over I’ll start putting a few on eBay to see how they go – they’re perfect day wear for mums with babies/ toddlers and I can make beaded pendants to dress ‘em up for ‘fancy wear’.

I figure that selling what I make is the only way I’ll subsidise the purchases I want to make in the future – I really want a rock tumbler, a jump ring maker and to try my hand at fusing glass to make pendants and beads with a microwave kiln. I also want to experiment with resin to create pendants and charms and I’d like to have a go at making lampwork beads – all of which is beyond my current price range in the justification stakes – my ambition is to eventually create gorgeous jewellery that is 100% handmade, from the beads to the findings.

..I’d also like it to be of a sturdiness and quality I feel comfortable with selling to somebody, so far only the t-shirt necklaces are; the prettier pieces are too flimsy as I don’t solder the links (don’t have a soldering iron suitable for fine work and my main material is plated wire, not real gold or silver – they’re also on the list of things to buy..)

I do wonder sometimes though; what do you guys do away from the computer? What hobbies or pastimes do you have that come with a very pricey wishlist? For example, I know that Loudmouthman gets out and about playing mister twinkletoes with the ladies, I know that Master K loves his manga and (like me) Littlebead is more than a we bit into her jewellery making..

But what about the rest of you? What don’t we know about your offline life?

Click here to view the embedded video.

..I am Soooo not a v-logger, much to learn have I, most definitely.
I know: the file size is kinda huge, I could really do with practising filming close ups as the link was too blurry (hence the following picture for clarity) and I need to remember not to open bags next to the in-built mic when I’m talking. and next time no mirror! lol that’s a definite lesson learned.

So, to show you what the finished article actually looks like if you follow the muddy instructions from the video..
I use wire that is .71mm (in American I think that’s gauge 21) and generally purchased from The Scientific Wire Company (online of course) it’s plated copper as opposed to actual gold or silver because i’m too skint and it’s only a hobby so buying expensive materials are a no no – another reason I don’t sell my stuff, It’s cheap material so I fully expect it to break – if I give it as a gift, the person knows me and I can fix it any time they want me to.

For links the size of the one dangling from the pendant use an inch and a half of wire, it’s the shortest amount that works with this gauge wire for pretty links I’ve found – anything above that, experiment to your hearts content

If you like the idea then use it freely, I’m sure I’m not the only person to use this technique despite discovering it for myself.

It’s amazing what you can make from a few beads some wire and a couple of pairs of pliers!

The general consensus seemed to be that I should write a book about my experiences with ME/CFS; I’m not convinced.

I have my CFS blog and my website (which still needs updating) and that pretty much covers that aspect of my existance, a book is a large undertaking and I’m seriously unconvinced that what would mainly be an autobiographical account of my life would sell. If I were that interesting my blogs would be overrun with visitors and I’d already be a household name after the length of time I’ve been tapping away on here!

Nah, if I were to write a book it would be a creative piece, probably inolving magic and mystery and would maybe start a little something like this:

She sat on the bottom stair, clutching the note in her hand – eyes unseeing through the tears suspended on their surface.
“Why?”
The single word falls harshly into the silence. Finally the tears fall, fast and hard, the sobs wrack her slim body with their force.
Alone she tries to come to terms with the meaningless waste of it all; what did she miss? What didn’t she do?
The questions that will never be answered never go away – and the wounds that will never heal under the burden of time.

It was a glorious day outside; the sun was shining for the first time in over two weeks. The air was crisp and clear, people were smiling and the sounds of children shrieking in joy could be heard faintly through the door. It just seemed so wrong. In so many ways.
The sobs were calmer now; she slowly pulls herself together and tries to fix a semblance of normalcy around her, knowing full well that nothing would ever seem normal again.
It takes several more minutes, though it seems more like hours, before she can stand and move to the telephone.
The number is one she could dial in her sleep, so natural it seems, the ringing seems to last forever as the thoughts tumble disjointedly through her mind, Splintered images of a time that can never return.
“Hallloooo… speak – or forever hold your peace”
muffled laughter at the other end shows that this call is not going to be easy. As though this call could ever be easy.
“Hello..?”
The sound of breathing followed by “it must be a random, someone forgotten to stick the key lock on again – hang on”
“HELLO?!?!”
She mentally shakes herself and answers
“Sal…”
But she falters before she can say anything else, forlorn and bereft the sobs start again, beyond her control to hold them back.
“Jesus, Cassie? Is that you – what’s wrong? Please? Where are you? What’s happened?”
She can picture his face, growing taut with concern, shaking off whichever bimbo he’s currently playing with, it gives her the strength to push back the grief for a brief moment – just long enough to ask him to come and get her.
No questions asked he agrees to be there in ten minutes. Just as she knew he would.

When bad things happen it’s often surprising the people we turn to – strangers, or people that ordinarily we would avoid.  She muses on this as she tries to distance herself from her grief, calmer now that she knows she is not alone. She focuses instead on a hurt years old. He left, but came back – changed.
Now she is calling in that debt, he couldn’t erase the former, but this, this he can help with. He will understand.