I hope this post finds you all well and safe.
Covid 19, some fear it others just ignore the dangers, me, I am in the middle, I don't fear it but, I do understand the dangers, I have been working from home for 2 weeks now and I am well so hopefully I don't have C19 as I call it.
But, I do have to eat and I have been to my local Tesco twice and most of the shoppers were just ignoring all the rules 2 meter distance and don't lean into someones face to get a tin of beans.   I have started wearing a mask when I go out, it's a carbon filter mask, thick and fits well, lucky I had it on during my last Tesco trip, a guy wearing a bright yellow reflective jacket was standing right behind me and leant over me to get to some pasta, my instinct was to push him away with my blue disposable glove covered hand, he responded with 'what's your problem' I then proceeded to explain that his life was in danger not from the C19 but me, as the next time he was in striking distance I intended to send him to hospital,  he looked at me as if I was mad, he was correct I was really mad, at him for being an arsehole, I told him to 'F&&k Off' and carried on shopping, I didn't see him again, but I hope he has learnt a lesson.

I am not particularly worried about C19 it's the idiots that ignore all the advice that scares me the most, The mask thing wont stop me catching it if some breathes all over me, but it will prevent me from passing anything on, the important bit of kit is the disposable gloves, you just don't wont to touch anything anymore but you have to, so wear gloves and wash your hands correctly, I did a food hygiene course a couple of years ago and wash my hands for 20 seconds all the time as taught in the course, so it's not a problem for me, but as you all know I work in a college and I have seen several kids coming out of the traps/cubicle and just walk straight out the door without washing their hands 'Dirty little bastards', I think they may join the Darwin Awards and suffer from the C19 problem, for those of you that don't know what the ​Darwin Awards are​ Click Here.

We are all now aware of how this mess started, In China, in the Wet Markets, so what should the Chinese do to stop the spread, well, the first thing they should have done was close all the borders, cancel all fights and boats leaving the country and place a total lock down in place, we here should have closed our borders immediately, we are an island, we could have been C19 free, but we acted to late, and we are still letting people in by setting up flights to bring UK citizens home, I say that's a mistake, leave them where they  are until this is all over,  I know it sounds a bit drastic, but we need to keep C19 out and a total closing of borders is the only way.

I have spoken to friends who work in hospitals and I know a politician who is very close to Boris, and I am told we are at this time losing the battle, so to finish I have just this to say "PLEASE, stay safe, well and follow the government guide lines"

​GOM.

Everybody is talking about the Corona virus at the moment, which is fair enough, if I get it that's it lights out as I am on the vulnerable list.  But I want to talk about Online Bank Security, my account has been hacked 3 times in the last 5 years, each time my bank has sorted it very quickly and the only inconvenience to me was waiting for a new card each time.
But today I went online to pay my bills as i do every month and my bank has updated it security, fair enough but there is just one problem, IT DON'T FUCKING WORK........

I have been trying to log on for over half an hour now, so i tried phoning them, but no answer, my guess is that every online customer is in the same boat.
So, my question is this, I would imagine that most people who use online banking get paid at the end of the month then go online and pay bills?  So WTF are the bank doing upgrading their security now, why not in the middle of the month?  It makes me so angry.

Anyway, rant over, the next post I think will have to be about Corona, Covid 19 and SARS.
​

Hi guys, been a while but I have been busy.
I have been put in charge of the college radio station, which basically means I am teaching the kids how to use it, produce pre-recorded programs and live shows.
So, at the moment it is taking up a lot of my time, I also have to produce radio shows for broadcasting, I have two slots each week, 12:00 on a Thursday for a Conspiracy and Paranormal show and a drive time show at 16:00 to 17:30 on a Tuesday, both are live and I really am enjoying it, you can listen to me and the station via this link ​http://player.broadcastradio.com/cambridge-regional-college or my MixCloud account at www.mixcloud.com/DrDen/ go listen and let me know what you think.

Thats enough for now, I have a radio show to put together.
GOM.

Wow, how time fly's, so, if you read my last post you will have seen that I have started to get back into my Philately, and I was doing an evaluation on my stamps, as the last time I did one was 30 years ago, OMG, was I in for a shock, I am only 10 pages into my UK collection and I find a stamp worth £25000, yes twenty five grand, I also came across one worth £7000.00, so my £15000 replacement insurance is so far out of date it's scary.

Why Fuck the Post Office I hear you say, well, I have noticed of late that they no longer use nice rubber stamps to cancel the stamps, some of the rubber stamp impressions are collected by Philatelist as well.  But recently the PO have take to scribbling over the stamps with Biro's and thick black markers, which completely ruin the stamps, so I went onto twitter where I follow the PO, and I asked the question, expecting a good reason for this horrible way of cancelling the stamp's, the answer I got shocked me it was 'We can cancel them anyway we please' WTF, that's not an answer you fucking dick head, in fact I know the answer as I asked my postman and he said 'Laziness, they just can't be assed to take the time to use a proper cancellation stamp', So what the fuck is going on, I buy new mint stamp packs every year from the PO, and they are not cheap, last year I spent over £200 just for my collection, without the everyday stamps for letters etc .

So, if you are one of the twats that ruins stamps in the post office, move on and don't come back, but if you are a senior member than think about it, I am just one person who spends about £500 a year on my hobby, there are thousands of us just in the UK and millions world wide, you earn more from us collecting than you do from your services, so, just think about what your doing, you are killing the hobby for used stamps, how can I get young kids interested in the hobby if the stamps are so defaced you cant see the beauty or have a postmark of interest?  I have been collecting for 56 years, and hope to continue to carry on for another 56 (yeah I know I ain't gonna last that long) so come on Post Office, get back to thinking about the hobbyist as well.

Moan over.

PHILATELY, Yes, I am a stamp collector, I know, I know, the grumpy old man has another hobby, but this one I have been doing since I was 7, yeah, 56 years, I could not wait for the postman to arrive when I was a kid, it meant that I would get another stamp for my collection that I kept in a WH Smith stamp album that I got for my 7th birthday, wow, a long time ago.

So why do I mention it now, well I have been getting the usual amount of Christmas cards this year and for the first time in a while I thought that they were a decent design, simple but nice and colourful, and thats what attracted me in the first place, these little colourful works of art were great.
So, I decided to have a look at my albums and update them, it was about 2010 when I last spent some time and money on my collection, but I was thinking over the last couple of weeks that maybe `i should invest some more time and money in my stamps, did you know that the annual return on stamps as an investment is around 10%, not bad for a few bits of paper.

I have been busy buying some more valuable stamps as a insurance policy if you like for my son, when I kick the bucket, he can sell the collection to pay for my final goodbye.  Yes my stamp collection is valued at about £15000 for insurance purposes.  So, let me know if you collect stuff like stamps and coins, I look forward to your comments.

Happy New Year to you all.

​

OK, you can now here me on my new website, www.drden.co.uk 

Go check it out, I hope to have a new show every week.

​Later.​

I was standing in my bathroom this morning gazing at some old (2010) photos, I then realised that these were the last photos that I took before losing my love for photography, let me explain.
My father was a keen amateur and us kids would be his main subject matter and on Sunday's I would spend hours locked with him in his make shift dark room which was a piece of board over the bath with the enlarger and the Developer, Stopper and Fixer with a gap to a bath of running water for the final rinse.  I would watch in amazement as the photos would magically appear on a white piece of paper.

At about 9 years old my dad gave me his Lubitel 2 as a gift because he was now using a 35mm camera, the make I remember was a Practica.  I was aloud 1 roll of film with 8 exposures per month, not a lot but we were a poor family, money was hard to come buy, I remember when he gave me the Lubitel that he had saved for moths to get it and about 2 years to get his new 35mm Practica, I would treasure that camera for about 7 years, saving my pocket money for film, this meant I had 2 rolls of film a month, 16 exposures, Lovely.

I started work at 15 with a film company that my dad worked for, kicking and screaming I started 2 days after leaving school at easter that year, 1972, I really wanted to be a panel beater at a garage my best mate worked for, I went with him to Muswell Hill in London where I lived at the time where I met his boss who said that because I showed a lot of enthusiasm he would give me an apprenticeship when I finished school, I would also earn £2 10s a week, that meant I could buy at least 3 rolls of film a month, winner winner chicken diner.
However like I said earlier dad dragged me into the film business, however my attitude changes when I got my first wage packed, £15 10s a week, yes a week, OMG, I was in my mind a millionaire, my dad took £5 from me to give to my mum for my keep???? WTF, £5 was average wage for an adult and I had to give that to my mum, I wanted to know why so much, I then got the story of, you eat, we give you shelter, you want atv, radio and sofas in the house, I was expected to help pay for all of this,

OMG, I cant believe its been over 2 months since I last had a moan on the BLOG.
But I have been so busy I have not even had time to drink my usual 25 - 30 cups of coffee a day (I am down to about 5), so what have you been doing you may ask, well September is always a busy time for me working as a Lecturer, new year/term and all that, however this year has changed I have been given an extra roll to get the colleges Radio Station up and running 24/7.
As you cab imagine it's interesting but there are issues such as the equipment needed to be set up properly, software upgrades etc, but, I now have it running 24/7 have a listen using the link at the bottom of the page, not my type of music, but I will be doing a blues show in the evenings, so listen out for that.

What else is new, well I now have my 3D printer after waiting nearly 3 months, made the mistake of ordering direct from China, communications were fucking awful (THANK YOU GEARBEST)to say the least, they refused to refund me after 2 months, could have got it next day from amazon, but hey £30 is £30, when it arrived the box was badly damaged, but the printer was very well packed and protected so all was well, so for the last month I have been on a steep learning curve

Over a month ago I decided to take the plunge into 3D printing, having done all my research (about 6 months) I decided on a Creality Ender 3, every review I have seen has been extremely good.  So, I dug into my piggy bank and spent the £200 which includes filament, I decided to go with GearBest as I have purchased loads from them in the past 3 years or so, about £10,000 worth, all electronic and luthier stuff, anyway, I placed my order at the middle of June, with an (ESTIMATED) delivery of 3 weeks, here I sit typing and still no printer.
So I checked with the tracking app, at the beginning of July the 2nd to be exact, a label was printed for UPS, great I thought so I contacted UPS, I asked wheres my parcel and when will I get it, they replied 'We are waiting for GearBest (Germany) to give us a call to pick it up, we know its ready because we have a label printed for you, we can't pick up the parcel until they call us', so I sent GB an email asking what's the delay? I got an email back telling me to be patient and to check their terms and conditions, WHAT THE FUCK, so I am now really pissed, so I write back saying that I have read their terms and conditions several times over the years and it states that delivery will commence when the item is in stock and packed, it's in stock, packed and at the depot waiting for collection by UPS, they then send me another email saying, delays can be caused by the parcel company, strikes, air, sea, rail and road problems, so I tell them that UPS are waiting for the call, they then send me email number 1 again, delivery etc, so I send them an email cancelling the order as I found the same printer with next day delivery, they then reply that I cant cancel the order because it's already shipped? WTF, I write back saying 'No it's not, it's sitting in your wearhouse in Germany, give me back my money, I then get email number 1 again.

So I get it touch with the credit card company, and ask them for a charge back as GB took the money from them the day after I placed the order, the credit card company say, sorry unless there is something wrong with the item there is nothing they can do, delivery delays are not covered, they then tell me that when it arrives to return it as no longer required and they will do the charge back, (at this point my head is about to explode and I am looking to rip someones head off and kick it over a wall) I tell them, the reason I want the charge back is that I need the item ASAP and I have no idea when it will arrive, they replay, please read our terms and conditions.

So, here I sit some 7 weeks later with no printer, I know the UPS still haven't pick it up from GB and that it's still sitting in the same fucking warehouse where it been for weeks.

FUK YOU GearBest, I ordered the printer so I could learn about it during my holidays, but not my winter holidays, I can assure you that I will not spend another penny with them ever.  And as for the Credit card company, I paid it up and cancelled the card, the cheeky bastards called me back and asked why, when I told the girl she said if she increased the limit would I not cancel, WTF, they missed the point, so I cancelled.  Credit card companies are begging for people to have their cards, at the end of the I will use one of my other cards.  I will keep you up to date with what goes on.

WOW, I cant believe its been 3 months since my last post, I have been so busy that time has flown by, been finishing off at college with the marking etc and getting ready for next term, time flies when you are enjoying yourself.

So, what's making me grumpy at the moment, BMW & Audi drivers, the one thing I have noticed over the last couple of years is that BMW drivers particularly are really shit drivers, they think they own the roads, Audi drivers are just as bad, cutting you up, over taking in dangerous places and forcing me to break so they can cut in, pulling out from a side road no matter how fast you are approaching them, those that know me know I get a little pissed off when in the car when it comes to shit drivers, I change from Mr Grumpy to Mr Very Angry, and yes I do suffer from road rage, I have lost count of the times I have got out of my car and threatened other drivers with death or even worse torture, I have also had quite a few actual fights, one in particular where I dragged a guy from his BMW and shoved his head under the front wheel of a lorry behind, the lorry driver was not amused, I bet the BMW driver will think again before he cuts me up again.
Anyway, the strange thing is this, 95% of the people I have confronted have been Eastern Europeans, now I know what your gonna say, but, sorry it's just the truth, I was quite shocked by the amount, so I did some research, Google etc then I checked YouTube for bad driving, O M F G, nearly all the videos are from Eastern Europe, WTF is wrong with these people?  I know they love their cars, so why try and destroy them every time they get in them.
I think they should have to take driving lessons for 3 months when they get here and then have to take a test like everyone else written and practical.  So until then the lead glove and escrema/Kali sticks will have to stay in the car, for the other 5%, learn to fucking drive, morons.
Sorry eastern Europeans, your women are beautiful but, your driving is SHIT.

Exciting things are happening in the work shop, as you know I make custom one off guitars, and have had problems getting some parts that I want customised to my specification, most of these are plastic of some type, so I decided enough is enough and I have ordered a 3D printer, the 'Ender 3' should be with me in the next couple of weeks, and I am very excited, however, my enthusiasm was dampened a little when I realised  that I need to learn a couple of software programs, bugger, I have a memory problem and I am waiting for a diagnosis as to whats going on, but I struggle learning new things, so having ordered my Ender 3 I did some research and found the best software to use was Tinkercad, Fusion 360 and Cura for slicing, if you don't know what I am talking about, join the club because I not sure myself.
I have watched numerous YouTube videos on all three bits of software, Tinkercad is for kids, so I thought how hard can it be, well its great, makes 3D design simple, I have designed a couple of bits for my guitars, but the problem is the next day I can't remember how I did it, so every day I have to relearn it all again and thats a bitch.
Fusion 360 is a proper 3D piece of software as far as I can see but, I don't think I will ever get to use it as my brain keeps saying 'Fuck this I am switching off' but I will keep going, and Cura is just a case of setting up an imported file for printing, I can write down the settings in a book so I don't forget them, but I am determined to have a go and try to print my custom scratch plates and knobs. Watch this space.

You would think that after 3 months away from this blog that I would have loads to write about, but the truth is work 'College Stuff' has taken up most of my time, so boring really as no one has upset me for a while. I think they have got the message? However I am now on holiday for 5 weeks, so loads can happen, you never know.

​Until next time.............................