Cooking with my son

It has been a while since my last post, too long.  

Anyway, today I got to cook with my son.  A while ago, we bought a cookbook.  He loves noodles and Japanese food.  And when he found a cookbook which offered recipes for both, he was smitten.  So we bought it, on the proviso that we would use it.  Normally, I am meant to cook on a Wednesday, something that I did more before.  For one reason or another, I have hardly cooked, and when I have, I have enjoyed it most when doing so with the children.  

It was a bit touch and go as we did not have all the ingredients.  And we did make quite a bit of a mess.  But the good thing was that my wife and daughter loved it.  However the best thing was the bonding my son and I had.

Sadly I annoyed my daughter afterwards on a walk.  And has refused to cook with me. But I can live in hope.  Anyway, my son and I need to plan what we are making for next week. 

Gender and safe spaces

This is going to be a controversial post.

There has been, and will continue to be controversy over gender and the rights of those who identify as one gender, but were born as another to use safe spaces for another.  Such safe spaces are felt to include toilets, changing rooms, single sex prisons, schools and refuges.

Personally, I am against this.  I an in favour of safe spaces not being based on gender, but genitalia.

And my main reason for this is that it is now accepted by many that there is more than two genders.  I was a sceptic when it came to this, but after listening to Piers Morgan my views became clear.  His argument was an interesting one, but thanks to his rejection of there being more than the conventional two gender's, it allowed me to come off the fence (for that is where I sat) and the debate cleared doubt in my mind.

But, accepting that there is more than two genders means that safe spaces would have to accommodate all, if based on gender.  However, if safe spaces are based on genitalia, it makes life easier and such spaces become easier to define.  

Such a view no doubt will offend many, but that is my view at least for now) and it would be interesting to hear views on this.

We don't need no education

Just a quick post in the run up to the elections.  The Conservatives state that they are the party to educate our children.  They are not.  If people elect them into power, they are going to elect a party that has overseen a major funding shortfall in the education of the children and therefore the future of this nation.

I had written to my MP about this, and to be fair, he has discussed this in Parliament, but it is not enough.

If we want our children to have a substandard education, one where too many attend schools which are not able to open for five full days a week, then vote Conservative.

How I beat Giovanni in Pokémon GO

I am the proud owner of a shadow Pokémon.  And I need some other Pokémon in trades. 

In Pokémon GO, there has been a task set to defeat one of the main villains from the series.  My son has watched Pokémon on TV, DVD and our streaming service and wants to play the latest game on our console.

Needless to say, that while I have gone further in the game of Pokémon GO, he knows more about the world of Pokémon and therefore is better able to counter Pokémon in player vs player battles and in challenges against powerful Pokémon.  Like those that Giovanni has.

On Saturday it was a day for battles against Team Rocket.  I had beaten them enough that i just needed to take down Giovanni, but the problem was finding him.  But I did.  Sadly, just before I had to collect my daughter from a sleep over at a friend of hers.  I tried and failed repeatedly to take him down, using the recommended Pokémon that were on several sites.  But after repeated failures, I listened to my son, and myself.  

The first Pokémon to take down was a Meowth, and I needed to last long enough to make it use its shields so that my Pokémon could take down the next two.  After a while, I remembered that there have been the chance to catch a Rhyhorn, or rather several.  So I used a Rhyperior.  While that is not one of the recommended Pokémon to use, it has the stamina to stand up in combat and dish out punishment as well.  After it fell, I turned to my Blaziken to finish it off.  After that, Giovanni sent out a Dugtrio and it was here that the advice on the net and from my son helped.  Rather than stick with the Gyarados that I had used before with Outrage as its charged attack, I used a Kyogre.  With its health points, it was able to last long enough to use its charged attack of Blizzard.  In fact once it took down the Dugtrio, it was able to last long enough against the Articuno of Giovanni to use it charged attack before it fell and I was back to my Blazkien.  Using Counter and Blast Burn, it defeated the legendary shadow Pokémon and victory was finally mine.  

Though I had lost count of the amount of times that I had been defeated!

Anyway, back to the trades that I am after.  I am after high CP Pokémon, but just these ones in any lucky trades...
Squirtle
Nidoran♀
Nidoran♂
Clefable
Oddish
Mankey
Growlithe
Abra
Tentacool
Alola form Vulpix
Alola form Meowth
Geodude (normal form)
Ponyta
Slowpoke
Onix
Horsea
Goldeen
Scyther
Electabuzz
Magmar
Chikorita
Heracross
Ralts
Absol
Shieldon
Burmy
Aipom
Murkrow
Tanglea
Yanma
Porygon
Duskull
Pidove
Drilbur
Yamask
Foongus
Litwick

The reason I am after high CP forms of these types is that for those that can evolve, I can do so and get more powerful forms with high stats.

Anyway, thanks. 

The Special One

I am annoyed

I was hoping that José Mourinho would come to Arsenal.  Do not get me wrong, I think that Unai Emery is a great manager, and his record in Europe with his Europa cup wins shows that as well as the progression of Arsenal to its final last season.

But he has inherited a terrible defence.  Arsène Wenger was an amazing manager and in his last season at Arsenal, we had an astounding home form.  But he left a despairing legacy when it came to our team being able to defend.

Changing that it going to be a hard task.  The signing of players like Kieran Tierney will hopefully change that, but I do not know if he will be able to retain the confidence of players, especially with the way that some have reacted to the abuse that has been hurled at them.  (For the record, if a player is in an Arsenal shirt, then my view is that they should not be booed.). But the quick, but short term route (for he would only last a few seasons) would have been to hire a manager who has a great defensive record as well as one for imposing order and obedience amongst the players (until they rebel against him).

Anyway, while he is expected to succeed, José Mourinho is a manager who likes to be in control of transfers, and he is now working for a chairman who likes to be in charge of that as well.  It will be interesting to see how that works.

Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want (November)

A post about Pokémon GO and some of the Pokémon that I am after.

Blastoise
Nidoqueen
Nidoking
Clefable
Vileplume
Primeape
Arcanine
Alakazam
Tentacruel
Golem

I will update the list on another date.

Tory Police Cuts

The Conservatives have said that they will increase police numbers. And to be fair, they have started to do so locally.  But they have cut them in the first place.

While many of the cuts had occurred in the years of the ConDem coalition they had been continued once the Tories were in power without the Liberal Democrat’s.  In fact when my MP, Will Quince, posted about increased police numbers in Colchester, I had to ask him if he had voted for earlier cuts.  And despite always being polite when doing so, he blocked me.

So, the when it comes to police numbers, I do trust them to increase the numbers.  But I do not expect that the increase will be just full time police officers, but will include Special Constables and PCSO’s.