Mikelaing74

Andy, I take the points you've made here. Both you and I grew up in a different era, also we grew up in the UK. I've tried to answer the question from a contemporary point of view and based it in America. I also agree with you on Maslow, but it's the only framework I've got that I think can be applied to this situation and I would say that in order to move to level 2, level 1 needs to be completely met.

Thanks for that Zola, I'm more concerned about dry rot/subsidence than infestation. Plus with the estate agent being a dick about things it's far easier to walk away. On a happier note, Snuggle has convinced the estate agent that no contract was formed and taking us to court would be oh so expensive, so they've given up on that avenue. Hugs all

First off this is a truly huge question that your asking, and I don't think it can be answered in any meaningful way without an essay being written. Secondly, I'm a mathematician and this is a pure psychology/sociology question, being that my mind works on logic, guess how happy I am about this ? So to recap the question. we have a 24 year old 'innocent' who has been thrust into a society he has no knowledge of, or any idea of how to interact with the average ( hate that word ) person. In effect what we have is a toddler rather than a man, so from my point of view that's where we start. Please also bear in mind I'm uniquely unsuited to child rearing. So I suppose a general starting point would be Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs Physiological Needs Ok, these are pretty straight forward and to the most part they have already been met.Breathing, Food, Water, Sleep, Homoeostasis, Excretion. He knows how to breath, eat and drink. With those being met, homoeostasis and excretion are also met. Sleep will also have been met. BUT they have not been met in the context of our society. I'm making all sorts of assumptions here and I hate doing that, but saying that he will be more used to a hunter/gatherer society rather than the economy society we have. Therefore here's where we start. Food - On the island I'm going to assume that he gathered his own food from the wild, prepared and ate it. Obviously this isn't going to work in the city, and his physiology won't be adapted to survive the processed food that as a majority we eat. So we need to slowly start introducing him to foods that are commonly available in the city. Water - Again, on the island he's going to have been taking the water from nature, and again we treat all of our water with Chlorine and Fluoride for the first couple of days of drinking our water, he's going to be sick as a dog ! Sleep - Well this is the biggest of the needs that have to be met. In order for him to sleep implies the need for a dwelling of some sort. Being that he will need shelter and we can guarantee that he'll have no knowledge of things like indoor plumbing, gas, electricity and so on, he's going to need a mentor in order to protect himself from harm. That's where we come in, we're going to have to live with him. Now another question is raised do we bring him into an existing situation i.e. our home, or do we start afresh ? That's all I've got for now, I may take another swing at it a bit later on, but right now I'm off to relax by baking cheese scones until I've nowhere left to hide them !! But major major thanks for this question !

Thanks for that Charlie Brown, I'd rather not bother with the house than end up with a nightmare. As for my dad, he's getting better, he'll be back to his old self in no time, mum is already telling me she's considering tieing him to the bed so he will actually rest !

Cheers Marky, as soon as they said they wern't going to allow the survey all I could hear in my head was 'Danger Will Robinson !' Dad's on the mend, I've left him in the tender mercies of my mother. Just think of a five foot tall tiger that hasn't been fed for a month and has a really itchy nose, I almost feel sorry for him

Marky, I'm not one to add reviews very often, but in this instance I need to. I sort of understand, I'll not say I understand cause it's your head not mine. You beat your mother the minute Stuby and you got together. You gave her nothing, she took from you, you didn't give. The fact that Stuby and you are together and loving each other every day proves she wasn't just wrong, but dead wrong. We all have our gates, but your manning up, and every time you get an inch closer, you win. You may fall down 100 times, just remember to get up 101 times. Mike

Hi guys, sorry I've not been around for a while but some crap in the 'real' world needed dealing with. First of all the lovely house that Snuggle and I we're going to buy may not be happening now. The current owners are refusing to let me have a full structural survey of the house carried out, needless to say this has set massive alarm bells off in my head. So we withdrew our offer to purchase. Once we did that, the estate agent (may they all be cursed) is trying to claim we formed a contract when we made the offer to purchase. So in the spirit of grinding him to mincemeat I've taken the reigns off of Snuggle. We'll post whatever is left back to his family. It's worth mentioning that Snuggle is a lawyer, but I love him anyways Then after the excitement of that, my dad try's to be superman ! He's nearly sixty ! Fell off a ladder, luckily didn't brake anything but he was sore and confined to bed for a couple of days, so I had to head on back to the hometown to help out for a wee while. Needless to say I've been a wee bit stressed, but the new drugs seem t be working. And here's where I want to pick up on what Joe has said. Drugs don't work for everyone. But the community here at GA is really helpful in giving all of us a safe place to vent. Hugs to one and all

Imagination at it's finest.

I agree, there was one notable exception, Linda Hunt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Hunt

My favourite Prince Phillip-ism is: “It’s my custom to say something flattering to begin with so I shall be excused if I put my foot in it later on.”

Cassie, unfortunaley I've learnt that if I don't engage with my therapist ( feel like such a dork for saying that ). I don't get any benefit out of the sessions, and she's threatened me more than once with more time off work. For a control freak such as myself that's truly a dire threat. I don't like giving up control of anything outside of the bedroom, where I can let go and just let Snuggle take control for a while. I hope things improve for you, but we're all here with our pearls of wisdom, and a friendly ear if you just need to vent Hugs

Oh, Phillip is excellent value for tax payer money I don't think even George W Bush caused as many diplopmatic incidents as Phillip does without trying

To prove how wacky the royal family is, you need to look at Prince Phillip : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-philip/8567146/Prince-Philips-90th-Birthday-Duke-of-Edinburghs-best-gaffes.html

It's alright, we'll forgive you

Here's the heir to the throne making an idiot of himself : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-18018232 At least he's willing to poke fun at himself

They're easy on the eyes, but I think that's where it stops.

Happy Birthday DaddyQ ! Hope you have a good day

I'm a big Sci-Fi nut, but I also like a good comedy/drama. If I had to pick just one TV Series I'd be really stuck, so here's a list in no particular order : West Wing Boston Legal NCIS NCIS:LA House Big Bang Theory ( I am Sheldon ) Eureka And there's probably many more

I guess as long as you watch them with the sound off, they're fine

Hi Shelly, I echo what Joe said we are a support system for each other, even if you just want to vent I'm sorry your husband passed away, I hope I never have to experience that as I don't know if I'm strong enough to deal with losing Snuggle, I'm right when I call him my better half. And Marky, how much is it going to cost me to get you to be my gardener, I think I could tolerate a fit Yorkshireman working for me and of course I realise Stuby comes as part of the package Hugs all

Joe, the carpet is soooo having an accident with the skip. The floorboards underneath the carpet are in good nick, so I'm going to take all the carpet out of the downstairs and then sand and stain the floorboards It's good to see you're having fun, even if it is with a game I don't really understand I'm the same as you, when I'm down I just can't write. Which means this weekend I must have been as high as a kite as I put down 7,500 words ! Hugs All

What can I say that's not already been said ? The emotions were very easy to pick up, I like the way the character wasn't as important as the emotions and feelings you were trying to be across. A bit dark, but there is no way to handle the subject matter in any other way really. Really enjoyed it Stuby, I'll have to work through the rest of your work now : P

Cheers Marky, I think I can handle grass cutting, but that's where my expertise runs out Hugs all

Yeah ok, I can go with that.

Can someone please explain to me why you would possibly want to do this ? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-17939155 What makes it worse is that the woman is from a place about twenty miles away from my home town !