Man Alive!

That is bound to change as we approach an age where men are little more than sperm donors and are useful where warmongering and heavy labour is required. As little more than beer and football is required to amuse them, it should not be difficult to keep them out from underfoot so we can get on with things.

That is bound to change as we approach an age where men are little more than sperm donors and are useful where warmongering and heavy labour is required. As little more than beer and football is required to amuse them, it should not be difficult to keep them out from underfoot so we can get on with things.

That is bound to change as we approach an age where men are little more than sperm donors and are useful where warmongering and heavy labour is required. As little more than beer and football is required to amuse them, it should not be difficult to keep them out from underfoot so we can get on with things.

First, you are asking the wrong questions if you want to be a guy.

Have you ever seen Mercat Mannor? That's about where you need to be on the evolution scale. Then, when confronted with anyone or anything, you ask yourself these questions:
Can I eat it?
Can it eat me?
Can I put my pecker in it?

Honestly, women over analyse everything when it comes to men. The truly forward thinking and ambitious men also ask one additional question: Can it help me put my pecker in something else?

Beer, football and FOOD! OMG how could you forget food???

Where do duty, honour and self-sacrifice fall in your hierachy of motivations? To many men duty of one sort another is their real motivation. My father is a good example. He's 55 and has had to retire due to serious ill health (a serious back injury, among other things, after he jumped onto the bonnet of a moving car to arrest a fleeing murderer - he got the guy, by the way). He has basically worked himself near to death, and watching sports uninterrupted on a saturday afternoon is the one small pleasure he has asked for in return. I think my mother realises that to refuse him that would be churlish in the extreme. She sacrificed to bring us up, too; but she sacrificed her time, not her health.

Two hours with a toddler in diapers and you will long for a factory job to escape to.

If we have to ignore our own unhappiness for the good of our families -

Some women would argue that they take on more of the house work and the work of rearing the children. To that, most men would counter that they would not consider spending more time with their families to be a sacrifice.

Brann poked at me so I poked back.

That is bound to change as we approach an age where women are little more than sperm receptacles and are useful where vaccuuming and the labour of childbirth is required. As little more than shoes and hair is required to amuse them it should not be difficult to keep them in the kitchen so we can get on with watching TV.

Pep (See what I did . . .)

Of course there won't be any yammering, Yosef! You'll be left alone with your TV (perhaps in some large institution like a camper bot farm) and no longer be required to make conversation beyond the occasional bedroom-related grunt.

Where do duty, honour and self-sacrifice fall in your hierachy of motivations? To many men duty of one sort another is their real motivation. My father is a good example. He's 55 and has had to retire due to serious ill health (a serious back injury, among other things, after he jumped onto the bonnet of a moving car to arrest a fleeing murderer - he got the guy, by the way). He has basically worked himself near to death, and watching sports uninterrupted on a saturday afternoon is the one small pleasure he has asked for in return. I think my mother realises that to refuse him that would be churlish in the extreme. She sacrificed to bring us up, too; but she sacrificed her time, not her health.

I'm also not just talking about those men in dangerous public service jobs. According to the UK National Office for Statistics' Labour Force Survery 2004, the average man worked 37.4 hours a week in 2004, while the average woman worked just over 23 hours a week. Over 20% of men worked in excess of 50 hours a week, while only 4% of women did. Some women would argue that they take on more of the house work and the work of rearing the children. To that, most men would counter that they would not consider spending more time with their families to be a sacrifice.

I foresee a simillar future for myself, actually, as I know that I will never want to retire. But you know what? I don't mind. The cheerful acceptance of hardship is one of the noblest qualities in men. It is, however, this very quality that makes us seem insensitive to the feelings of others. If we have to ignore our own unhappiness for the good of our families - how can we possibly have room to worry about your feelings?

I don't know what to do other than just shake my head at this. It is your choice whether or not to be happy in life and whether or not to consider your choices as sacrifices. If I was married to you, regardless of how many children and what ages, I would prefer to free you from that "burden" and just deal with it myself.

Also, if taking care of a a family would make you feel unhappy and burdened, for the love of Pete, don't get one. No one wants a martyr for a spouse OR a father, and all that noble-nosed regret and long-suffering-ness will just get you a lumpy place on the couch and only fruitcakes and postcards from the kids at Xmas.

I can guarantee you that most middle aged men are unhappy and dissatisfied.

If they were happy, there would be no such thing as a mid-life crisis.

Sadly, if we followed your advice, no children would ever be born except as an accidental result of one night stands.

I can guarantee you that most middle aged men are unhappy and dissatisfied. If they were happy, there would be no such thing as a mid-life crisis. Sadly, if we followed your advice, no children would ever be born except as an accidental result of one night stands.

I can guarantee you that most middle aged men are unhappy and dissatisfied.

Ahem....dude...therapy...seriously...

Someone needs to get some Prosac and learn how to count their blessings.

So that's what I need to do to get poked by you.

The point is, you would never know that I was unhappy because being unhappy quietly without inconveniencing anyone else is my job as a man.