Monday, July 13, 2009
Cardiff taxi driver fined for smoking in cab.
Cardiff taxi driver has been fined for smoking in a licensed hackney carriage. The proceedings were the first issued by Cardiff Council under smoke free legislation.
Goldeep Singh from Llanon Road in Llanishen pleaded guilty to the offence under the Health Act (2006) Smoke Free Premises etc (Wales) Regulations 2007 and has been fined £65 with costs of £120 and a victim surcharge of £15. Mr Singh at first refused to pay a Fixed Penalty Notice under section 7 of the Health Act but in line with the Council's smoking enforcement protocol was then referred to Cardiff Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to the offence on July 6.
Councillor Ed Bridges, Chair of Cardiff's Public Protection Committee said, "A taxi is a public place and it is illegal to smoke within the vehicle. The no smoking rule applies at all times whenever a taxi is used and the council is under duty to ensure it is enforced.
...What a silly and arrogant man Goldeep has been! It annoys me the number of people who insist on smoking in public. These smokers willfully display an arrogance that stops people confronting them. I really enjoy foreign holidays but the only fly in the ointment is that smoking is often allowed in enclosed public places. Of course back home we can enjoy enclosed public places because of the smoking ban. You do however quite often have to run the gauntlet past people smoking outside these public places.
There is no reason why we should have to put up with people smoking in enclosed public places and this includes taxis. We all know how long the stench of cigarette smoke hangs in the air and how it stays on furnishings. Anybody who cannot live without smoking for over four and a half hours is clearly a drug addict and has serious problems. Goldeep should have respected the legislation that has been in-force for a long time now. For him to refuse a fixed penalty notice is childish and his stupidity has cost him £200 in total.
Cardiff taxi driver has been fined for smoking in a licensed hackney carriage. The proceedings were the first issued by Cardiff Council under smoke free legislation.
Goldeep Singh from Llanon Road in Llanishen pleaded guilty to the offence under the Health Act (2006) Smoke Free Premises etc (Wales) Regulations 2007 and has been fined £65 with costs of £120 and a victim surcharge of £15. Mr Singh at first refused to pay a Fixed Penalty Notice under section 7 of the Health Act but in line with the Council's smoking enforcement protocol was then referred to Cardiff Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to the offence on July 6.
Councillor Ed Bridges, Chair of Cardiff's Public Protection Committee said, "A taxi is a public place and it is illegal to smoke within the vehicle. The no smoking rule applies at all times whenever a taxi is used and the council is under duty to ensure it is enforced.
...What a silly and arrogant man Goldeep has been! It annoys me the number of people who insist on smoking in public. These smokers willfully display an arrogance that stops people confronting them. I really enjoy foreign holidays but the only fly in the ointment is that smoking is often allowed in enclosed public places. Of course back home we can enjoy enclosed public places because of the smoking ban. You do however quite often have to run the gauntlet past people smoking outside these public places.
There is no reason why we should have to put up with people smoking in enclosed public places and this includes taxis. We all know how long the stench of cigarette smoke hangs in the air and how it stays on furnishings. Anybody who cannot live without smoking for over four and a half hours is clearly a drug addict and has serious problems. Goldeep should have respected the legislation that has been in-force for a long time now. For him to refuse a fixed penalty notice is childish and his stupidity has cost him £200 in total.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Mock the Week .
Nice to see that Mock the Week has returned to our televisions for another series. It is broadcast on BBC2 at 21.00 on Thursdays. This comedy show combines the best elements of a panel show, with stand-up and improvised games featuring two teams of comedians taking a satirical swipe at the news and world events.
I think this is the best comedy panel show around and it beats all the others for content. It is very witty and near the knuckle. The comedians are happy to take risks with their humour and they are not bothered if the audience cringes! Well done guys, nice to see fresh humour on my television.
Nice to see that Mock the Week has returned to our televisions for another series. It is broadcast on BBC2 at 21.00 on Thursdays. This comedy show combines the best elements of a panel show, with stand-up and improvised games featuring two teams of comedians taking a satirical swipe at the news and world events.
I think this is the best comedy panel show around and it beats all the others for content. It is very witty and near the knuckle. The comedians are happy to take risks with their humour and they are not bothered if the audience cringes! Well done guys, nice to see fresh humour on my television.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Does the Queen shit in the woods?
For years this expression had fooled me, I thought that the Queen was like everyone else. I believed that everyone went to the toilet in the woods, royalty included. Then I got married and Gail assured me that only men went to the toilet in the woods. I did not believe her and told her the tale of Susan walking over Dartmoor. Susan told John and I to continue walking along the path and that she would catch us up later. John and I smiled and we continued walking. We did not think anything of this, we thought this was normal. Gail however insists that only men do it outside and that ladies need proper clean toilets.
However, Gail does like a certain popular music group called Take That. They can have a great effect on women as they dream of Gary Barlow. Watch the video below taken on the 20th June 2009 outside the Take That concert at Hampden Park in Glasgow. This video shows equality in action and proves my case that both genders can go anywhere!
For years this expression had fooled me, I thought that the Queen was like everyone else. I believed that everyone went to the toilet in the woods, royalty included. Then I got married and Gail assured me that only men went to the toilet in the woods. I did not believe her and told her the tale of Susan walking over Dartmoor. Susan told John and I to continue walking along the path and that she would catch us up later. John and I smiled and we continued walking. We did not think anything of this, we thought this was normal. Gail however insists that only men do it outside and that ladies need proper clean toilets.
However, Gail does like a certain popular music group called Take That. They can have a great effect on women as they dream of Gary Barlow. Watch the video below taken on the 20th June 2009 outside the Take That concert at Hampden Park in Glasgow. This video shows equality in action and proves my case that both genders can go anywhere!
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
There is another way!
Next year Google will release it's own operating system that is based on it's Chrome web browser. Google has gone the way I thought it would and is including a version of Linux linked to it's own Chrome web browser. This should work really quickly for the user and I think Google is right to approach an operating system from the side of a web browser as this reflects the users' major use of their computer. As more and more information is gathered from the clouds of the internet it simply makes sense to operate your computer from a browser. This minimal approach should be clean and quick, giving internet users just the bones of want they want in a brief and consistent way. I wish Google well in their quest for a better user experience. What is the point of the long start-up and close-down times of Windows? I do not believe that the average user wants such a bloated operating system that Windows has become.
Next year Google will release it's own operating system that is based on it's Chrome web browser. Google has gone the way I thought it would and is including a version of Linux linked to it's own Chrome web browser. This should work really quickly for the user and I think Google is right to approach an operating system from the side of a web browser as this reflects the users' major use of their computer. As more and more information is gathered from the clouds of the internet it simply makes sense to operate your computer from a browser. This minimal approach should be clean and quick, giving internet users just the bones of want they want in a brief and consistent way. I wish Google well in their quest for a better user experience. What is the point of the long start-up and close-down times of Windows? I do not believe that the average user wants such a bloated operating system that Windows has become.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie
The back cover of this book reads...
Before his death in 1609, the brilliant Elizabethan spy and astrologer John Dee hid his most astonishing secrets, trusting his descendants would one day bring them to light. That time has come.
In 2003, Will Stafford inherits a strange legacy from his mother: a key and an ancient script with an enigmatic note. Deeply intrigued, he travels Europe seeking answers to it's riddles, unaware that someone is following his every move.
Back in London, Lucy King becomes entangled in Will's cryptic labyrinth. As it's mysterious twists take her from France to New York, and from literature to myth, in search of it's hidden treasure, she has never been closer to the truth, nor in graver danger.
...Well I thought, this book should be worth a punt as I really enjoyed reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, two years ago. How wrong I was in buying this book! If you liked The Da Vinci Code then do not bother reading The Rose Labyrinth as you will be very disappointed. This story is very slow and there is nothing much in the way of action. There are 528 pages in this book and there are just 2 small changes in the plot taking place on pages 85 and 216. Finally on page 224 you are told the meaning of a labyrinth...
A guide with the verger began explaining in English. 'In the twelfth century certain cathedrals were decreed pilgrimage cathedrals to relieve the numbers of people making journeys to the unstable Holy Land at the time of the Crusades. Many of these had labyrinths added, which became known as "the Road to Jerusalem". Originally they were walked at Easter, just as the classical labyrinths had been a dance of spring to celebrate returning vegetation. The experience of walking, however, was meditative, calming, focusing. Many people find it brings them nearer to heaven, ready to comprehend the will of God. For the minutes that you walk it, you are outside of time: your concerns are inward and spiritual, rather than material and temporal.'
...I found this novel poor, shallow and very long-winded. It is drab, it is not exciting, it is not credible and certainly not entertaining. I suggest bloggers to avoid this book as it did not meet my quality threshold. Although with 528 pages there are plenty of words to read there is no depth or attitude to please the reader. This is like a soap-opera starring Lucy and Alex but in real life people would not be bothered to act like the characters in this story.
The back cover of this book reads...
Before his death in 1609, the brilliant Elizabethan spy and astrologer John Dee hid his most astonishing secrets, trusting his descendants would one day bring them to light. That time has come.
In 2003, Will Stafford inherits a strange legacy from his mother: a key and an ancient script with an enigmatic note. Deeply intrigued, he travels Europe seeking answers to it's riddles, unaware that someone is following his every move.
Back in London, Lucy King becomes entangled in Will's cryptic labyrinth. As it's mysterious twists take her from France to New York, and from literature to myth, in search of it's hidden treasure, she has never been closer to the truth, nor in graver danger.
...Well I thought, this book should be worth a punt as I really enjoyed reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, two years ago. How wrong I was in buying this book! If you liked The Da Vinci Code then do not bother reading The Rose Labyrinth as you will be very disappointed. This story is very slow and there is nothing much in the way of action. There are 528 pages in this book and there are just 2 small changes in the plot taking place on pages 85 and 216. Finally on page 224 you are told the meaning of a labyrinth...
A guide with the verger began explaining in English. 'In the twelfth century certain cathedrals were decreed pilgrimage cathedrals to relieve the numbers of people making journeys to the unstable Holy Land at the time of the Crusades. Many of these had labyrinths added, which became known as "the Road to Jerusalem". Originally they were walked at Easter, just as the classical labyrinths had been a dance of spring to celebrate returning vegetation. The experience of walking, however, was meditative, calming, focusing. Many people find it brings them nearer to heaven, ready to comprehend the will of God. For the minutes that you walk it, you are outside of time: your concerns are inward and spiritual, rather than material and temporal.'
...I found this novel poor, shallow and very long-winded. It is drab, it is not exciting, it is not credible and certainly not entertaining. I suggest bloggers to avoid this book as it did not meet my quality threshold. Although with 528 pages there are plenty of words to read there is no depth or attitude to please the reader. This is like a soap-opera starring Lucy and Alex but in real life people would not be bothered to act like the characters in this story.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Where is the disciplinary procedure?
I am shocked and very angry about the story over the deaths of two German Shepherd dogs who died when they were left in a parked private car outside the Nottinghamshire force's headquarters while a the Police Officer went inside. He returned to find them both dead. Experts said it was so hot - temperatures reached 86F (30C) - they would have died within 30 minutes. It emerged that the dog handler was on duty at the time and the dogs were left in his private car, parked in the main staff car park outside the headquarters. The deaths were immediately referred to the RSPCA and the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Under the Animal Welfare Act, the officer responsible could be jailed for six months or fined £20,000. A force spokesman said the officer had not been suspended and refused to say how long the animals had been left in the car. The dogs were found at 2.15pm as temperatures outside the building in Arnold, Notts, reached 29.3 degrees Centigrade, the hottest day in the area for three years.
The spokesman said: "The welfare of all animals owned by Nottinghamshire Police is of paramount importance and we endeavour to take every measure possible to ensure their well-being and safety." The IPCC said it would not be investigating and referred the matter back to Nottinghamshire.
...So where is the standard disciplinary procedure over these deaths? I am angry that this Police Officer has not been suspended but has been allowed home to prepare his case at leisure and then maybe have a chat with the RSPCA next week. I think that the IPCC should investigate the deaths of these defenseless animals in the same way as any other death in Police custody. The Police spokesman is also an annoying hypocrite when he states "The welfare of all animals owned by Nottinghamshire Police is of paramount importance and we endeavour to take every measure possible to ensure their well-being and safety." yet the Officer has not been suspended or named.
It is common sense not to leave animals in locked cars. You know yourself just how hot it gets in cars and you are glad to get out and escape the heat. Any workman looks after his tools and guards against theft from vehicles. These highly trained Police dogs are the tools of the handler's trade and they should be cared for with the same diligence as all the other resources. This Officer would have been trained in animal welfare and he has not just ignored common sense but in my view has been guilty of gross misconduct and should be dismissed after the formalities have been done. I hope the RSPCA brings this case to court and this officer is sent to prison for his crimes.
I am shocked and very angry about the story over the deaths of two German Shepherd dogs who died when they were left in a parked private car outside the Nottinghamshire force's headquarters while a the Police Officer went inside. He returned to find them both dead. Experts said it was so hot - temperatures reached 86F (30C) - they would have died within 30 minutes. It emerged that the dog handler was on duty at the time and the dogs were left in his private car, parked in the main staff car park outside the headquarters. The deaths were immediately referred to the RSPCA and the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Under the Animal Welfare Act, the officer responsible could be jailed for six months or fined £20,000. A force spokesman said the officer had not been suspended and refused to say how long the animals had been left in the car. The dogs were found at 2.15pm as temperatures outside the building in Arnold, Notts, reached 29.3 degrees Centigrade, the hottest day in the area for three years.
The spokesman said: "The welfare of all animals owned by Nottinghamshire Police is of paramount importance and we endeavour to take every measure possible to ensure their well-being and safety." The IPCC said it would not be investigating and referred the matter back to Nottinghamshire.
...So where is the standard disciplinary procedure over these deaths? I am angry that this Police Officer has not been suspended but has been allowed home to prepare his case at leisure and then maybe have a chat with the RSPCA next week. I think that the IPCC should investigate the deaths of these defenseless animals in the same way as any other death in Police custody. The Police spokesman is also an annoying hypocrite when he states "The welfare of all animals owned by Nottinghamshire Police is of paramount importance and we endeavour to take every measure possible to ensure their well-being and safety." yet the Officer has not been suspended or named.
It is common sense not to leave animals in locked cars. You know yourself just how hot it gets in cars and you are glad to get out and escape the heat. Any workman looks after his tools and guards against theft from vehicles. These highly trained Police dogs are the tools of the handler's trade and they should be cared for with the same diligence as all the other resources. This Officer would have been trained in animal welfare and he has not just ignored common sense but in my view has been guilty of gross misconduct and should be dismissed after the formalities have been done. I hope the RSPCA brings this case to court and this officer is sent to prison for his crimes.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Deals behind closed doors.
For years now I have told workmates that they will never get the full story and that a lot of things are done behind closed doors. I believe that competition in the passenger transport market is just a show to mislead the public into thinking that it is a free market with operators competing against each other. I think that a lot of deals are done under the table and there are a lot of gentleman's agreements in place. The public face is one of competition but in reality I think that the top managers of each firm are in it together.
And what is on the Daily Telegraph website today ? No surprises for me here then!...
FirstGroup has made a provocative nil-premium approach to rival National Express, based on the premise that it has a superior management team more capable of sorting out its target's troubled East Coast rail franchise. NatEx said that on June 19 it had received "a highly preliminary approach... on unspecified terms", noting that FirstGroup had put no price on the table. It was via a letter from FirstGroup chairman Martin Gilbert, posted to the house of his counterpart John Devaney, who has only recently joined NatEx. Despite the rejection, FirstGroup said it "continues to believe there is significant industrial and commercial logic in a combination of the two companies". It stressed that there could be no certainty of any offer.
...Yeah right! A letter from one chairman posted to the private house of the chairman of a rival company! Seems like a Gentleman's Club to me and not competing companies operating in a free market.
For years now I have told workmates that they will never get the full story and that a lot of things are done behind closed doors. I believe that competition in the passenger transport market is just a show to mislead the public into thinking that it is a free market with operators competing against each other. I think that a lot of deals are done under the table and there are a lot of gentleman's agreements in place. The public face is one of competition but in reality I think that the top managers of each firm are in it together.
And what is on the Daily Telegraph website today ? No surprises for me here then!...
FirstGroup has made a provocative nil-premium approach to rival National Express, based on the premise that it has a superior management team more capable of sorting out its target's troubled East Coast rail franchise. NatEx said that on June 19 it had received "a highly preliminary approach... on unspecified terms", noting that FirstGroup had put no price on the table. It was via a letter from FirstGroup chairman Martin Gilbert, posted to the house of his counterpart John Devaney, who has only recently joined NatEx. Despite the rejection, FirstGroup said it "continues to believe there is significant industrial and commercial logic in a combination of the two companies". It stressed that there could be no certainty of any offer.
...Yeah right! A letter from one chairman posted to the private house of the chairman of a rival company! Seems like a Gentleman's Club to me and not competing companies operating in a free market.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Keep off the grass!
On my rest break this morning I sat in Ebury Square Garden, which is a very small park in London at the rear of Victoria Coach Station. I was disturbed from reading my book by the sound of small children. I looked up and saw 12 primary school children accompanied by 3 women. These 3 women were all wearing high visibility waistcoats.
2 women and the 12 children were waiting on the path whilst the 3rd women walked onto a small section of grass. She walked all over the grass and her eyes never left the ground. She did a very thorough inspection indeed and when she was satisfied she nodded and the 12 children ran onto the grass and started playing.
This scenario amused me and I assume she was looking for dog faeces but was unable to find any! The wearing of high visibility waistcoats in the search for dog faeces I find really funny and I must remember to wear mine when I scoop up our pet's deposits at home!
What did you learn at school today, Johnny? Risk assessments replies Johnny with a smile!
On my rest break this morning I sat in Ebury Square Garden, which is a very small park in London at the rear of Victoria Coach Station. I was disturbed from reading my book by the sound of small children. I looked up and saw 12 primary school children accompanied by 3 women. These 3 women were all wearing high visibility waistcoats.
2 women and the 12 children were waiting on the path whilst the 3rd women walked onto a small section of grass. She walked all over the grass and her eyes never left the ground. She did a very thorough inspection indeed and when she was satisfied she nodded and the 12 children ran onto the grass and started playing.
This scenario amused me and I assume she was looking for dog faeces but was unable to find any! The wearing of high visibility waistcoats in the search for dog faeces I find really funny and I must remember to wear mine when I scoop up our pet's deposits at home!
What did you learn at school today, Johnny? Risk assessments replies Johnny with a smile!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Hey Boris, how about some joined up thinking?
Coming home from London last night I already knew that the M4 westbound was closed between junctions 1 and 3. So, rather than go chug, chug, chug along the old A4 past Hounslow with the inevitable delays I went the smart way out of London along the A40. All was going smoothly until suddenly all 3 lanes of traffic stopped. The traffic then crawled very slowly for a long way and I saw a sign that lanes 2 and 3 were closed further along. The traffic edged forward until the main A40 westbound was reduced to a single lane. More crawling ensued until I got to the Hanger Lane underpass which had been closed, so all traffic had to go up the exit ramp to the traffic lights of the gyratory system. These traffic lights only let a few vehicles forward at a time because normally with the underpass open there is little traffic entering the junction. I drove back onto the A40 which was still restricted to 1 lane, went past just one guy with a pneumatic drill and then was on my merry way.
This whole delay has cost my employer 60 minutes in overtime. Now, think just how much the total cost was to all the people traveling out of London at that time? The Hanger Lane underpass runs under the North Circular Road (A406) and the M4 was closed also with it's junction with this same North Circular Road. Why was there not some joined up thinking here? It was plain stupid to close both westbound routes going out of London at the same radius from the West End. If they must close roads to do repairs, then surely do not close both parallel routes at adjacent points and at the same time. This was madness and an example of bad management by Boris Johnson's team. We live in a 24/7 society so why the hell did they close the M4 motorway at 21.00? Surely working within a 24/7 culture they should have closed the motorway at maybe midnight or 01.00 and not make everyone suffer. Joined up thinking it certainly was not. It is maddening to me that our elected representatives cannot plan roadworks sensibly but they have no difficulty in claiming expenses as a perk of their jobs.
Coming home from London last night I already knew that the M4 westbound was closed between junctions 1 and 3. So, rather than go chug, chug, chug along the old A4 past Hounslow with the inevitable delays I went the smart way out of London along the A40. All was going smoothly until suddenly all 3 lanes of traffic stopped. The traffic then crawled very slowly for a long way and I saw a sign that lanes 2 and 3 were closed further along. The traffic edged forward until the main A40 westbound was reduced to a single lane. More crawling ensued until I got to the Hanger Lane underpass which had been closed, so all traffic had to go up the exit ramp to the traffic lights of the gyratory system. These traffic lights only let a few vehicles forward at a time because normally with the underpass open there is little traffic entering the junction. I drove back onto the A40 which was still restricted to 1 lane, went past just one guy with a pneumatic drill and then was on my merry way.
This whole delay has cost my employer 60 minutes in overtime. Now, think just how much the total cost was to all the people traveling out of London at that time? The Hanger Lane underpass runs under the North Circular Road (A406) and the M4 was closed also with it's junction with this same North Circular Road. Why was there not some joined up thinking here? It was plain stupid to close both westbound routes going out of London at the same radius from the West End. If they must close roads to do repairs, then surely do not close both parallel routes at adjacent points and at the same time. This was madness and an example of bad management by Boris Johnson's team. We live in a 24/7 society so why the hell did they close the M4 motorway at 21.00? Surely working within a 24/7 culture they should have closed the motorway at maybe midnight or 01.00 and not make everyone suffer. Joined up thinking it certainly was not. It is maddening to me that our elected representatives cannot plan roadworks sensibly but they have no difficulty in claiming expenses as a perk of their jobs.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Two men feared drowned after Bristol Channel swim.
Two men carried away by the tide as they took a swim in the Bristol Channel last night are feared to have drowned. The men, both in their thirties, went into the water near Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, after drinks at the nearby Royal Pier Hotel. According to reports received by the Coastguard, they stripped off down to their boxer shorts and entered the water while their girlfriends remained on the beach. They began to get into serious difficulties after the turning of the tide, which is swollen by the flow from the River Severn. The initial call to the coastguard was made just after 9pm and by 9.13pm the two men were believed to have been swept half a mile offshore and were heard still shouting for help. Story continues with reader comments.
...Well, what can I say, another 2 lives lost. This needless tragedy happens every year up and down our country. People have a few drinks and then they think it is a lovely idea to have a swim. People do not seem to learn by other peoples' mistakes or realize what dangers open water can bring. Yes, I was young once and have always enjoyed a few drinks but I always avoided water due to the simple risk of drowning. Call me an old woman but when on holiday I will happily swim in the hotel swimming pool but you will not get me into the open sea. There are dangers out at sea and not just from drowning. Sea creatures can bite or sting you. I will not go into the hotel swimming pool if I have had some wine or some beers with my lunch. You only need one chance to die so you should manage the risks and act sensible.
Two men carried away by the tide as they took a swim in the Bristol Channel last night are feared to have drowned. The men, both in their thirties, went into the water near Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, after drinks at the nearby Royal Pier Hotel. According to reports received by the Coastguard, they stripped off down to their boxer shorts and entered the water while their girlfriends remained on the beach. They began to get into serious difficulties after the turning of the tide, which is swollen by the flow from the River Severn. The initial call to the coastguard was made just after 9pm and by 9.13pm the two men were believed to have been swept half a mile offshore and were heard still shouting for help. Story continues with reader comments.
...Well, what can I say, another 2 lives lost. This needless tragedy happens every year up and down our country. People have a few drinks and then they think it is a lovely idea to have a swim. People do not seem to learn by other peoples' mistakes or realize what dangers open water can bring. Yes, I was young once and have always enjoyed a few drinks but I always avoided water due to the simple risk of drowning. Call me an old woman but when on holiday I will happily swim in the hotel swimming pool but you will not get me into the open sea. There are dangers out at sea and not just from drowning. Sea creatures can bite or sting you. I will not go into the hotel swimming pool if I have had some wine or some beers with my lunch. You only need one chance to die so you should manage the risks and act sensible.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
what does the internet think?
Ever wondered what the internet thinks about things? Well, this search engine will tell you what the internet thinks about a given search field. It will show you the numbers of positive, negative and ambivalent results and their percentages. For example our leader, Gordon Brown comes up with negative 673 - 54%, positive 563 - 45% and 6 - 0.5%don't care.
A certain nationwide company comes up with negative 92 - 82%, positive 20 - 18% The leading competitor to long distance coach travel comes up with negative 56 - 62%, positive 34 - 38% A certain provider of passenger transport and wheelie bin collection comes up with negative 3 - 33%, positive 6 - 67% So, we all know just who the winner is here then!
Ever wondered what the internet thinks about things? Well, this search engine will tell you what the internet thinks about a given search field. It will show you the numbers of positive, negative and ambivalent results and their percentages. For example our leader, Gordon Brown comes up with negative 673 - 54%, positive 563 - 45% and 6 - 0.5%don't care.
A certain nationwide company comes up with negative 92 - 82%, positive 20 - 18% The leading competitor to long distance coach travel comes up with negative 56 - 62%, positive 34 - 38% A certain provider of passenger transport and wheelie bin collection comes up with negative 3 - 33%, positive 6 - 67% So, we all know just who the winner is here then!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Not quite a knob joke.
Following on from yesterday's post about what I find amusing on the internet, I offer today the tale of Mike's knob which is written by his wife Ariane. I do not think that she meant to make it sound so sexy but it certainly made me smile.
Following on from yesterday's post about what I find amusing on the internet, I offer today the tale of Mike's knob which is written by his wife Ariane. I do not think that she meant to make it sound so sexy but it certainly made me smile.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Complete Expenses Files.
At 12.15 this afternoon my Yahoo! webmail account received an email from the Daily Telegraph newspaper. A lot of people use the expression LOL, which is internet slang for Laughing Out Loud. I find a lot of things on the internet funny and amusing but this email really did make me laugh out loud. Of course I had to read this email out aloud to Gail as she wondered just what I had found so very funny. This was after I had chuckled at Martin on the Yahoo! newsgroup about a nationwide company, getting the registration number of a motorcycle confused with the registration number of a coach!
So for your amusement I have copied the body of the email below...
Dear Mr Clynes,
This Saturday in the Telegraph don't miss The Complete Expenses Files – a 68-page magazine supplement listing the expenses of all 646 MPs.
Inside the 68-page magazine supplement you will find files concerning all 646 MPs, with details of their Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) expenses for 2007-8, the most recent year for which figures are available.
This is the first time that such detailed information about our elected representatives has been available in one place. It is an historic moment. We believe that our expenses files will help change the face of British politics for the better.
...Ho! Ho! Ho! I will be teasing my father on Sunday about another supplement in his newspaper that will be quickly dispatched to the recycling green bag without being read by him or my mother. Joking apart though, it is good that the Daily Telegraph has run this investigative journalism campaign against these criminals who have been democratically elected as our representatives, yet blatantly have been fiddling their expenses.
At 12.15 this afternoon my Yahoo! webmail account received an email from the Daily Telegraph newspaper. A lot of people use the expression LOL, which is internet slang for Laughing Out Loud. I find a lot of things on the internet funny and amusing but this email really did make me laugh out loud. Of course I had to read this email out aloud to Gail as she wondered just what I had found so very funny. This was after I had chuckled at Martin on the Yahoo! newsgroup about a nationwide company, getting the registration number of a motorcycle confused with the registration number of a coach!
So for your amusement I have copied the body of the email below...
Dear Mr Clynes,
This Saturday in the Telegraph don't miss The Complete Expenses Files – a 68-page magazine supplement listing the expenses of all 646 MPs.
Inside the 68-page magazine supplement you will find files concerning all 646 MPs, with details of their Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) expenses for 2007-8, the most recent year for which figures are available.
This is the first time that such detailed information about our elected representatives has been available in one place. It is an historic moment. We believe that our expenses files will help change the face of British politics for the better.
...Ho! Ho! Ho! I will be teasing my father on Sunday about another supplement in his newspaper that will be quickly dispatched to the recycling green bag without being read by him or my mother. Joking apart though, it is good that the Daily Telegraph has run this investigative journalism campaign against these criminals who have been democratically elected as our representatives, yet blatantly have been fiddling their expenses.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
More news that the Police are pissing people off again.
Oh yes, the Police are pissing off more people, yet again. Nice piece in the newspaper today about the abuse of Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 by the Police.
White members of the public are being unlawfully detained by the police in order to give "racial balance" to stop-and-search statistics, a report by the Government's watchdog on terror laws has found. Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said he knew of cases where suspects were stopped by officers even though there was no evidence or suspicion against them. He said police were carrying out the searches on people they had no basis for suspecting so they could avoid accusations of prejudice. But the peer said police should stop trying to balance the figures, and it may be that an "ethnic imbalance" is a "proportional consequence" of policing.
Figures released earlier this year revealed a huge increase in searches using Section 44 powers. Officers in England and Wales used the powers to search 124,687 people in 2007-08, up from 41,924 in 2006-07. Only 1 per cent of searches led to an arrest. Nearly 90 per cent of the searches were carried out by the Metropolitan Police, which recorded a 266 per cent increase in its use of the power. Officers in London use Section 44 to carry out stop and search between 8,000 and 10,000 times a month.
Well, this whole story just stinks. First the Police pick on the non-white Muslims then they pick on everyone else to fiddle the statistics. Look at the large numbers of tax payers, the very people who pay their wages, they are pissing off under the disguise of the Terrorism Act 2000. This has got to stop. The Police are marvelous at wasting peoples' time with their stop and search, just because they can.
There were more road closures recently in Cardiff when the Police decided on their whim to close Westgate Street in our City Centre because Oasis and Take That were playing at the Millennium Stadium. There is no warning given, they just throw some cones across the road and grin at you like monkeys. The local bus services are thrown into disarray and the passengers do not know if the bus station is open or closed.
Driving into Sheffield yesterday afternoon along the A61 between Meadowhead and Woodseats I spotted a parked white van. This van was parked the wrong way, that is facing oncoming traffic, on a slight left-hand bend so that the sign writing on the side was not clearly visible to approaching drivers. There was nobody sat in the front of this white van but there was a small device attached to the windscreen. As I got closer I could see that a camera was attached to the windscreen, not an ordinary camera but a speed camera. As I drove slowly past to make the following traffic slow down (and not trip the device) and to register a protest, I could see the familiar sign writing of the revenue grabbing speed camera partnership. Looking in my mirror I could see no devices looking out of the back of this van.
This was the first time I have seen a forward facing speed camera van. Rear facing speed camera vans stick out like a sore thumb. This tactic is very underhand and it shows just how rotten the Police are to the tax paying public. If there ever was a suitable training location for our home grown terrorists to try out an Improvised Explosive Device then I strongly suggest a speed camera van.
Oh yes, the Police are pissing off more people, yet again. Nice piece in the newspaper today about the abuse of Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 by the Police.
White members of the public are being unlawfully detained by the police in order to give "racial balance" to stop-and-search statistics, a report by the Government's watchdog on terror laws has found. Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said he knew of cases where suspects were stopped by officers even though there was no evidence or suspicion against them. He said police were carrying out the searches on people they had no basis for suspecting so they could avoid accusations of prejudice. But the peer said police should stop trying to balance the figures, and it may be that an "ethnic imbalance" is a "proportional consequence" of policing.
Figures released earlier this year revealed a huge increase in searches using Section 44 powers. Officers in England and Wales used the powers to search 124,687 people in 2007-08, up from 41,924 in 2006-07. Only 1 per cent of searches led to an arrest. Nearly 90 per cent of the searches were carried out by the Metropolitan Police, which recorded a 266 per cent increase in its use of the power. Officers in London use Section 44 to carry out stop and search between 8,000 and 10,000 times a month.
Well, this whole story just stinks. First the Police pick on the non-white Muslims then they pick on everyone else to fiddle the statistics. Look at the large numbers of tax payers, the very people who pay their wages, they are pissing off under the disguise of the Terrorism Act 2000. This has got to stop. The Police are marvelous at wasting peoples' time with their stop and search, just because they can.
There were more road closures recently in Cardiff when the Police decided on their whim to close Westgate Street in our City Centre because Oasis and Take That were playing at the Millennium Stadium. There is no warning given, they just throw some cones across the road and grin at you like monkeys. The local bus services are thrown into disarray and the passengers do not know if the bus station is open or closed.
Driving into Sheffield yesterday afternoon along the A61 between Meadowhead and Woodseats I spotted a parked white van. This van was parked the wrong way, that is facing oncoming traffic, on a slight left-hand bend so that the sign writing on the side was not clearly visible to approaching drivers. There was nobody sat in the front of this white van but there was a small device attached to the windscreen. As I got closer I could see that a camera was attached to the windscreen, not an ordinary camera but a speed camera. As I drove slowly past to make the following traffic slow down (and not trip the device) and to register a protest, I could see the familiar sign writing of the revenue grabbing speed camera partnership. Looking in my mirror I could see no devices looking out of the back of this van.
This was the first time I have seen a forward facing speed camera van. Rear facing speed camera vans stick out like a sore thumb. This tactic is very underhand and it shows just how rotten the Police are to the tax paying public. If there ever was a suitable training location for our home grown terrorists to try out an Improvised Explosive Device then I strongly suggest a speed camera van.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Possession by Peter James .
In December 2008 I read Dead Man's Footsteps by Peter James. On this blog I wrote "I would buy another of Peter's books because the quality is there". Well, I was in an Asda supermarket and they were banging some paperbacks out for just £2 - I looked at the authors and here was one by Peter James, so for just £2 it was a gift.
Possession is a book Peter first published in 1988, a paperback edition was published in 2000 and reissued in 2007. This 290 page book is about Alex Hightower whose son, Fabian is killed in a car crash. Problem is that Alex believes her son is still alive and this novel is above life after death and the spirit world. Okay, you may think, what is Stephen - an Atheist doing reading a book about ghosts? Ah, that is because Peter James writes such a good story. He is a very skilled author and this book is a joy to read. This novel should appeal to readers of ALL religious beliefs, it does not matter whether you believe in a God or ghosts as it's interpretation is down to the reader. You can take this novel to be an easily explained fantasy of an after life or as a story of how society can deal with the challenges brought into every day life from a spirit world.
Peter tells a lovely tale and his writing style is very clear. I like the structure of this book and you feel that you are getting a full story. There is a lot of body to this story, it is not thin and the plot develops at a good steady pace. I consider this book a good read, even if it had been sold at a regular price! There was nothing I disliked about this novel, although I was surprised at the amount of cigarette smoking that was described but I would not mark this book down because of it.
In December 2008 I read Dead Man's Footsteps by Peter James. On this blog I wrote "I would buy another of Peter's books because the quality is there". Well, I was in an Asda supermarket and they were banging some paperbacks out for just £2 - I looked at the authors and here was one by Peter James, so for just £2 it was a gift.
Possession is a book Peter first published in 1988, a paperback edition was published in 2000 and reissued in 2007. This 290 page book is about Alex Hightower whose son, Fabian is killed in a car crash. Problem is that Alex believes her son is still alive and this novel is above life after death and the spirit world. Okay, you may think, what is Stephen - an Atheist doing reading a book about ghosts? Ah, that is because Peter James writes such a good story. He is a very skilled author and this book is a joy to read. This novel should appeal to readers of ALL religious beliefs, it does not matter whether you believe in a God or ghosts as it's interpretation is down to the reader. You can take this novel to be an easily explained fantasy of an after life or as a story of how society can deal with the challenges brought into every day life from a spirit world.
Peter tells a lovely tale and his writing style is very clear. I like the structure of this book and you feel that you are getting a full story. There is a lot of body to this story, it is not thin and the plot develops at a good steady pace. I consider this book a good read, even if it had been sold at a regular price! There was nothing I disliked about this novel, although I was surprised at the amount of cigarette smoking that was described but I would not mark this book down because of it.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Atheist cleaners could sue Christian care homes over crucifixes, warn bishops .
What is this on the Daily Telegraph website, an April Fools' Day joke? Church care homes could be forced to remove crucifixes from their walls in case they offend "atheist cleaners" under the new Equality Bill, Catholic bishops have warned. The way the bill is written means non-Christians could sue for harassment if church authorities do not remove religious imagery, according to Monsignor Andrew Summersgill, general secretary of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. Bishops are concerned that religious authorities could be left in an impossible legal position, because under the bill it would be up to the employer to prove that displaying such an image did not amount to harassment of an employee.
This whole story is daft, I cannot imagine any Atheist going to court over religious imagery. I am an Atheist and I am not bothered by ANY religious imagery. You can call me by my first name of Stephen and then claim that Stephen is my Christian name, I am not bothered! I believe that ALL Atheists are tolerant people and that we are not bothered by other peoples' religious imagery, buildings, clothing or beliefs. I think that it is very hard to offend an Atheist, even if you tried. Atheists think that a belief in a God is daft and other people going around worshiping their God does not bother us, we just think it is funny and a waste of time.
Over a week ago, I refused a passenger with a Funfare ticket for another departure, travel on my coach. This woman did not like this as there were empty seats on my coach but the terms and conditions of her ticket would not allow her to travel. So she nagged which made no difference, then she cried which made no difference. Then she said something like "May God have pity on you!" as she walked away to the ticket office to purchase a valid ticket. This was not a cursing whisper but an attempt to get a reaction from me! Little did she know that I am an Atheist and that her religious claim would gain no credit with me. Never would I think of putting in a report to the nationwide company about her comments to me, which you could laughingly claim to be "religious abuse"! I am not offended by people thinking I may believe in a God or if they are wearing religious clothing or jewelry.
What is this on the Daily Telegraph website, an April Fools' Day joke? Church care homes could be forced to remove crucifixes from their walls in case they offend "atheist cleaners" under the new Equality Bill, Catholic bishops have warned. The way the bill is written means non-Christians could sue for harassment if church authorities do not remove religious imagery, according to Monsignor Andrew Summersgill, general secretary of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. Bishops are concerned that religious authorities could be left in an impossible legal position, because under the bill it would be up to the employer to prove that displaying such an image did not amount to harassment of an employee.
This whole story is daft, I cannot imagine any Atheist going to court over religious imagery. I am an Atheist and I am not bothered by ANY religious imagery. You can call me by my first name of Stephen and then claim that Stephen is my Christian name, I am not bothered! I believe that ALL Atheists are tolerant people and that we are not bothered by other peoples' religious imagery, buildings, clothing or beliefs. I think that it is very hard to offend an Atheist, even if you tried. Atheists think that a belief in a God is daft and other people going around worshiping their God does not bother us, we just think it is funny and a waste of time.
Over a week ago, I refused a passenger with a Funfare ticket for another departure, travel on my coach. This woman did not like this as there were empty seats on my coach but the terms and conditions of her ticket would not allow her to travel. So she nagged which made no difference, then she cried which made no difference. Then she said something like "May God have pity on you!" as she walked away to the ticket office to purchase a valid ticket. This was not a cursing whisper but an attempt to get a reaction from me! Little did she know that I am an Atheist and that her religious claim would gain no credit with me. Never would I think of putting in a report to the nationwide company about her comments to me, which you could laughingly claim to be "religious abuse"! I am not offended by people thinking I may believe in a God or if they are wearing religious clothing or jewelry.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
A new Minister of State for Transport .
Things are changing big time within our government. Following many resignations and the scandal of MP's expenses we are having a new Minister of State for Transport. Tooting MP Sadiq Khan said his late father, who drove buses around Wandsworth for 25 years, would be proud today after he became the first ever Muslim to join the cabinet. The 38-year-old father of two, who grew up on the Henry Prince Estate in Earlsfield, said he wanted to be an inspiration to all people from humble backgrounds. He said: “My dad, when he first came to this country, he wouldn’t have dreamt that his son would have gone to the cabinet. If he was alive now he’d pinch himself. When you’re an immigrant and you’re driving buses, working all the hours God sends, and when you live on the Henry Prince Estate, sometimes you can have limited dreams and expectations."
Sadiq claims that transport was “in the blood” because of the decades his father, Amanullah Khan, spent driving the number 44 bus from Wandsworth garage until he died in 2003.
Well, good luck Sadiq, it is nice to see the son of a bus driver being given the job of Minister of State for Transport. To be given any job in the cabinet at the age of just 38 is a huge achievement and is an inspiration to everyone. What generally annoys voters is when ministers are appointed in fields that they know nothing about and working in issues where they are not representative. Because of your father's influence and his inevitable talks over the kitchen table you will be well placed to be the Minister of State for Transport. You will have done the Maths and you will understand how transport affects the whole population of our country. You will have seen transport from the bottom up, from the bus driver on an hourly rate where no-matter how well he does his job he is trapped by his employer and the transport infrastructure, to the top businessmen who do not care about the general public because money talks and they MUST come first.
The job of Minister of State for Transport is a great challenge and I hope Sadiq is in it for the long haul. Sadiq's choice of religion is his private business and it should have nothing to do with his political career. If I were a voter in Tooting then Sadiq would get my vote because I feel that he is representative of the working man. Oh yes, I am only human and I hate it when people look down on bus drivers as second class citizens. All citizens should be represented equally and we should move away from a class and snobbery ridden society.
Things are changing big time within our government. Following many resignations and the scandal of MP's expenses we are having a new Minister of State for Transport. Tooting MP Sadiq Khan said his late father, who drove buses around Wandsworth for 25 years, would be proud today after he became the first ever Muslim to join the cabinet. The 38-year-old father of two, who grew up on the Henry Prince Estate in Earlsfield, said he wanted to be an inspiration to all people from humble backgrounds. He said: “My dad, when he first came to this country, he wouldn’t have dreamt that his son would have gone to the cabinet. If he was alive now he’d pinch himself. When you’re an immigrant and you’re driving buses, working all the hours God sends, and when you live on the Henry Prince Estate, sometimes you can have limited dreams and expectations."
Sadiq claims that transport was “in the blood” because of the decades his father, Amanullah Khan, spent driving the number 44 bus from Wandsworth garage until he died in 2003.
Well, good luck Sadiq, it is nice to see the son of a bus driver being given the job of Minister of State for Transport. To be given any job in the cabinet at the age of just 38 is a huge achievement and is an inspiration to everyone. What generally annoys voters is when ministers are appointed in fields that they know nothing about and working in issues where they are not representative. Because of your father's influence and his inevitable talks over the kitchen table you will be well placed to be the Minister of State for Transport. You will have done the Maths and you will understand how transport affects the whole population of our country. You will have seen transport from the bottom up, from the bus driver on an hourly rate where no-matter how well he does his job he is trapped by his employer and the transport infrastructure, to the top businessmen who do not care about the general public because money talks and they MUST come first.
The job of Minister of State for Transport is a great challenge and I hope Sadiq is in it for the long haul. Sadiq's choice of religion is his private business and it should have nothing to do with his political career. If I were a voter in Tooting then Sadiq would get my vote because I feel that he is representative of the working man. Oh yes, I am only human and I hate it when people look down on bus drivers as second class citizens. All citizens should be represented equally and we should move away from a class and snobbery ridden society.
Friday, June 05, 2009
When sex goes wrong.
A lot of people think that sex is what only young people do and that they can be described as young and daft. However, age is no barrier to sex and dangerous games. David Carradine, the Hollywood star who was found dead in a Bangkok hotel cupboard, appears to have died in a sex act gone wrong, Thai police claim. The 72-year old actor was found with a rope tied around his neck and testicles by a maid in the hotel. Police said an autopsy was being carried out to determine the cause of death but a spokesman for the actor's family said they were "100 per cent" certain he did not commit suicide. "There was a rope tied around his neck and another rope tied at his sex organ, and the two ropes were tied together and hung in the closet," police commander, Lieutenant General Worapong Siewpreecha said. "Under these circumstances we cannot be sure that he committed suicide but he may have died from masturbation."
So there you have it, age is no barrier to sex games. Makes me wonder what goes on at the sheltered housing scheme where my parents are living. This could explain why every flat has an emergency pull cord and the warden always checks their status every morning. Of course, some middle aged men have a lot of climbing gear at home. Maybe the ropes, clamps and straps have other uses away from the mountains!
A lot of people think that sex is what only young people do and that they can be described as young and daft. However, age is no barrier to sex and dangerous games. David Carradine, the Hollywood star who was found dead in a Bangkok hotel cupboard, appears to have died in a sex act gone wrong, Thai police claim. The 72-year old actor was found with a rope tied around his neck and testicles by a maid in the hotel. Police said an autopsy was being carried out to determine the cause of death but a spokesman for the actor's family said they were "100 per cent" certain he did not commit suicide. "There was a rope tied around his neck and another rope tied at his sex organ, and the two ropes were tied together and hung in the closet," police commander, Lieutenant General Worapong Siewpreecha said. "Under these circumstances we cannot be sure that he committed suicide but he may have died from masturbation."
So there you have it, age is no barrier to sex games. Makes me wonder what goes on at the sheltered housing scheme where my parents are living. This could explain why every flat has an emergency pull cord and the warden always checks their status every morning. Of course, some middle aged men have a lot of climbing gear at home. Maybe the ropes, clamps and straps have other uses away from the mountains!
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
The Sunflower Forest by Torey Hayden .
I read the rear cover of this novel in WH Smith...
Seventeen-year-old Lesley is a typical teenage girl: her worries revolve around boys, choosing the right college and bickering with her younger sister Megan. She adores her beautiful, captivating mother Mara, who tells evocative stories of her childhood in Hungary and Germany before the war. However, Mara has one memory of the past that she can never share...
As Lesley begins to uncover the horror of her mother's secret, their idyllic family life shatters around them, and Lesley realizes that her mother is not the person she thought she knew.
...Well, this 461 page book sounded an interesting mystery so I bought it. I thought it was a new book and the copyright is 2008 but it was actually first published in 1984. Still, having read it all, I just do not know why they have re-published this poor book. I found this novel slow, nothing was dramatic and there was no resolution at the end of this story. This whole tale is drawn out and written in a very long-winded style. I stopped caring about the characters as the plot is very shallow, the dialogue is poor, there is no special message to the reader and there are no strong opinions which makes this a very bland tale.
This novel is far fetched and I cannot believe this story could happen just as it was told. This story is unrealistic and although it is written in the first person, I could not develop any interest or liking for any of the main 6 characters. The most over-used word in this whole book is lichen as it is mentioned again and again, so much so that I began to groan every time I read it yet again.
I vote this book a MISS because it is such a poor read. I will not be buying any of her other 10 books. There is some mild humour in The Sunflower Forest that would not offend anyone but then this book does not inspire anyone either. So I will finish this post by quoting possibly the best part of this book from page 141...
One weekend afternoon when the sun had become hot, I took off my shirt while Paul and I were lying together in the grass out on Ladder Creek. Then he unhooked my bra. We had no blanket to lie on, so all along my back I could feel the damp, scratchy prairie grass. Paul, beside me, touched my breasts, moving his fingers around my nipples. It made me shiver with an electric sensation that I found too intense to be pleasurable, and spasmodically, I would jerk away from him when I couldn't tolerate it any longer. Paul unbuttoned his pants. Closing his eyes, he clutched me tight against him and rubbed his body against mine. I could smell his sweat. It was a pleasingly sexy odour that belonged with the smell of prairie grass and with the warmth of late March sun. Then suddenly I felt a spurt of wetness over my belly and I sat up abruptly. Paul laughed. Didn't I know what was going to happen? he asked and dropped back on the grass. Hadn't I realized he was going to come? Raised up on one elbow, I looked at the semen, creamy and white like liquid soap from the dispenser on the kitchen window ledge. I had never seen semen before and I hadn't known it was going to happen and for a moment I was tempted to deny my ignorance, feeling stupid for having been so surprised. But instead, I just giggled and fell back on the grass beside Paul and we laughed about it together.
When it was time to go, I wiped the semen off my stomach with my shirt. At home that night I examined the shirt, smelled the faintly musky odour. I meant to put it into the laundry afterward, but I didn't. I kept the shirt out and put it under my pillow for that night, if not to smell Paul's closeness, then to dream of it.
I read the rear cover of this novel in WH Smith...
Seventeen-year-old Lesley is a typical teenage girl: her worries revolve around boys, choosing the right college and bickering with her younger sister Megan. She adores her beautiful, captivating mother Mara, who tells evocative stories of her childhood in Hungary and Germany before the war. However, Mara has one memory of the past that she can never share...
As Lesley begins to uncover the horror of her mother's secret, their idyllic family life shatters around them, and Lesley realizes that her mother is not the person she thought she knew.
...Well, this 461 page book sounded an interesting mystery so I bought it. I thought it was a new book and the copyright is 2008 but it was actually first published in 1984. Still, having read it all, I just do not know why they have re-published this poor book. I found this novel slow, nothing was dramatic and there was no resolution at the end of this story. This whole tale is drawn out and written in a very long-winded style. I stopped caring about the characters as the plot is very shallow, the dialogue is poor, there is no special message to the reader and there are no strong opinions which makes this a very bland tale.
This novel is far fetched and I cannot believe this story could happen just as it was told. This story is unrealistic and although it is written in the first person, I could not develop any interest or liking for any of the main 6 characters. The most over-used word in this whole book is lichen as it is mentioned again and again, so much so that I began to groan every time I read it yet again.
I vote this book a MISS because it is such a poor read. I will not be buying any of her other 10 books. There is some mild humour in The Sunflower Forest that would not offend anyone but then this book does not inspire anyone either. So I will finish this post by quoting possibly the best part of this book from page 141...
One weekend afternoon when the sun had become hot, I took off my shirt while Paul and I were lying together in the grass out on Ladder Creek. Then he unhooked my bra. We had no blanket to lie on, so all along my back I could feel the damp, scratchy prairie grass. Paul, beside me, touched my breasts, moving his fingers around my nipples. It made me shiver with an electric sensation that I found too intense to be pleasurable, and spasmodically, I would jerk away from him when I couldn't tolerate it any longer. Paul unbuttoned his pants. Closing his eyes, he clutched me tight against him and rubbed his body against mine. I could smell his sweat. It was a pleasingly sexy odour that belonged with the smell of prairie grass and with the warmth of late March sun. Then suddenly I felt a spurt of wetness over my belly and I sat up abruptly. Paul laughed. Didn't I know what was going to happen? he asked and dropped back on the grass. Hadn't I realized he was going to come? Raised up on one elbow, I looked at the semen, creamy and white like liquid soap from the dispenser on the kitchen window ledge. I had never seen semen before and I hadn't known it was going to happen and for a moment I was tempted to deny my ignorance, feeling stupid for having been so surprised. But instead, I just giggled and fell back on the grass beside Paul and we laughed about it together.
When it was time to go, I wiped the semen off my stomach with my shirt. At home that night I examined the shirt, smelled the faintly musky odour. I meant to put it into the laundry afterward, but I didn't. I kept the shirt out and put it under my pillow for that night, if not to smell Paul's closeness, then to dream of it.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
bandwidth hogging internet users .
Rory Cellan-Jones writes today that...
When the BBC launched its iPlayer at Christmas 2007, there was a deal of muttering from some internet service providers about the effect on their networks and their costs of handling a flood of video streaming traffic.
Then it all seemed to go quiet for a while, despite an even bigger surge in traffic than most had anticipated. Now, though, the BBC appears to be at daggers drawn with the giant of the UK broadband market over the impact of iPlayer.
I was contacted a short while ago by a BBC colleague who wanted to tell me an interesting story. He worked in the technology department at the BBC, but was also a BT customer on the basic broadband package. And he couldn't help noticing that every evening, his speed was dropping to such a low level that watching the iPlayer became a much less satisfactory experience than usual.
This chap had access to the infrastructure behind the iPlayer and so was able to investigate further. What he found was that BT appeared to be throttling back iPlayer speeds for its Option 1 customers to somewhere around 700kbps between teatime and midnight.
...Read the full story if you like by clicking this link or the story on IT PRO .
Here is my opinion, I think that using BBC iPlayer is similar to the centre lane hogs on British motorways. These drivers stick in the middle lane not overtaking anybody but they develop a queue of traffic behind them. It is selfish and inconsiderate behaviour. Motorways were never designed for these centre lane hoggers but for considerate drivers to make best use of all lanes by overtaking slower traffic.
The internet is for everyone and we all have to share bandwidth with other internet users. BBC iPlayer uses an awful lot of bandwidth and is an inefficient use of the network that everyone pays for. I think that BT was right to throttle BBC iPlayer speeds down to 700mbps. What should other internet users suffer lower speeds because of the selfish use of bandwidth by the BBC iPlayer surfers.
People who wish to watch television programmes after they have been broadcast should buy a digital TV recorder. We have had one of these wonderful machines for over 2 years now and they are great to use. Broadband internet access should be used for information, not as another broadcast television medium that makes other users suffer lower access speeds.
Rory Cellan-Jones writes today that...
When the BBC launched its iPlayer at Christmas 2007, there was a deal of muttering from some internet service providers about the effect on their networks and their costs of handling a flood of video streaming traffic.
Then it all seemed to go quiet for a while, despite an even bigger surge in traffic than most had anticipated. Now, though, the BBC appears to be at daggers drawn with the giant of the UK broadband market over the impact of iPlayer.
I was contacted a short while ago by a BBC colleague who wanted to tell me an interesting story. He worked in the technology department at the BBC, but was also a BT customer on the basic broadband package. And he couldn't help noticing that every evening, his speed was dropping to such a low level that watching the iPlayer became a much less satisfactory experience than usual.
This chap had access to the infrastructure behind the iPlayer and so was able to investigate further. What he found was that BT appeared to be throttling back iPlayer speeds for its Option 1 customers to somewhere around 700kbps between teatime and midnight.
...Read the full story if you like by clicking this link or the story on IT PRO .
Here is my opinion, I think that using BBC iPlayer is similar to the centre lane hogs on British motorways. These drivers stick in the middle lane not overtaking anybody but they develop a queue of traffic behind them. It is selfish and inconsiderate behaviour. Motorways were never designed for these centre lane hoggers but for considerate drivers to make best use of all lanes by overtaking slower traffic.
The internet is for everyone and we all have to share bandwidth with other internet users. BBC iPlayer uses an awful lot of bandwidth and is an inefficient use of the network that everyone pays for. I think that BT was right to throttle BBC iPlayer speeds down to 700mbps. What should other internet users suffer lower speeds because of the selfish use of bandwidth by the BBC iPlayer surfers.
People who wish to watch television programmes after they have been broadcast should buy a digital TV recorder. We have had one of these wonderful machines for over 2 years now and they are great to use. Broadband internet access should be used for information, not as another broadcast television medium that makes other users suffer lower access speeds.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Random testing for everyone?
THE annual summer campaign to stamp out drink-driving begins today. South Wales Police will increase the number of spot checks carried out this month to clamp down on drunk motorists flouting the law. During last year’s campaign South Wales Police tested 3,912 motorists – 196 tested positive. Of those, 1,321 were under 25-years-old, 61 of whom tested positive.
Here we go again, treat us all like children. In the workplace we have random breath tests that produce the ritual ZERO result on all donors. This is a waste of time but we are paid by the hour so we cannot complain. It is a criminal offence to waste Police time but what actions do we have against the Police for wasting our time and treating us all like naughty children? Over 3,700 drivers in South Wales in last year's annual summer drink-driving campaign had their time wasted producing negative breath tests. I would be happier if the Police gave ALL drivers who produced a negative breath test £2 in cash for wasting their time. There is a thing called wrongful arrest and getting people to prove their innocence is not really fair play. No wonder the Police are loosing the support and respect of the public as we blunder our way into a police-state where everyone is constantly under suspicion as likely to commit an offence.
THE annual summer campaign to stamp out drink-driving begins today. South Wales Police will increase the number of spot checks carried out this month to clamp down on drunk motorists flouting the law. During last year’s campaign South Wales Police tested 3,912 motorists – 196 tested positive. Of those, 1,321 were under 25-years-old, 61 of whom tested positive.
Here we go again, treat us all like children. In the workplace we have random breath tests that produce the ritual ZERO result on all donors. This is a waste of time but we are paid by the hour so we cannot complain. It is a criminal offence to waste Police time but what actions do we have against the Police for wasting our time and treating us all like naughty children? Over 3,700 drivers in South Wales in last year's annual summer drink-driving campaign had their time wasted producing negative breath tests. I would be happier if the Police gave ALL drivers who produced a negative breath test £2 in cash for wasting their time. There is a thing called wrongful arrest and getting people to prove their innocence is not really fair play. No wonder the Police are loosing the support and respect of the public as we blunder our way into a police-state where everyone is constantly under suspicion as likely to commit an offence.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Britain's Got Talent?
I have been prompted to write this post by a column in the Telegraph today written by Bryony Gordon. I have enjoyed watching Britain's Got Talent but not for any potential talent but the entertaining comments spoken by Simon Cowell. Simon has his finger on the pulse and his comments are well judged. The other two judges are tame and are too busy bottom licking.
To call these auditions talent is stretching it a bit. Someone sings a song they have not written or played an instrument on and we are supposed to clap and vote for them. A group of people bop around dancing and we are supposed to whoop with delight. No, I think Bryony has pitched her column right, Britain's Got Talent is nothing more than karoke and people showing off with a bit of dancing. If it was not for the witty and informed comments from Simon Cowell this programme would not be worth watching. Ant and Dec are nice presenters but reading an autocue is not rocket science. Is adult literacy a talent?
I have been prompted to write this post by a column in the Telegraph today written by Bryony Gordon. I have enjoyed watching Britain's Got Talent but not for any potential talent but the entertaining comments spoken by Simon Cowell. Simon has his finger on the pulse and his comments are well judged. The other two judges are tame and are too busy bottom licking.
To call these auditions talent is stretching it a bit. Someone sings a song they have not written or played an instrument on and we are supposed to clap and vote for them. A group of people bop around dancing and we are supposed to whoop with delight. No, I think Bryony has pitched her column right, Britain's Got Talent is nothing more than karoke and people showing off with a bit of dancing. If it was not for the witty and informed comments from Simon Cowell this programme would not be worth watching. Ant and Dec are nice presenters but reading an autocue is not rocket science. Is adult literacy a talent?
Monday, May 25, 2009
Enigma by Robert Harris .
When I was on holiday at Agadir in Morocco, I took 3 books with me to read. When I had finished reading them, which are reviewed below in this blog, I donated them to the stall next to the hotel swimming pool. The simple idea is bring your own books on holiday and then enable them to be picked up by other guests. I then looked to see what books other guests had donated.
Enigma by Robert Harris aroused some interest within me, so I took it away to give it a try. Well, it is not a new book, Robert wrote it in 1995. The tale goes back to the Second World War when government staff at Bletchley Park were busy trying to break German radio transmissions that were encrypted with a machine called an Enigma. This book is a novel rather than a history book and features a central character called Tom Jericho. I could not engage with this book and I developed no empathy for Tom Jericho. I found Robert's writing style drab and this book an absolute slog to read. There is no bite, depth or attitude to this novel and I suggest bloggers do not waste their time or money on this book. I was glad that I had not paid for this book and even as a free-read I gave it up after reading 78 pages of this 387 page rubbish of a book. I was happy to put this book back on the stall and listen to my personal radio instead!
When I was on holiday at Agadir in Morocco, I took 3 books with me to read. When I had finished reading them, which are reviewed below in this blog, I donated them to the stall next to the hotel swimming pool. The simple idea is bring your own books on holiday and then enable them to be picked up by other guests. I then looked to see what books other guests had donated.
Enigma by Robert Harris aroused some interest within me, so I took it away to give it a try. Well, it is not a new book, Robert wrote it in 1995. The tale goes back to the Second World War when government staff at Bletchley Park were busy trying to break German radio transmissions that were encrypted with a machine called an Enigma. This book is a novel rather than a history book and features a central character called Tom Jericho. I could not engage with this book and I developed no empathy for Tom Jericho. I found Robert's writing style drab and this book an absolute slog to read. There is no bite, depth or attitude to this novel and I suggest bloggers do not waste their time or money on this book. I was glad that I had not paid for this book and even as a free-read I gave it up after reading 78 pages of this 387 page rubbish of a book. I was happy to put this book back on the stall and listen to my personal radio instead!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
My holiday review is now on the web.
Oh yes, Stephen has finished typing and his holiday review is now on the web. I have posted my holiday opinion on my stand-alone blog that is appropriately titled where has stephen gone ? I set up this blog to keep my holiday opinions separate from natural yogurt, my everyday soap box!
Oh yes, Stephen has finished typing and his holiday review is now on the web. I have posted my holiday opinion on my stand-alone blog that is appropriately titled where has stephen gone ? I set up this blog to keep my holiday opinions separate from natural yogurt, my everyday soap box!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Ritual by Mo Hayder .
Nine feet under water in Bristol Harbour, a police diver finds a human hand. This is the start to a 547 page crime thriller that is written in a similar voice to the last book I had read, Beneath the Bleeding by Val McDermid . These 2 authors are very similar and I cannot praise one higher than the other. This book is set in and around Bristol where I had lived for 20 happy years, so I found this novel very easy to relate to. This story is very moody and dark, just like those written by Harlan Coben and R. J. Ellory but they are a joy to read.
There is a good structure to this novel, a little creepy but it has the appeal of darkness, the mystery of the night. You feel as though you have been on a journey, a journey where you understand and learn. You think about diving, 2 types of diving, regular water and then into the mysteries of our urban and rural landscapes. You then wonder where the Tokoloshe may be lurking, stroking and looking your way.
I vote this book a HIT. There is a lovely explanation from the author that runs from pages 553 to 559. Then you understand fully what this story means to Mo Hayder and why after the copyright information on page 6, it simply states...
To 'Adam'
Nine feet under water in Bristol Harbour, a police diver finds a human hand. This is the start to a 547 page crime thriller that is written in a similar voice to the last book I had read, Beneath the Bleeding by Val McDermid . These 2 authors are very similar and I cannot praise one higher than the other. This book is set in and around Bristol where I had lived for 20 happy years, so I found this novel very easy to relate to. This story is very moody and dark, just like those written by Harlan Coben and R. J. Ellory but they are a joy to read.
There is a good structure to this novel, a little creepy but it has the appeal of darkness, the mystery of the night. You feel as though you have been on a journey, a journey where you understand and learn. You think about diving, 2 types of diving, regular water and then into the mysteries of our urban and rural landscapes. You then wonder where the Tokoloshe may be lurking, stroking and looking your way.
I vote this book a HIT. There is a lovely explanation from the author that runs from pages 553 to 559. Then you understand fully what this story means to Mo Hayder and why after the copyright information on page 6, it simply states...
To 'Adam'
Friday, May 22, 2009
Beneath the Bleeding by Val McDermid .
This book is a 484 page crime thriller of the Dr Tony Hill profiler series, which became the Wire in the Blood television programme. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel which was such a joy because it is so full of detail. There is so much going on around the main body of the plot. The depth of this story is so great that it makes this book such a page-turner. Val has a very good writing style that is rich in content and shows she has a good understanding of life and society. To illustrate this understanding on page 177 she explains "pegging" and on page 354 she explains the choices terrorists make when selecting a target. This book is more than just a police procedural story!
This story also shows how people think and it is great for the armchair psychologist. I like the quality of the plot, the writing, the steady pace, the degree of background and the perspective that is developed for the reader. The general feeling you get is that you have a full book rather than a novella with froth on the top. I vote this book a HIT and I can see why Val has had another 21 books published. I would be happy to buy another of her books.
This book is a 484 page crime thriller of the Dr Tony Hill profiler series, which became the Wire in the Blood television programme. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel which was such a joy because it is so full of detail. There is so much going on around the main body of the plot. The depth of this story is so great that it makes this book such a page-turner. Val has a very good writing style that is rich in content and shows she has a good understanding of life and society. To illustrate this understanding on page 177 she explains "pegging" and on page 354 she explains the choices terrorists make when selecting a target. This book is more than just a police procedural story!
This story also shows how people think and it is great for the armchair psychologist. I like the quality of the plot, the writing, the steady pace, the degree of background and the perspective that is developed for the reader. The general feeling you get is that you have a full book rather than a novella with froth on the top. I vote this book a HIT and I can see why Val has had another 21 books published. I would be happy to buy another of her books.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Shock and Awe by David Isaak.
This novel has 472 pages and it is not really a thriller as it just plods along. It presents a feasible fantasy that could just work. It involves just one simple idea, to fight terror with terror. Some Americans plan a terror attack on Mecca and this book is not about Shock and Awe but Shock and Bore! It is an action story written in a James Bond style and is rather puerile. This is a poor book with very little attitude. It does not have a deep plot, just plenty of shoot, shoot and bang. It is a story of soldiers at play for the benefit of the armchair army. It does however show just how arrogant Americans can be! I vote this book a MISS as it does not meet my quality threshold. I have taken nothing away after reading this book and I will not buy another of David's books. This novel did not inspire or greatly entertain me. His writing is okay but the content is shallow and all his characters appear distant.
This novel has 472 pages and it is not really a thriller as it just plods along. It presents a feasible fantasy that could just work. It involves just one simple idea, to fight terror with terror. Some Americans plan a terror attack on Mecca and this book is not about Shock and Awe but Shock and Bore! It is an action story written in a James Bond style and is rather puerile. This is a poor book with very little attitude. It does not have a deep plot, just plenty of shoot, shoot and bang. It is a story of soldiers at play for the benefit of the armchair army. It does however show just how arrogant Americans can be! I vote this book a MISS as it does not meet my quality threshold. I have taken nothing away after reading this book and I will not buy another of David's books. This novel did not inspire or greatly entertain me. His writing is okay but the content is shallow and all his characters appear distant.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Back from my holidays.
Okay readers, normal blogging will shortly be resumed as I have arrived back from my holidays to Agadir in Morocco. What a surprise arriving back in the UK from such a refreshing holiday. Rain was lashing against my car windscreen this morning, what a surprise as I had not seen any rain for over 14 days! We watched television in our hotel room and laughed out loud at the dreadful weather you were suffering as we were bathing in the sun with daytime temperatures greater than 30C.
Okay readers, normal blogging will shortly be resumed as I have arrived back from my holidays to Agadir in Morocco. What a surprise arriving back in the UK from such a refreshing holiday. Rain was lashing against my car windscreen this morning, what a surprise as I had not seen any rain for over 14 days! We watched television in our hotel room and laughed out loud at the dreadful weather you were suffering as we were bathing in the sun with daytime temperatures greater than 30C.
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