Whatever the doubts

Yes, we were all either anti the Bush/Blair team, or pro the Bush/Blair team, and had doubts about the war in Iraq. The “anti” brigade had extremely strong doubts and weren’t backward in comeing forwards to tell us about them. But even some of us who thought it was the right thing to do did have nagging doubts.

“No return to Dictatorship”

But, for me, those doubts have disappeared when I saw thousands of Iraquis defying death in coming along to vote. Figures of 70% were bandied around, but I think, although still terrific, the turnout may be nearer to 60% when all figures are known. Even a sizable chunk of the Sunni Muslims eventually turned out to vote which many of us found surprising.

The one thing I am annoyed about is that Blair didn’t ensure the Americans had a good exit strategy for after the fighting had ended. I don’t agree that it was criminal to go in, but what I really do feel strongly about is that there was no strategy to protect our brave troops after the war ended. And of the short-sightedness of the “advisers” (I use this word scathingly) not knowing how things might develop immediately afterwards.

Surely they knew how Arabs are loyal and will always stick together, whether right or wrong?

Andrew

Today’s education

I have a lot of contact with company executives in most fields as a journalist and I have noticed that so many of them have a public school education.

I began to wonder why this was as, when I was much younger, more working class people from Grammar Schools and even comprehensives tended to do well on the executive ladder.

Looking through the papers this morning I notice that one comprehensive girl got – was it 54% or 56%? It was one of these figures, but it doesn’t really matter. What really does matter and, to me, is disgraceful, is the fact that she managed to get a “A” grade pass.

What is going wrong with our education system that politicians want to massage the figures so much that they give awards away like confetti?

We have a Socialist government which is supposed to look out for the disadvantaged. Do they not realise that this puts these people at more of a disadvantage? Not only that, but it allows pupils from public schools – why do we call them that when they are really private - to do so much better in the Corporate environment?

Harold Wilson with JH (and a Bobby of course)

It reminds me of Wilson’s Labour Government. I am sure they had the best intentions, but when Wilson gave blanket protection for tenants he drove over 90% of rental accommodation out of London. Ordinary young people could not afford to take on long leases and many were driven out of London.

Wilson also tried to protect workers and made it impossible for employers to let them go.

Lets face it, you are a businessman, you have two factories, there is enough business for you to possibly build a third, and even a fourth factory, but if your gamble doesn’t pay off, you can’t get rid of the workers. What are you going to do? I know what I would have done, sat tight and not increase my business, therefore not increasing the number of jobs I offer.

Employment protection is very nice and admirable, but a mobile work force is healthier for the country as a whole. If everyone built extra factories and some closed, there would be enough work around to get another job quickly.

I am sure the Labour government had high ideals, but they didn’t think things through. And I am sure the Conservatives are not really any better. What was that? The Liberal what? Who are they?

The government bring out figures now and again to say comprehensive education is as good as public school education but to no avail. You see, it is a matter of perception. It matters not what the truth is, this is never of importance. What always matters is how people perceive the truth. These two are not necessarily the same, ever.

Andrew.

Fake Photographs.

There have been a number of fake photographs around the Internet lately. Not drawn up to deceive as they are evidently fakes, but there to bring a smile to our faces.

Gillette Mach 15

Proctor & Gamble will have a difficult time to remove our inherrit belief that Gillettes principle aim is to make us pay more for our Gillette razor blades. I found it amusing that Proctor was an Englishman but Gamble was an Irishman!

The above is a bit contentious! The originator might have done better if he hadn’t added the bit about lying…

Gillette Terrorist Special

And a further one from Gillette showing a before and after of someone we all know only too well.

And, whilst we are on that subject, most of you know Sadam and the Americans were great pals when Sadam was attacking Iran!

I’m having Iraq, you can have Guantanamo Bay

Here’s one showing them hugging each other. Errrr… I think it’s a fake!

And of course there are the naughty ones that poke fun!

Cars for the fairer sex?

Here is a naughty little one that suggests that the fairer sex don’t understand anything about cars. It’s either that or they are just selling cars to Conservatives and Socialists?

Cat on a hot tin roof (Apologies to Tennessee Williams)

And finally, my favourite! A “cat on a hot tin roof” who evidently had a good night on the tiles!

I am afraid my blogs may be a little brief over the next few days owing to pressures of work, but I will try and come up with some nice jucy ones after the first half of next week.

Andrew

Rubbish in newspapers.

I read today an analysis by some of Britain’s most respected economic forecasters that Labour’s stealth taxes have risen to 157 – double that which was originally thought.

Also the IFS (whoever they are when they are at home) have forecasted that Gordon Brown will have to claim an extra £11B (eleven billion) a year after the next election!

We, the public, do not have to read this in newspapers! We don’t have to pay a team of specialists to work this out! And, as for the extra £11B, hands up all of you, dear readers, who are, in any way, surprised? When will the next brain drain start up again?

We all have pay packets every week or month. We know how much we are losing.

Bah! Humbug!

Andrew

Daily Mail

Am I a typical Mail reader? I don’t think so. So why do I buy the newspaper? I don’t! Well yes I do, but only on Saturdays.

I don’t buy it for the newspaper, neither for the magazine articles. But I do buy it for the Radio and Television pages. Running from Saturday to Friday, the first section has six full pages for each day’s television totalling 42 pages of television schedules. The second section has one page for each day of Radio Programs, totalling seven pages of radio schedules. Although we shun sky and cable, we are on free-to-air and do have a lot more channels. BBc3, BBC4, ITV2, ITV3 and Sky News (and quite a few more besides).

We prefer Sky News to the BBC and ITV renderings and it is interesting to see that Sky has won the “News Channel of the Year” award for three years running now. ITV3 has a lot of repeats such as Morse, Frost, Maigret and other gems of TV.

So how do I get my news? I watch Sky News every Lunchtime as I have said before, but for things that interest me on a long term basis, I use Google news searches which allows me to search on subjects as well as read the latest – but the minute news. The link is UK based but if you go to the site, you can find other news links to use for your country. In the morning I tend to listen to the news on the radio because, apart from feeling it is decadent to watch TV in the morning, radio news can follow me around my home as I get ready to face the day.

In addition to this there are Google Alerts. This takes Google News one step further. Enter a word or phrase of what you are looking for and every day and all day, Google will be searching the web for news on that subject. But be careful how you phrase your search, and sometimes you will need for than one entry. For example I search for “United Kingdom Independence Party” and “UKIP” and “UK Independence Party” just to find all news from the same subject.

If you buy a newspaper every day, it will cost around four pounds a week. In a calendar month that amounts to over £17. Now if you pop over to “Zen Internet” you will see that you could have broadband DSL at a similar price than your daily newspaper. They offer 250K/b which is five times faster than a modem, for £17.99 a calendar month. Although they have a one off activation charge of £57.50 they only lock you in for one month. Their reasoning is, if you are not happy, they would prefer you not to feel trapped into a lengly contract with them. These prices include VAT.

I am sure most readers already have broadband, but if you have a friend who is still on dialup, print this weblog out and hand it to them.

And, of course, the joys of being continually on line as opposed to waiting the the dialing tone, having the modem make contact with the ISP, waiting for the “handshaking” and then the slow transfer of information, cannot be adequately described, or explained.

Andrew

The Holiday season

It is practically February and many people will be thinking of going on Holiday. In the Southern Hemisphere February is the last month of Summer, with at least two further months of lovely weather to follow.

Making phone calls is always a nightmare when you are on the move in a foreign country. Especially if you can’t find a telephone that works!

So we tend to use our mobile phones. But it is expensive when you realise that if you are phoning to the next town or village, you call routes back to the UK and then back to the country you are in.

Do you have a phone that is unlocked for SIM cards when you are abroad? Ask your cellphone provider as, if you have your phone locked in to a provider in the UK, you could well find it is not locked in if you are overseas.

The best way to buy a SIM card on the PAYG system is to send for it well in advance of your departure date and have it airmailed to the UK. This way you will have your foreign telephone number before you leave. Activate your voicemail service and change your message to give out your new SIM card number. This way you won’t have to pay the “receiving” cost abroad and also, because it costs people more over here to phone you, you won’t be troubled with unnecessary calls whilst you are either on holiday, or trying to clinch deals on business.

So to sum up, a foreign SIM card means less calls and, of the ones you receive, it costs the sender more, but you far less.

Andrew

Giving advice

A very tricky thing; giving advice to friends.

Apart from the point that, if you don’t give them the advice they are wanting to hear, you will not be thanked!

In addition to this, they never give you the full facts anyway.

And if the advice then goes belly-up, a friend slowly – and sometimes not so slowly – turns into an enemy.

Christine

The reason for this blog? A beautiful young girl wants my advice as she intends to go into journalism and photography. Well, I don’t count too many petite, young and beautiful girls amongst my acquaintances so I don’t want to turn her into an enemy.

So what will I do? The answer is simple. I will sit down with her, and take her through her future studies and training, ask her where she would like to be in ten years time. When I feel I know what she wants and what may be best for her, by asking questions; I will keep silent and won’t tell her at all!

No, but by asking further questions, in such a way, I will try to create a situation where she will come up with the solution I am trying to guide her to make.

She’ll say “That’s what I want to do” as she comes to that decision – and I will say to her; “Well, that’s great, but I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help”, and we will part as friends.

When people come to you for advice, try this, it does work, but you must be wise and ask the right questions, and keep a completely open mind until you have all the answers.

Andrew

PS The meeting is over – it was a particular difficult case as I came to the conclusion that our friend Christine had not worked out her goals as thoroughly as she should have by now. I will see her again and try to steer her in that direction.

Mother-in-Law Jokes

My M-I-L is no longer alive, but whilst she was alive she was easy going, warm and very pleasant. Which is a pity really as I could never tell those awful Mother-in-Law jokes without feeling very guilty.

As I am feeling now, whilst I share this with you…

A man takes his dog to the vet and asks him to cut its tail off. The vet can find nothing wrong with the dog’s tail so asks the man why.

He replies: “My mother-in-law is coming to visit and I don’t want anything in the house to make her think she’s welcome.”

For those of you who weren’t/aren’t as blessed as me, feel free to direct her to my blog

Andrew.

Belfast, NI.

My wife and I were invited to a business function at Vinopolis, in the wine museum’s Great Hall, on Tuesday evening.

Belfast claims to be one of the top five tourist centres in the UK at present.

Queen’s University Building, Belfast

One amusing fact is that over 500 delegates of the “World Toilet Summit” will be attending their conference in Belfast. Right now I am thinking of all the jokes that I am not going to tell you! Then there is also the 17th year congress of the Association of Judges also being held in Belfast next year.

Belfast Waterfront

And this is where a lot of the larger conferences take place. They have managed to get the Moscow State Circus here as well, 26th-30th of this very month.

At the moment one can reach Belfast, by air, from forty different destinations and this is increasing year by year. Last year the number of conferences doubled from the 2002 totals.

Whilst we were walking around the thirteen different stands, chatting to bright sexy PR ladies, an irish foursome were playing all the Irish favourites and, just before supper, we were treated to a display of Irish dancers. They had a little six year boy with them who gave a superb solo and was the darling of the audience.

Gloria Hunniford

During my wanderings around I had a conversation with Gloria Hunniford, the television presenter. She was shorter than I had imagined but an absolute enchantress. Immediately before we went to eat she addressed us with interesting stories of the six counties and referring to Terry Wogan as her “grandfather” which brought a smile to our faces!

St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast

All in all it was an enjoyable four hours and was one of the most interesting events we had been to for a long time.

Follow the link after my sign-out for the Belfast Tourist Bureau.

Andrew

The "English Constitutional Convention"

ECC Logo

On Wednesday morning I attended a business meeting of the ECC in a House of Commons meeting room, sponsored by Lord Hylton.

This was an ongoing business meeting of the “English Constitutional Convention” which was launched on the 20th October, last year, with the aims of having:

• “Parity” as a distinct nation within the UK
• “Recognition” of England’s Nation Statehood
• “Equality” of respect as being culturally and historically distinct
• “Fair Funding” to remove discrimination against England

Just over twenty delagates met in Committee Room 4b at “The House” to discuss devolution for England, along similar lines as the Scottish Parliament. There were at least two MPs (and a prospective MP) present, and amongst the lawers was at least one Queen’s Councillor.

Various discussions took place including the terms of reference and scope for such a constitution, operating procedures, funding and the idea of approaching other organisations for help both with money and giving us their views on what they feel about the subject.

One interesting point cropped up. In a recent survey where Scots were asked whether they felt their MPs in Parliament should have their voting rights curbed when discussing matters only affecting the English people, as many as 47% agreed that they should be curbed.

And, an article by David Stenhouse in the Mail on Sunday, June 19th 2004, states:

When Gordon Brown this week became the longest serving Chancellor in British history, it was not merely a moment of personal achievement, it was another remarkable landmark in the tartan takeover of Britain.

Throughout the past few years, men and women from Scotland have come to dominate British politics in a way that is unprecedented in both its scale and success. As a proud Scot, a broadcaster and journalist who has chosen to work mainly in his native land, I have spent much of the past two years in England researching this Caledonian coup. And what I discovered gives profound cause for concern.

The full article can be read from here.

Contact details for the ECC may be found by following the link below my sign-out below.

Andrew

Immigration v. NHS

I was listening on the news about Howard adopting Kilroy-Silk’s idea of basing our immigration policy on the Australian model of a points system.

All in all, I think it is a good idea and fairer than back home where a white person cannot enter our country at all unless they can afford to support themselves by not working and paying for their medical costs as they go along.

In fact it is so difficult for the indigenous white people to get a job there now, because of the law on positive discrimination, that a huge percentage of them have already settled in England. A year or so ago I attended an Afrikaans weekend festival in Wembley and 10,000 attended that weekend. Think of all those who didn’t bother to come!

But there is another factor. If we keep on admitting immigrants to this small country, we are going to have to change our entire approach to a free National Health Service or be willing to pay an extra 10% to 15% income tax. The reason for this is we can’t afford to maintain it, even at present levels.

As far as I can see, we have to decide, and as soon as possible, whether we want a free NHS or whether we are willing to see a severe curb on immigration.

I would like to see a 5% increase in income tax and allow a smaller percentage of immigrants. This country has an aging population and we need more younger people.

Mind you, if we weren’t paying all those billions to the EU, we wouldn’t have to worry about any of this. We’d have enough money for education, the NHS and for extra police.

Over to you!

Andrew

Tag Lines

There are a few programs out there that enable one to add a tag line to ones mail program.

A “tag line” is a witty saying and these programs make a random choice from your own large data file. The idea of “tag lines” go back to the pre-internet BBS (Bulletin Boards Software).

I have been on Internet E-Mail since 1986 and BBS boards before that. In fact I used to run one on Wildcat! software called “The Qutron Executive” in the mid eighties. Because of these exploits I find I have more than my fair share of Spam.

So when I came across the following “tag line” it made me smile out loud! And I thought I would share it with you. I will point out that I do have a vivid imagination!

In a perfect world…

spammers would get caught, go to jail,

and share a cell with many men who

have enlarged their penises,

taken Viagra and are looking

for a new relationship.

What a fitting end for these bastards!

Andrew

The peanuts creator

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip.

It is a little “twee” but should be compulsive reading for all newspaper, radio and television editors – not to mention blog editors!

Andrew

---

Peanuts

You don’t have to actually answer the questions. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you’ll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of three people you enjoy spending time with.
6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Easier?

The lesson:

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards.

They are the ones that care.

“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia.”

(Charles Schultz)

Hitler and concentration camps

This is a blog that needs to be read carefully, otherwise you will make a complete fool of yourself and go flying off the handle!

Concentration camps are an emotive issue. And Hitler gets the blame every time. Yes, I admit that Hitler was guilty, he gave the order, and hated jews so much that he had a lamp in his bunker where it is alledged the shade was made out of their skins. If true, and I believe it is true, he was truly a terrible animal.

However, do remember, he only gave the order. There was a huge organisation behind this, from the Gestapo who rounded up all the Jews, to the guards and railway workers who transported them to the concentration camps, to the guards who exterminated them there. Not to mention all the administrative personell, storemen and drivers.

We should never forget that it wasn’t just one man who was responsible.

Most of you will know that I come from South Africa, the country where concentration camps, as used by Hitler, were invented - by Lord Kitchener. Lord Kitchener was responsible for the killing of Afrikaans women and children (making up 25% of the entire Afrikaner race) in his camps with the objective of destroying the morale of the Boer fighters.

The British Government turned a blind eye because they just couldn’t stomach a defeat on the scale they suffered with the American War of Independence 1775-1783.

Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener also introduced the scorched earth policy of killing Boer cattle and buring their homesteads which Hitler avidly followed.

But that’s another story and it hurts me to think about it as I know people in these islands would never do things like that now.

I never thought I would agree with the BBC but they are right to bring this up now, lest we forget. Mind you, I do wish they would also talk about the twenty million Russians who were murdered on the orders of Stalin.

Kill tally: Approximately 20 million, including up to 14.5 million needlessly starved to death. At least one million executed for political “offences”. At least 9.5 million more deported, exiled or imprisoned in work camps, with many of the estimated five million sent to the ‘Gulag Archipelago’ never returning alive. Other estimates place the number of deported at 28 million, including 18 million sent to the ‘Gulag’.

But that could well be a painful subject for them if they truly are Marxists as so many people say.

Andrew

Reality TV

Jerry Hall

We all love to knock the Americans but now Jerry Hall has returned to her native Texas to produce a reality TV program over there.

Unlike our version where we pull people down, and make it agonising for the participants, their approach is much more positive.

They are picking twelveto fifteen men, from the poorer classes (they don’t use terms such as working class and upper class over there) and are going to help them become more sophisticated, charming, and well-to-do in attitude and manners.

The winner will join the jetset for a year with a six figure expense account.

I have only ever watched big brother once, but if this gets across “the pond” I will watch every episode. Unfortunately it will be a while before we see the ten episodes.

Another difference is, we (or most of us) watch advidly “Coronation Street” and “East Enders” all about the more disadvantaged amongst us. Whereas in the good old US of A they have (or used to have) svelt programs like “Dysentry” as Terry Wogan would call it – I prefer “Dynasty” and “JR”. Good clothes, expensive lifestyles – you know – something for all of us to aspire to.

There is a minus side of course. Hollywood do tend to put too much gloss on our female actors who transcend the pond. Take “Stephanie Beacham” for example; I remember her in her first major tv series called “The Rag Trade” back in 1961. Here she was a rough, enchanting diamond. So much better than the smooth glossy “Sabella “Sable” Scott Colby” in “Dynasty” and “The Colbys”. And wasn’t “Catherine Zeta Jones” lovely as an unsophistcated country girl daughter of “David Janson” in “The Darling Buds of May”? Now she is all gloss and sophistication, Ugh!

Andrew

Hoodwinked

My readers will, by now, know of my membership of the UK Independence Party and my distaste of being ruled by an undemocratic and extremely bureaucratic and expensive EU.

Well, recently the leaders of the UK Independence Party have been on a very intensive path of self-destruction.

According to Frederick Forsyth, writing for the Express recently, the Government have declared the Conservatives are “contrary to British Interests” and once they do this, they can bring in the spooks from MI5.

Forsyth goes on to say that two MI5 moles have infiltrated UKIP right at the very top. to not only split the Tory vote but to ensure that UKIP doesn’t do enough to be a threat to European domination..

Although I treat Forsyths comments with total disbelief many UKIP members have only been in a position to stand helplessly by and watch their dreams crumble.

Well, now a new party has been formed by Robert Kilroy-Silk called Veritas, the latin word for “truth” if I can remember back to my childhood years!

I have resigned from UKIP and will join “Veritas” so I can now reveal the truth of how I hoodwinked the present party leadership into giving me free membership for this last year.

Michael Nattras MEP – UKIP deputy leader : Photo Andrew Taylor

It was so simple really. and, I can hardly believe it worked. Mr Nattras, the deputy leader of UKIP who runs the party head office from his Estate Agency in Birmingham, with the help, I believe, of ex lawyer clerk Ms St Clear. Anyway they sent me my renewal form which I filled in.

Where it had space for Credit Card Details, I crossed it as if it were a cheque, and wrote, between the lines: “Honorary Member”. I thought that when they saw that they would surely get back to me, I could then apologise and give my credit card details for renewal over the telephone – although I really didn’t like boistering up such a corrupt leadership with money.

Guess what!!!

Yes, unbelievably, the idiots sent me my updated membership card, by return of post, without receiving a penny, and made out for another year! I really couldn’t believe it.

Don’t try and do this at home dear reader as it is morally dishonest and reprehensible. You will become as corrupt and incorrigible as this old codger and the leaders of the UKIP cabal! And you couldn’t possibly get as much enjoyment out of such an act as I have!

Andrew

P&O and the Aurora

I would suggest that most of our readers have heard about the ill-fated Aurora and the luxury cruise that didn’t get further than the Isle of Wight?

P&O Aurora – a P&O photo

A P&O spokesman said that the 1,347 passengers had made their way through 12,843 complimentary bottles of beer, 12,626 bottles of wine, 1,246 bottles of spirits and 9,800 cocktails.

That is approximately 10 bottles of beer, 10 bottles of wine per person, a bottle of spirits each and 7 cocktails. Not so much when you then divide it between eleven days. That is under 1 bottle of beer, under a bottle of wine, three shots of spirits and three-quarters of a cocktail per day!

Presuming of course that everyone drank the same amount.

Now, if I were aboard for the eleven days, totals would have soared.

Nothing is clear at present but it sounds like everyone will get a complete refund and a large discount off a further cruise – presupposing that people will trust P&O to take advantage of a further cruise with them.

I wonder whether P&O will be able to claim against the original German shipbuilders who built the bloody boat in the first place. We used to have a damn good ship-building industry so, apart from the constant battles with the Unions and costly strikes, why did customers start switching their business overseas?

Andrew

The lady’s not for map-reading

The following appeared in the Saturday Mail this weekend.

MEN frequently despair at women’s map-reading skills – or rather their lack of them. Now scientists believe they have pinpointed the reason for these long-standing conflicts between the sexes.

Researchers say it is all down to differences in the reliance of the sexes on either grey matter or white matter in their brains to solve problems.

They found that in intelligence tests men use 6.5 times as much grey matter as women do – but women use far more white matter. Grey matter is a category of brain tissue crucial to processing information and plays a vital role in aiding skills such as mathematics, map-reading and intellectual thought. White matter connects the brain’s processing centres and is central to emotional thinking use of language and the ability to do more than one thing at once.

Professor Rex Jung, a co-author of the study at the University of New Mexico, said: ‘This may help explain why men tend to excel in tasks requiring more local processing, like mathematics and map-reading, while women tend to excel at integrating information from various brain regions, such as is required for language skills.

The article went on for a bit longer, but this was the gist of the matter. And I wouldn’t want to make too big an enemy of the woman’s movement.

It’s either left or right at the junction – or is it straight ahead?

If this is true, then it explains the only real rows my wife and I have had, during our twenty-eight years of marriage have been in the car – and if we had known about this, I wouldn’t have called her all those awful names!

But really! Did I used to be upset! I just couldn’t believe that my little darling, my sweet little darling, couldn’t read a bloody simple stupid map and give me sensible bloody simple directions! Sorry Dear!

I wonder how many divorces have been caused by man’s total misunderstanding of this phenomena?

Andrew.

Travelling on the Toob.

London Underground Train – Northern Line – Photo by Andrew Taylor

One hears all sorts of comments about manners on London’s Underground. People who put their feet on the seats, people who won’t teach their young to stand up for pregnant ladies or the old (I know – I am old).

And then there are the rumours. You know the sort of thing. Men who sit with their legs spread as wide as possible being latent homo-sexuals? And Ladies who yawn widely without putting their hands to their mouths are trying to give a subliminal message of what they’d be willing to do to the men sitting opposite? Rubbish!

My message here boils down to one thing. Manners! The fact is, most of these people were not taught manners by their parents. Men, being lazy blighters (I know – I am one) usually leave these sorts of matters to the mother.

So when you see this loutish behaviour, just remember, the behaviour says more about that persons’ mother than it does about themselves!

And before you feel you’d like to argue this point, parents who have taken parenthood seriously, perhaps your own parents, usually produce people who are kinder and more polite to others. Take yourself for example?

Andrew

Television

What utter rubbish they produce nowadays… hardly worth the licence fee, even if you look on the amount spread over each day of the year! Big Brother! I ask you!

I am not going to go on about the rights or wrongs of charging everyone a fee to watch such down-market rubbish. OK, the occasional gem, usually well hidden away, suddenly makes watching “the box” worthwhile. But that is not my brief this evening.

Our politicians view television as a positive benefit – to themselves. Why? It’s very simple. Television keeps us glued to the box, every evening, in our own homes. It is debiltating and leaves us little energy for anything else.

Hands up all readers who feel like making love, for instance, after a whole evenings “box watching”. So it also keeps the population down, that’s a bonus.

But more important than that, television keeps us from meeting up with friends, discussing the government and how they behave. It keeps us from being active which may mean the fall of a particular party from power.

OK, I know that they say they are trying to get the population healthy, but if they really believed that they would put Ramblers Association membership on the NHS for those that really needed it!

We gained a lot more out of life, and I became a lot more active in the political world by doing a simple thing.

My wife and I would get the television list for the week on a Saturday and, using a yellow highlighter (yes, dear reader, you can use any other colour if you wish) , we would go through the week, highlighting just those programs we wished to watch. We would avoid “serial type programs” that forced us to watch on the same day every week so that we were always free to go out when we wanted. We stopped being ruled by the box.

Things have slipped a little of late so I shall suggest we try and start this up again.

If the entire population read this blog and started to do the same, the government would really sit up in alarm, and would probably order my death… Don’t get alarmed, dear reader, my tongue is well and truly in my cheek here! But they certainly wouldn’t love me!

Andrew

Cats are strange

When we bought our house three years ago we inherited the previous owners cat as they were moving to the far easy for a few years. Hong Kong, Japan and one or two other more unrecognisable places.

Nyang – “Out, damn spot! – photo by Andrew Taylor

The problem was, the cat was an RSPCA rescued cat, and had taken three years to get used to them and then had to get used to two new “tin-openers” as I read once they view us as. And, make no mistake about it, we do not own cats, they are the only ones in this equation who do any owning!

In addition to this trauma for poor pussy – her name is Nyang which, I am told, is Japanese for Miaow – during the first eight weeks the house would be full of builders, electricans, furniture fitters, plummers and, you name it. To try to give her continuity, I came to the house every day at 9am and stayed until 5pm so she was never alone during the day. This did also give me an added opportunity to ensure that the workers worked!

When we finally moved in, Nyang was very skittish and really didn’t want to know us. She gradually got used to Pam after the first year but it has taken her three years to get used to me. I think she had been illtreated by a man, and her fear of my feet indicates probably being kicked quite a lot.

Nyang – what IS that man playing at? – photo by Andrew Taylor

She won’t play and if I scratch her chair as if to play she goes into a huddle and won’t move. But she doesn’t run away from me often. When she does it is usually after she has been sleeping and suddenly finds me nearby. Poor thing had probably been dreaming.

She is a pretty thing, as you, dear reader, can observe. Sometimes I feel it would be nice to meet up with her illtreating owners! How can someone illtreat a pet? I don’t think I will ever understand.

I like cats as you can see from the following screensaver which is on my desktop at home.

Andrew’s screensaver, his name is Cecil! – photo by Andrew Taylor

Andrew

Two new lenses

I have recently ordered three Sigma EX Pro zoom lenses. The zooms are as follows. The mm size are given without brackets, and the figures within brackets are the sizes they become having been fitted to my digital SLR.

A wide Ange f4.5-f5.6 zoom, 12mm-24mm (18mm-36mm); a standard f2.8 zoom, 24mm-70mm (36mm-105mm) and a telephoto f2.8 APO zoom, 70mm-200mm (105mm-300mm). This will give me an uninterrupted range of 18mm-300mm with three excellent professional quality lenses. Two of them at very wide aperatures indeed.

The wide angle and the telephoto zooms arrived this morning and I immediately took them out to have a play… err I mean, test them. The standard zoom won’t be available with the Minolta fitting until mid February but I am not too unhappy about that. I would have been if it was one of the other two though.

I have to thank Steve, and the Bristol Camera Centre. The former for his helpfulness and the latter for extremely competitive prices!

Chez Nous- East Finchley - 18mm with flash but cropped. – photo by Andrew Taylor

I tested the wide angle zoom first. A friend had asked me to photograph his no smoking area in his restaurant as he wants to put a picture on his menu. (It’s rather hidden away and he feels he loses customers because of this.)

The above photograph was taken with flash, and then tightly cropped so as to appear large on the menu. I had taken about twenty and this was the one that would look best when reduced to about 1″ x 1.5″.

This lens was heavy, as far as wide-angle zooms go – 14 ounces just for the lens! But with the anti-shake on the D7 I should be able to hand-hold it easily at 1.30th of a second.

I then played around with the telephoto zoom – well, tested it really! This really was a beast – 44 ounces. That is two pounds 12 ounces or, for our foreign friends, 1.23 kilos. There is no way I could hand-hold this unless on a sunny day. I didn’t want to hike a tripod around so it was off to Jessops for a monopod. And it had to be a good sturdy one to take that weight. I chose a Manfrotto as I have their tripod and like it.

I had been asked to photograph Lord Pearson at City Hall this week. He as giving a speech which was anti-EU so I said I’d take the photographs without charge. Well, you know what I feel about this undemocratic, British hating rabble!

Chris Pratt UKIP Activist – 300mm with flash – photo by Andrew Taylor

In the end, I decided to take and use a tripod as, indoors, the lens, at 44 ozs, is a little prone for camera shake, even using an antishake camera and I felt a monopod may have been awkward and not as effective. If I were closer I could have used the flash on HSS and increased the speed to about a 500th of a second. As it was I had to use a slower speed.

I can’t wait for Sigma to fit up their 24mm-70mm (36mm-105mm) f2.8 EX lens with a Minolta fitting. This is due out mid Feb so at least another three weeks with a gaping hole inb my coverage!

How come I managed to get flashlight to go so far? The Dynax D7 has ISO switching between 100 and 3200. I had set the ISO for 1600 for this evening as, up to that speed, the Minolta firmware seems to cope admirably.

Andrew.

Bloody Telecomms PLC

Towards the end of last week we found our ADSL was working about one hour in four. By Friday evening it was down all the time.

No broadband Saturday, Sunday or Monday. By end of afternoon Monday we rang BT – their status line had said there were problems.

After an hour we got through to a guy who mentioned that some modems were “blown” whatever that means. I replied that ours had lost the “on” light but he said try loading the drivers. We did and the CDROM just wouldn’t work. The helpdesk guy said he would send another CD out to us. We should get it in a few days. I thought to myself, “The hell with this, we will not get the CD before Thursday or Friday, then we will have to phone up – takes an hour – again and then if the modem was broken, probably wait until the following Wednesday or Thursday before we will be able to access our e-mail or search the web again.

Defititely not on!

So yesterday I went into the West End and called in at Micro Anvika for a new modem, only this time I thought I’d replace my ISB router with an Ethernet router and modem combined. I chose a “Netgear” model as I had heard good things about their kit – and it had a built-in firewall.

I got back, replaced it with the Vigor in about three minutes, programmed it with our passwords and access names, and within five minutes we were back on the Internet.

Having seen, first hand, how BT treats their business customers – yes, we have their Business 500 service on a business rate telephone line, we immediately felt sorry for all those out there who have a residential service.

We are now seriously looking to change our ADSL ISP to Zen. We have had good reports about them from our IT Guru.

People in the know have asked us if we have a second BT line in the office. I mentioned we have several and we were immediately advised to use one of the other lines for our new ADSL service. I was puzzled at this and asked why. The answer was, BT will drag their heels on disconnecting the equipment so we can’t get the rival companies ADSL up and running. I asked why they would do that and received the reply that BT like to punish customers as much as possible if they leave.

Personally I think their service is lousy but I can’t seriously believe they would dare to do such a thing.

However, I will use one of the other lines, just to play safe.

Andrew

Micro Anvika

I like the have a rant about bad service but when I get some good service, I also like to give credit where credit is due.

Our ADSL comes from that Telecoms Giant, what’s their name? Ah yes, Bloody Telecomms. I will be talking about them a little later on in the week.

Today I needed to buy a new modem for our ADSL line. At present I use a Vigor ADSL USB router and have put our home network on the broadband connection. This time I decided to replace my router as it is getting old and buy a combined Router, Modem, Hub and hardware Firewall from Netgear.

I went to Micro Anvika in Tottenham Court Road, in London’s West End as I have always received excellent service from them in the past.

I spoke to a very knowledgeable salesman who – as usual from these people – was charming, polite and helpful. He suggested I thought about a wi-fi version which can also be used with cbels, to allow for future growth. However I only had the house wired with Cat5 cable a couple of years ago so am not ready to bother with wreless at this stage – certainly not within the life of this new kit.

Good service, Micro Anvika, keep it up – it’s the reason why your shop is always full of customers. Another reason for your success is that you have lots of sales personnel – whenever I go to your shop there is always one free to serve me!

Another good reason for using Micro Anvika is that they don’t use those 8p per minute 0870 numbers! Their link is below my sign-out below.

Andrew.

D.I.V.O.R.C.E.

I guess, if you asked Tammy Wynette, she might tell you a thing or two about this subject.C’mon, surely you remember?

“Our little boy is four years old and quite a little man,

So we spell out the words we don’t want him to understand.

Like T-O-Y or maybe, S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E.

But the words we’re hiding from him now,

Tear the heart right out of me… D.I.V.O.R.C.E….”

Most people say that one of the biggest reasons why couples get divorced is because of money problems. But there are so many additional reasons and each couple is different.

No doubt the lack of money for every day essentials is a big reason for rows and pssible divorce but what about the other reasons. People growing apart, one partner not willing to make career compromises, telling lies about themselves or just falling out of love. Or perhaps a combination of reasons.

These are all valid reasons, and no doubt my readers can think of many more. But there is another major reason, which is the reason for today’s blog.

This is when both parties are initially attracted to each other and. because they fear losing the other, pretend to be something or someone they aren’t. This can be fatal, especially with a short engagement where each party fails to find out that the other isn’t the type of person they married or, more important still, want to be married to.

Some say that the reason, decades ago, that there were fewer divorces was due to the fact that it was hard for a woman to make her own way in life afterwards. Especially if she had children. And pre WWII people had much larger families. There is a lot of truth here but there is also the fact that people had much longer engagements. Take three years, for example. Couples that are engaged for three years begin to get to know each other quite a bit. But not as much, granted, as a single week of marriage.

I have been engaged six times! The reason for this is simple. I am a bit of a self-opinionated bastard, and more than a little autocratic. As each woman got to know me and realised this, they broke off the engagement. My wife, Pam, didn’t! She has lived with me for twenty-eight years now and likes, as well as loves me, just because of what I am. In addition to this, I have few friends but some of these stretch back fifty years or so and most of them over ten years. No matter what people may say about having enough friends, we never have enough. But I won’t increase my friends by hiding what I am for any reason. My very best friend is my spouse – how many can say that and really mean it?

So the moral of this story is, be what you are. There are billions and billions of people in this world, you will surely attract friends who have more than a bit in common with you if you do. And this goes for attracting the right spouse!

Andrew

Astrology…

I can almost remember back that far, when I was a young man – a friend and my conversation went something like this:

“I’m off to an astrology meeting” “Uh huh!” I said, non-commitedly. “Yes”, he replied, “would you like to come?” “Errr… no thanks” I replied. We walked on towards the bus stop in companiable silence. As we approached the bus stop, he added: “Funny really, whenever I go to these meetings there are always seven girls to every one bloke.” When the bus came, I hopped on with him, and went to my first astrology meeting!

I then embarked on my astrology training. Nowadays it can be taken at degree level, but I only studied for a couple of years part time. It got a bit boring after a while having so many women around but I persevered. Synchronisation is the difficult bit. Most of the world only know their sun signs, nut your ascendent, which moves into a different sign every two hours, is the most important one. Learning that I was born on the 19th of July would inform the uninitiated that I was a Cancerian. However, a serious astrologer, once he learned of my time and place of birth as well, would say I was a Leo (ascendent) with sun in Cancer.

Andrew’s Natal Chart

But enough of this. This blog is about the stupidity of the media putting a twelth of the entire population into one box to write about.

There are twelve signs of the zodiac, if we then take the sun and planets and ascendent, and one or two others, we have another twelve. Now take those into consideration with the signs of the zodiac and we have 144 different types of people. Now we take the twelve houses and we have 1,728 different aspects of charater.

Then we look at the amount of degrees between all the planets, ascendent etc and we can change those personality traits depending on how far or how near lins are drawn on the chart between 30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 degrees. Depending on the above “lines” we can use degree ratios between 2 and 8. The we need to see whether the differences are waxing or waning, and this get even more “differences”. Many astrologers use even more aspect ratios. We are now talking millions and millions of different types.

Once I was happily married I sort of lost touch with astrology but it still brings a smile to my face when I remember some of the parties I used to go to. All the men in the background looking really pissed off, and me in the foreground surrounded by every woman in the place saying “What about me, will you do my chart”

What brought this rant on? An astrology holiday feature in the Saturday Mail. I reproduce it here with my comments in square brackets.

JUNE 23-JULY 23

Holiday Heaven:

Family-orientated Cancer needs to feel at home — wherever that may be. As a Water sign, you are emotional and sensitive and happiest by a lake or river.

Good matches are canal boating in the Netherlands, Germany or the UK.

[Rubbish - I do like being on water, but the sea, not a river - and more than that I prefer driving a Land Rover Defender in the South African Bush with a rifle by my side]

Last Resort:

Sensitive and nostalgic, you would hate forced entertainment, or being thrown into a ready-made family not of your choosing. Cancer, the Crab, is very private and does not like its shell prised open against its will.

[Well, nearer the mark here, I have never been on a "packaged holiday" nor ever will. It wouldn't have bothered me if my wife had a few children from a previous marriage - as long as they were all over eighteen!]

A coach tour of European cities, Butlins or Disney World would make you retreat into your shell.

[Oh! how bloody true!]

Romantic Retreat:

Declare your love in the romantic Highlands or islands of Scotland — you have a strong affinity for family and your roots, so stay at an ancestral home by the sea, where Cancer the crab can enjoy paddling in the rock pools on the shore. Rest and Relaxation: Cancer rules both Scotland and Mauritius. With educational Saturn in your sign until July, you’ll find the peace and quiet you need to reflect.

[Good Lord, NO! No! No! Funnily enough I am originally Scottish but I am so ashamed at the envy of the Scots towards the English up there that I try very hard not to talk about being Scots. I am not exactly ashamed, but nowadays I am certainly not proud! Anyway I was brought up in South Africa and feel I am more South African than British!]

Star choice:

Navigate a boat along the German waterways, no experience necessary. A four-berth, two-bathroom boat with fitted kitchen and lounge costs £1,555 for four people. Departure from Potsdam, May 14. Book with Connoisseur Travel on 0870 1605648 or online www.connoisseurafloat.

[Ah! a bloody sales thingy! Give me a motor yacht that I can "drive" down to Portugal's Algarve; and then past Gib into the Med when the mood takes me and I'd me a darn site more happy]

But then, they didn’t know that my ascendent was in Leo, and the moon, mercury and pluto planets were all in Leo!

Andrew – a Leo with sun in Cancer!

Post-Christmas Exercises

At last, a sensible Christmas exercise programme to burn off the calories after that third helping of pudding, and then all the post New Year parties!

If you’re over 25 you might want to take it easy at first, then do it faster as you become more proficient. It may be too strenuous for some.

Always consult your doctor before starting any exercise programme.

Now:

SCROLL DOWN

NOW SCROLL UP

That’s enough for the first day. Have some chocolate.

Andrew

Russian Winter Festival.

London: January 15th 2005 – 12 noon until 10:30pm the daytime in Trafalgar Square, and the evening in the Somerset House courtyard, read the press release.

Well, armed with my camera, and Damart thermal underwear, I set off to collect my “press accreditation” neck band and photograph the day…

Pretty Russian Dancers – photo by Andrew Taylor

The Russian Winter Festival kicked off at ten past noon when Ken Livingstone arrived and chatted in the press area with the television crews..

The day was been organised by the Russian British Cultural Association and RIA Novosti in cooperation with the Mayor of London, Moscow City Government, the Federal Agency for culture and cinematography of the Russian Federation and the Russian Economic Forum

Today, the world famous Trafalgar Square was the site of London’s first Russian Winter Festival. This public event, was organised by the Russian British Cultural Association (RBCA), it was the largest of its kind to ever be held in London. It drew on popular imagery and positive associations with Russian culture from art, history and sport, and made a huge impact on the British capital, with a resonance far beyond Trafalgar Square itself.

The festival was timed to coincide with Russian ‘Old New Year,’ which is celebrated in mid-January according to the calendar used in Russia prior to the revolution. It built on the success of concerts that RBCA held on London’s South Bank in January 2003 and 2004, but for this years event the organisers worked closely with the Mayor of London and took the event to a much wider audience, with free access to members of the public.

Programme

(doesn’t the spelling seem strange after we have been bombarded with the American spelling in our computr lives?)

A colourful line-up of well known musicians mixed traditional folk and contemporary pop influences, and appealed to young and old alike, it thus maked the festival an ideal family event.

The festival drew together many strands: music, theatre, entertainment, food and drink, (they said Vodka but I could only find Russian beer) as well as traditional festival activities. It certainly highlighted Russia´s cultural diversity, featuring performers from many different parts of the country and various ethnic backgrounds,

The show “proper’ started at about twenty to one with a welcome from Sadie Nine Although Sadie is Russian – and was a famous singer over there, she has made London her home, and appears on BBC London Radio, Mondays to Fridays between 2am and 6am.

The other compare was Alyana Borodina of Russian Radio who, in turn, introduced Ludmila Shvetsova, Deputy Mayor of Moscow and Ken Livingstone.

Ken told us that he meets up with Ludmila two or three times a year with the objective of persuading Russian international business to make Britain their European headquarters for business within the EU. Ken then welcomed the British and Russian WWII veterans sitting centre front.

Excerpts from this show will be broadcast to Russians back home who have shown great interest in the trip.

Ken made a big thing about Putin re-nationalising the Oil and gas industry in Russia and said he would like to re-nationalise the railways in the UK. Ludmila thanked Londoners for coming to the festival and said the troupe would give we Londoners a warm Russian welcome.

Alexandrov Red Army Choir – photo by Andrew Taylor

The first performance of the afternoon was the “Alexandrov Red Army Choir’. This legendary Alexandrov song and dance ensemble was formed over 75 years ago by conductor Alexander Alexandrov – who also composed the Soviet and Russian anthem.

Originally a modest group, the ensemble evolved into a huge choir and choreographic troupe. Its vast repertoire includes about 2000 pieces, ranging from folk and church music to choral classics by Russian and foreign composers. The choir were very rousing and sang more than a few marching songs.

This show also performed last night at the Guild Hall.

The next show was at a quarter to two and were “Severnoye Siyanie’. Severnoye Siyanie was formed in 1957 and is dedicated to the many peoples of Russia´s northern regions, their language, their music and their way of life.

A representative of the Institute of Northern Minorities in St Petersburg, they study the rituals of art, sculpture, music and dance of the Eskimos, Chukchi (from the Far East of the nation), Koryak, Yakuts, Evenov, Nanaitsev, Khandov, Mantis and many others. Before I learned of this I felt I was listening to Red Indiats dancing in America.

Cossack Dancers at the State Academic Dance – photo by Andrew Taylor

‘Old New Year´ The history behind this holiday helps to explain the special importance of this time of year for many Russians – I have included a short description of this in the footnote below.

To keep the blog to reasonable lengths, we won’t go into all the performances during the afternoon and early evening, but will mention the names of the groups, bands, dancers etc. here…

“Karagod”; “Faizi Gaskarov Ensemble”; “Makhmud Esambaev Ensemble”; “Loika”; “Natisk”; “Pelageya”; “Krinitsa”; “Nadezhda Babkina and Russian Song”; “Umaturman”; “GLUK’OZA2″; “Tancy Minus”; “Diskoteka Avaria”.

Later on, around half past eight to nine o’clock we all made our way to Somerset House and were treated to some brilliant Russian Ice-Skating. The day finished ten and a half hours after it had started. A long day I have to admit.

This is about a third of the lower part of the square. – photo by Andrew Taylor

Then there is the northern raised section!

Note the huge television screen.

I do feel extremely sorry for all those who either hadn’t heard about it, or stayed at home to watch television. You all missed a truly remarkable day. I will be going next year! Put in your diary for around the 5th January next year “Find out the date of this years Russian Winter Festival”

Andrew

Footnote:

‘Old New Year´ The history behind this holiday helps to explain the special importance of this time of year for many Russians.

New Year´s Eve is celebrated on the 31st of December, as it is in the UK, but is followed by Orthodox Christmas on 6th January and ‘Old New Year´ on the 13th.

Old New Year´s Day corresponds to 1st January on the Julian calendar, used in Russia before 1918. The difference between the Julian (old Russian) and Gregorian (European) calendars was 13 days, and after the government adopted the Gregorian version, Russians have the opportunity to celebrate New Year twice.

As a result, much of January is now consumed by festivities for many Russians. Orthodox Christmas and Old New Year in particular are now treated with a great deal of nostalgia and they both have a special place in the hearts of Russian people. The popular belief holds that “the way you greet the New Year is an omen for your entire year.”

The Daffodil Principle

Here is a story I found on a South African website. I apologise in advance if it sounds a little twee, but it does have an important message and is well worth reading.

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Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. “I will come next Tuesday, “ I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!” My daughter smiled calmly and said, ” We drive in this all the time, Mother.” “Well, you won’t get me back on the road until it clears, and then I’m heading for home!” I assured her.

“I was hoping you’d take me over to the garage to pick up my car. ” “How far will we have to drive?” “Just a few blocks,” Carolyn said. “I’ll drive. I’m used to this.” After several minutes, I had to ask, “Where are we going? This isn’t the way to the garage!” “We’re going to my garage the long way,” Carolyn smiled, “by way of the daffodils.”

“Carolyn,” I said sternly, “please turn around.” “It’s all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.” After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read, “Daffodil Garden”. We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path.

Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns – great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

“But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn. “It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “She lives on the property. That’s her home.” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking” was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs,” it read. The second answer was, “one at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”

There it was……. The Daffodil Principle.

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than thirty-five years before, had begun – one bulb at a time – to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.

Just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time – often just one baby-step at a time – and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things.

We can change the world.

“It makes me sad in a way,” I admitted to Carolyn. “What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five years ago and had worked away at it ‘one bulb at a time’ through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!”

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her direct way. “Start tomorrow,” she said.

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OK, OK, I know you know that I have a thing about goals – but it’s a good story and it does illustrate my point, don’t you think?

Andrew

Business Telephone Handsets

I used to be able to buy these at stores such as Staples. But now all they seem to sell are the very basic line phones, or DECT phones (digital wireless phones up to 300 metres). Carphone Warehouse and all the other telephone shops sell mobiles and, if you are lucky, DECT phones as well.

I have been using an el-cheapo for severl months now until someone suggested I looked at Rocom. So off I went to their website. It was full of Telecommunications gear and after looking around I decided on the ATL “Berkshire 800″. This is a super telephone.

ATL Berkshire 800

One of my requirements was that it has at least ten “single press” buttons. This phone has this, and also the facility to store a further 90 numbers and to access them alphabetically. I also needed a recall facility so that I could use it with BT’s tele-conferencing. It had that.

You can program it to dial 9, or any other single digit – with or without a pause which you can set the time for yourself, to go out through ta switchboard. Unfortunately this will only accommodate a single digit number. It is a pity as I use 18866.com for my phone calls and you love to have been able to enter 18866 into that position.

There are two buttons with a light in the middle – the hands free button and the mute button. I would like to see a third of these buttons as follows. The ability to program a code to access via a telecom company who give you a series of numbers to dial before your number to bypass BT. With the light coming on for when this is OFF. This is because the incredible rates these companies offer are for calls to geographical numbers, those beginning 01xxx or 02xxx at present. Other service numbers are sometimes more expensive so those calls you may want to send through BT. Why have the light come on when the facility is OFF? Simple, the light is a warning light. Warning lights are to remind you to do something. And also, the default is when the light is OFF.

The phone is programmable and has six main areas to program. One of these being “Advanced” which gives a further fourteen programmable areas. So the phone is complex, believe me. However you can use it without much initial knowledge and this gives you a chance to tweak it as you gain experience.

The cost for this complex piece of equipment is £38.62 net. Although ATL offer a one years warranty, Rocom are happy to expend this to ten years at no extra charge. They don’t do this with all their phones so they must be happy about something!

Available in dark gray and light Gray. Light gray is almost, but not quite, white.

Next day delivery. I ordered mine at around 3pm and it arrived the following early afternoon for £6.70 net.

Other facilities include call waiting, CLI, use of headset, use to plug in a laptop to dial out using the laptops built in modem, mute button with light, hands free dialing with light, alternating between headset, handset and handsfree, enter calling information into directory, five number redial, clear a confidential number from the redial list and volume and pitch controls. This does not exhaust the feature list!

Follow the link, after my sign-out for Rocom who sell practically all telecom gear.

Andrew

Boat Show II

A little while ago I wrote about my visit on Press Day at this show in the Exel Exhibition Centre in Docklands.

Since then I have some additional statistics that may be of interest.

Apart from all the parts, clothing and accessories stands at the show, there are 800 boats in the 80,000 square metre exhibition hall, including a 74 foot motor cruiser costing around £2M. In additiion to this, a further 50 arrived by water and there is 400 metres of dockside.

The costliest and largest exhibitor boat is the 105ft Sunseeker valued at around £5M – depending on how you decide to have it fitted out. However the largest “feature” boat is HMS Sutherland, a type 23 frigate. 436 feet and a displacement of 4,900 tons! Goodness only knows how much that has set you back – you are a tax payer, aren’t you?

The show took 17 days to set up and will probably take 6 days to dismantle. Over 200,000 visitors are expected over the 11 day show.

There are 21 bars, cafes and restaurants at the show which ends on the 16th Januasry

And now for that fantastic 105 footer in the harbour…

105 Sunseeker

This lovely craft is a 105 Sunseeker yacht 101ft 8ins (LOA). It is powered by a range of options. There are 13 berths which is even enough so you can take your Mother-in-Law!

The Sunseeker blurb says: “The inspirational design of this stunning yacht combines all the individual flexibility of a custom yacht with the proven dependability of tried and tested construction methods, and the use of the finest equipment and materials. “

“Although surely destined to become an English classic, it is superbly practical as well as supremely stylish. “

“Choose layout you prefer, with up to five cabins plus crew quarters. Design your yacht for your own needs, whether for personal use, chartering or extended global travel. When there is no place for compromise, the Sunseeker Yacht 105 provides the flexibility that enables you to design a yacht that perfectly meets all your needs. The choice of the true connoisseur.”

And the lounge and bar would be my quarters, apart from those awful hours having to sleep! That’s my seat, on the right, away from the sun (the seats at the bar – of course).





105 Sunseeke – Main deck lounge and bar

For those techical minded amongst you, take a look at the full print out of what is available. One web page but yards long, full of every little detail you can imagine! There are also more photographs on this page.

So, who has £5M to spare? “You, Sir?” Well, it won’t be enough. Have you forgotten the cost, a full tank takes 14780 litres of diesel. and with a maximum speed up to 31 knots and range at cruising speed up to 600 miles or at 12 knots up to 1200 miles – over 12.3 litres a mile – it’s going to cost a few bob.

Then there’s the Captain, Engineer and Navigators salary, with extra crew when you use the boat. I mean to say, you aren’t going to want to clean up after you, and make your own beds, are you?

Then you won’t want to travel half way across the world on the boat at those speeds – you’ll want to send it on ahead and when it arrives, travel there in your nice comfortable LearJet!



The link, below my “sign-out” will take you to the main Sunseekers website.

Andrew.

I phoned BT today!

I dialed 150 and, after listening to a series of questions, pressing 4, listening to a further set of questions, pressing 4 again, and listing to further questions – this time pressing 2 – I asked them a question about three-way calling. I needed to know whther to set my recall button to ELR to TBR.

However, the gentleman’s first question was; “Do you have a BT telephone”. I said it was an ATL phone. “Can’t help you” I was told, it wasn’t a BT phone.

But, I said, my query was about a BT service, not about a non-BT telephone. But, alas, by then he had totally lost interest in my call.

This is BTs idea of “Customer Service”.

But it is not my idea.

Andrew

Missing boy in Thailand

Dear Friends,

Please help this boy!

This boy is about two years old. Found and taken from Khao Lake Resort Area, the southern part of Thailand.

His parents are missing. His nationality cannot be identified.

Tsunami victim – Thailand

Please take a look at the above picture of this victim from Tsunami.

If you do not know him, please forward his pictures to your friends or organization in your country for further publication.

I thank you all for extending kindness to this boy.

With kind regards,

Tess Ruktapurana

Thai Airways International

Andrew.

Important Update

Thanks to timely Internet postings, the 2-year-old boy pictured at right, Hannes Bergstroem, is now safe in the arms of his Swedish family.

The photos were spotted on the Web by the child’s uncle, who rushed to Phuket International Hospital to collect him.

The entire family, including Hannes’ father, mother, brother and grandparents, had been vacationing in southern Thailand when the December 26, 2004 tsunami struck.

It looks like all the family survived. I hope so and that this is one of the stories that can still inspire others who have lost loved ones over there.

A.

Using Google’s GMail (e-mail)

Google set up “G-Mail” some time ago and said that as it is in Beta they didn’t want too many users so joining would be by introduction only.

Initial screen – after signing in.

I have been using GMail for a month or so now and like it so much it has become my main e-mail communication client. Although I say “main”, it is the only one I use. However like most users I do have a back-up ISP just in case!

The reason I have gone over to a web based e-mail is not because I can access it, and all my past e-mails, easily, from any computer with access to the Internet, anywhere in the world.

It is not just because Google allow me a thousand megabytes of storage.

It is not because it is totally free of charge.

I prefer google because the site is lightening fast, and accessing it, reading my e-mails, answering them and doing any “contact” housekeeping is far faster than contacting an ISP, downloading mail, dealing with it and then uploading it to the ISP again.

If you prefer, you can redirect your e-mail to another address, or pop3 directly to the site. I haven’t tried the later, but if you use the former you lose the use of their excellent spam filters.

You can filter mail into sub-folders by any number of ways – and test the filter as you write it. You can use a filter to send e-mail to another address. This can be useful if you want to send e-mails from a specific person, or on a specific subject to your mobile.

These are just the features that really interest me. The program, in fact, does an awful lot more but I won’t bore you with everything here!

It is my considered opinion that the Beta will carry on for at least another year, or even longer. And the Invitational system must be excellent from Googles point of view. because not only does it create interest, but it allows them to gauge the disk usage of the average user and only send out invitations when Google increase their hard disk capacity.

Well, whatever the reasons I am happier with this system that I have been with any other system.

I ocassionally have invitations to give out – usually six or ten at a time. If any reader would like to put their name down for an invitation, e-mail me at ampers@gmail.com (see, I am not afraid of letting spammers see my e-mail because of the excellent way Google deals with spam). I will then issue an invitation when I have some spare – I have two spare at the moment.

If you e-mail me, please put “Invitation – Yes” in the subject line and, if you get an invitation from someone else in the meantime, please e-mail me with “Invitation – No” in the subject line I will cancel your request as once I send it off, it is wasted if not used.

You can e-mail me from the link on the right-hand side-bar.

Andrew

My new Porsche

I have just taken delivery of my (second) Siemens Porsche Coffee Machine. A beauty. But how I got this particular model is interesting and shows that service in our shops still exists.

I normally buy my electrical goods from John Lewis because they usually give a free extra year’s guarantee (or warranty) with all electrical products, and usually deliver locally free of charge.

However, five years ago I saw the Porsche Coffee Maker in Fenwicks, Brent Cross. I was extremely impressed. Like most of my readers, I know the average coffee makers hot plate “cooks” the coffee if you leave it heating for any time longer than five minutes.

Siemens TC91100GB Porsche Coffee Machine

This Porsche filters the coffee directly into a thermos jug which is part of the stand alone package. This keeps the coffee fresh for up to five hours and hot up to three hours. “What is the use of those extra two hours!” I hear you mutter. Well, I’ll tell you. If you put boiling water into the thermos and leave it for a minute or two, empty it, and then make the coffee. The hot jug will not cool the coffee down and so keeps it hot for around five hours.

The machine came with a one year’s warranty and, a month before Christmas, four years after the waranty expired, I took the base unit back for repair. I was quite happy to pay. The lady there didn’t think they would repair it as it was five years old. I blew my top and said that if they didn’t after I had paid £129 for it, I would write a nasty article about them, showing her my press card. She said she would see what she could do.

I popped in a month later, between Christmas and the new year and was told I could have a brand new machine but they didn’t have any in stock. They said they would courier one to me as soon as stocks arrived.

And, it was delivered yesterday afternoon!

Good for Fenwicks, and good for Siemens. I am now a very contented bunny.

Link to Siemens Coffee Machine after my signature.

Andrew

The Royal Academy, London.

A pleasant way to spend an overcast Sunday afternoon is a visit to the Royal Academy, Piccadilly, London W1; approximately half way between Picadilly Circus and Green Park.

Yesterday we went to see a three month exhibition of William Nicholson, British Painter and Printmaker who was born in 1872 and died in 1949.

The Gold Jug – Loaned by HM Queen Elizabeth II – photo by Andrew Taylor

The exhibition opened on the 30th October last year and ends on the 23rd January. An exhibition well worth seeing. Apart from his famous minimalistic portraits – I loved the one of Sarah Bernhardt – his paintings of gold, silver, pewter and glass objects were excellent! I have heard it is particularly difficult to get realistic gold and silver effects using oils.

From a RA leaflet: “William Nicholson was renowned for his remarkably intense still-life, highly inventive portraits and strikingly minimalist landscapes that prefigure the sparse imagery of his son Ben, one of Britain’s foremost modernist painters. Including many works that have rarely been seen in this country, the exhibition includes designs for books and the stage, and examples of the woodcuts which established him at the forefront of the international print revival in the 1890s.”

Pam and I are “Friends of the Royal Academy” and you can join for £50 for a single person, or £77 for a couple. Each category is £10 extra if you don’t pay by Direct Debit.

Here is what their website says about Friends

“There are more than 85,000 Friends around the world. Why not join us today?

A Friends’ subscription gives you, an adult guest and four family children aged under 16 free entry to exhibitions during normal hours, with no queuing for tickets.

As a Friend of the Royal Academy you can:

• Visit our exhibitions for free all year round — and save time too by avoiding ticket queues
• Share your enjoyment by bringing an adult guest and up to four family children — at no extra charge
• See it first — by visiting each exhibition at special Friends’ previews before the exhibition opens to the public
• Keep up to date — by reading the quarterly RA magazine which highlights exhibitions at home and abroad
• Relax in the Friends Room and enjoy a drink or anything from a snack to a meal in the new Shenkman Room
• Gain new insights — by taking advantage of our extensive programme of special Friends’ Events and Tours
• Every Friend is entitled to buy one additional Guest facility at a cost of £7″

Another advantage is that if you have to meet a friend or business colleague in the West End of London, the special friends lounge is a nice place to go for coffee and a quiet chat. In addition to this lounge and tea room, there is a small restaurant for light lunches (noon to 3:00pm) and afternoon teas (3:30-5:00pm). Called the Belle Shenkman Room, this is only for Friends and supporters of the Royal Academy of Arts and is approached via the Friends lounge.

This restaurant offers waiter service in an contemporary environment. Lunches are freshly prepared using predominantly British seasonal ingredients including traditional cheeses, smoked trout and potted shrimp. Wines are carefully selected and are available by the glass or bottle. Freshly squeezed juices are also available. Afternoon teas of scones and clotted cream, smoked salmon or cucumber sandwiches will keep you going until suppertime!.

The link below my sign-out will take you to the Royal Academy website.

Andrew.

Monarchy In The USA

This precis was written by a South African called

Pat Conlon, who owns and runs a

South African restaurnat in San Francisco,

he has done his homework well and,

although there are more links at the end

of the article, unless you are really interested,

there is no reason to travel further.

This is an amazing story

and is not an Urban Myth! It is a true story.

Emperor Norton of the USA

The Story of Emperor Norton

Joshua Abraham Norton, America´s first and only Emperor, was born in London, England on February 14th, 1819. Details of his early life are rather sketchy–almost all that´s really known is that his family moved to Algoa Bay in South Africa during his infancy, where his father prospered as a merchant. It isn´t until his arrival in San Francisco aboard the Dutch schooner Franzika in 1849 that the record begins to fill in.

Norton came to America with a nest egg of thirty thousand dollars, with which he opened a business selling supplies to gold miners, and set about buying up the land that would eventually become San Francisco´s Cow Hollow district.

By 1855, Norton was one of the most respected businessmen in San Francisco, having rebounded from the fire of 1853 and profitably diversified his operations. Already his friends were referring to him as “Emperor”.

It was at this time that he hit on the bold idea of attempting to corner San Francisco´s rice market–the city´s large immigrant Chinese population providing a captive and hungry market, at a time when the only way rice (or almost anything else) arrived was aboard cargo steamships. Investors were quick to sign on, and in a matter of days Norton owned, practically speaking, all the rice in San Francisco. For the first few days it looked like yet another daring success for the Emperor, when two ships, well ahead of schedule and brimming with rice, steamed lazily through the Golden Gate. One shipment he might have been able to buy up as well; two was a backbreaker, and in a matter of minutes Norton was ruined.

He spent the next three years in court, and emerged penniless in 1858. Packing together his meager belongings, Norton disappeared for about nine months; no record tells where he went.

He returned suddenly in the late summer of 1859, proudly walking the streets in a beaver hat and naval regalia, arguably mad. By September, Emperor Norton was no longer able to contain his secret. He walked into the offices of the San Francisco Bulletin and presented them with this single sentence, which they ran on the next edition´s front page:

“At the peremtory request of a large majority of the citizens of these United States, I, Joshua Norton, formerly of Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and now for the past nine years and ten months of San Francisco, California, declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these United States, and in virtue of the authority thereby in me vested do hereby order and direct the representatives of the different States of the Union to assemble in Musical Hall of this city, on the 1st day of February next, then and there to make such alterations in the existing laws of the Union as may ameliorate the evils under which the country is laboring, and thereby cause confidence to exist, both at home and abroad, in our stability and integrity.”

Norton !

Emperor of the United States

September 17th, 1859

That day people on the streets began greeting Norton with deep bows and curtsies. The tacit public acceptance was immediate and profound, and San Francisco had a wise and caring monarch to reign over its gilded age.

Norton I ruled by proclamation, and it didn´t seem to faze him if not all his edicts were carried out. If taxes or water rates were too high, he commanded that they be lowered; if there were inadequacies in the city services, he ordered improvements. On the eve of the Civil War he temporarily dissolved the Union, and after the Prussian victory in 1872, he ordered a week of continuous celebration and thanksgiving. Bay Area newspapers competed for the honor of posting his proclamations, and more than once they devised fakes to generate sales and interest, a practice against which the Emperor railed angrily.

Few monarchs ever had Norton´s common touch; he abjured seclusion and luxury. rather than coach, and performed daily rounds of his capital´s streets, making sure the police were on their beats, and that cleanliness, harmony and order prevailed. If he noticed someone performing some kind act or other, he might spontaneously ennoble them, from which practice the expression “Queen for a day” was obtained. The titles were especially popular with children, who would follow him in groups, looking everywhere for liter to pick up or old ladies to help across the street.

Norton´s personal expenses were few. He ate free of charge at whatever restaurant suited him, had three seats reserved for him at every theatrical performance (one for himself and one each for his famously well-behaved dogs, Bummer and Lazarus); the city itself actually paid for his uniforms and the local Masonic Lodge paid for his small apartment.

Money issued by the Emperor

Nonetheless, whenever necessary, Norton had his own currency printed, which was accepted everywhere without question–at a time when U.S. paper money was still regarded with distrust in California. He also had the option of levying taxes, for which his normal procedure was to walk into the offices of an old business friend and politely announce an imperial assessment of ten million or so dollars, but could quickly be talked down to two or three, or perhaps a cigar, with which he would walk out entirely satisfied. [a few years ago, in New York, some of these worthless bits of paper were auctioned and fetched thousands of dollars]

Still though, this wasn´t really legal, and feelings towards Norton I amongst the police were rather mixed. In January of 1867, in fact, he was arrested by an overzealous policeman “to be confined for treatment of a mental disorder,’ and held at the police station pending a hearing.

The public outrage was immediate; every newspaper editorial denounced the action, and there was the real possibility of a riot. Chief of Police Patrick Crowley himself opened the cell doors, and issued a lengthy public apology to the Emperor. Norton himself was magnanimous about the whole affair, and from then on his relations with the police became much more congenial. He led their annual parades and inspected the new cadets; members of what he now called his Imperial Constabulary saluted him when he passed.

Norton I was a great believer in progress and innovation, and many of the ideas for which he was sometimes regarded as mad have become realities. He issued numerous proclamations proposing and then finally commanding the construction of a suspension bridge linking San Francisco and Oakland, complete with his own design sketches. His planned San Francisco terminus is within a block of where the Bay Bridge abuts now, and a plaque on it bears testimony to his foresight. He was also convinced that travel by air would one day become common, and commissioned panels of researchers and designers to create plans for airships.

The historical twilight of monarchy was gathering, however, and Norton made it part of his mission to restore whatever luster he could to it. He sent frequent cables to fellow rulers, offering surprisingly well-informed advice, or reflecting on the complex responsibilities of rulership. Many of the responses he got were in fact forgeries, created by his friends to make him happy, but many were not.

King Kamehameha of Hawaii (known as the Sandwich Isles) was so taken with the Emperor´s insight and understanding that towards the end of his life he refused to recognize the U.S. State Department, saying he would deal only with representatives of the Empire.

Norton I died quite suddenly of apoplexy***, on January 8th, 1880, on the corner of California and Grant, on his way to a scientific conference. He left no heir. San Francisco went into a period of deep mourning for three days. Ten thousand people, from every walk of life, lined up to view his mortal remains; his funeral cortege was two miles long. At 2:39 that day, during his funeral, San Francisco experienced a total eclipse of the sun.

Fifty-four years later, Norton´s coffin was reinterred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Colma–once again, flags throughout the city were lowered and businesses closed their doors. About sixty thousand people attended the ceremony, which was accompanied by full military honors and dolorous taps.

This is only a short precis of his story, for more amazing revelations, take a look at the webring. This is an Emperor Norton site. It is part of a “Site Ring” and from there you can visit all the sites of the ring.

Andrew.

*** Definition of apoplexy: [n] a sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain

Synonyms: cerebrovascular accident, CVA, stroke

See Also: cerebral hemorrhage, haemorrhagic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, ischaemic stroke, ischemic stroke

I’m tempted to give up photography

I have just been to a professional journalist-photographer’s web blog. And it depressed me terribly. Now don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t because the photographs were awful. Far from it.

They were absolutely fannnnnnnnnnnnnnntastic! And I know that, no matter how long I spend taking photographs, I will never be anywhere in that class.

I was a professional in the sixties but this was taking portraiture in a studio. Where everything is to hand and everything was nice and comfortable.

I urge you to visit his site if you are at all interested in photography or like looking at exciting photographs. The pretty girl in an RAF fighter plane was very good and when you read the blurb below you learn that this slip of a girl is counted amongst the RAFs top 1% of their fighter pilots.

The link? It’s just below, under my “sign-off”.

Andrew.

My new Minolta digital SLR

Well, I am finally getting used to my D7 and my 5600HSS flash gun that allows flash at all speeds to 1/4,000th of a second. I have got a neat bounce diffuser from Sto-fen in the States – they are just under $20 each, and each diffuser is made for a particular flashgun. I have just ordered a different type which gives a better light from camera to subject from the same source and both have a use in a photographer’s box of tricks.

One of the things I have noted with my new digital SLR is that you have to relearn “focussing”. It is not quite so simple as a film SLR or an ordinary digicam.

First of all, the blanket focussing is not as reliable and I have now set my focussing permanently on “spot focussing”. Since I have done this my sharper images have increased from 1 in ten to 19 in 20. Also I find that depth of field seems tighter but that may just be because this is Winter in the UK.

Unfortunately, apart from being short-sighted, I do suffer from astigmatism so it is impossible for me to use manual focussing.

However, with a little bit of extra care I am getting better photographs…

Focussed on the head of the man with the white shirt. – photo by Andrew Taylor

With the original 6MPxls copy I magnified the head 8 times and although blury, you could still just about see that it was pretty well focussed.

My wife and I are friends of the Church Farmhouse Museum and the photograph was taken at the day before yesterday’s “twelth Night” party.

What with the boat show in the morning and the 12th night party in the evening I think I shot about 100 photographs. But with the winter weather, there is not a lot of encouragement to swanee around photographing! Especially when digital cameras are more prone to the elements than film cameras.

Andrew.

How the rest of the world see us.

Here is a spoof advert that a friend from Australia “claimed” was in their local newspaper. Although I find it hard to believe – knowing what I know about Aussies – there is a fair possibility that it was!

Spoof Advert sent to me from Australia.

Perhaps it is time we should examine closely exactly how our system works. Not a politicians knee-jerk reaction, but maybe to put together a team of experts to examine our whole benefit structure.

It doesn’t have to report tomorrow, or even next month. Have them take a year to really study our whole structure and put together something else which won’t stop genuine applicants being looked after, but would make it difficult for (a) illegal immigrants to take benefits, and (b) new immigrants perhaps to work for a year before they can avail themselves to a totally free service – possibly by charging them what they can afford to pay. If they are out of work, they’d pay nothing. Illegal immigrants should not have to suffer medically, but perhaps have special clinics for them to attend where the clinic does not have to pass their details to the authorities.

I am not saying that the above would be good in any way, and also you may have totally opposing views. But it is only by putting forward these ideas that people who think differently can put their ideas forward and we can arrive at the best solution. This is something the extreme left and the extreme right are not happy with – it is called “debating”.

Andrew.

Ten good reason why we we don’t need ID cards

In November 2004, Tony Blair’s government announced plans to bring in compulsory ID cards – the ‘Identity Cards Bill’.

They want sweeping powers to:

1. make you have an ID card,
2. charge you anything they like for it, and
3. even make you carry it at all times.

Proposed Identity Card

1. The cost.

The government wants powers to charge you for being issued with an ID card.

It also wants to be able to charge you for a card for your children as young as five years of age.

The cost of each card is tipped to be between £35 and £85.

2. …Several times over.

You will also be charged for being issued with an ID card:

• every time it’s renewed, possibly every 5-10 years,
• for replacing it, every time it gets lost, stolen or damaged,
• if any information held on you is wrong and needs correcting – even if it’s not your fault!

It will also cost the taxpayer over £5 billion (£100 each) to bring in ID cards – enough to pay for fifty new hospitals!

3. It won’t stop terrorism.

Many terrorists use their real identity – the Madrid bombers and the New York hijackers (’9/11′) all had valid ID cards!

4. It won’t stop crime

The idea that having to present an ID card at a police station would stop street crime does not hold water, any more than making motorists show a driving licence at a police station stops car theft.

Spain and Italy have ID cards, and both continuously experience illegal immigration. ID cards are hardly a deterrent!

5. It won’t stop DSS fraud.

Most benefit fraud concerns false claims on circumstances, such as income. Only a small percentage concerns identity – and the money involved is tiny compared to the cost of introducing ID cards.

6. It won’t be fool-proof.

The ‘biometric’ technology is not fool-proof – China has abandoned plans to use it for ID cards. Failure of an ID card computer system could even deny you the use of public services you’ve paid for!

Criminals can get around controls by stealing or forging ID cards. The more we depend on a card, the greater will be the incentive.

7. Government spin.

Maybe it’s the government that has something to hide? Mr Blair keeps quiet that the government agreed to EU plans for ID cards (a.k.a. ‘smart cards’ or ‘entitlement cards’) in 2000 – a year before ‘terrorism’ became the convenient excuse.

The government then ran three expensive public consultations after ’9/11′ to whitewash this decision- and rigged the results of one consultation to claim that the public was in favour by 2:1 !!

8. The public is not so keen.

A knee-jerk opinion poll after ’9/11′ showed 85% of those asked would approve ID cards. However the percentage drops massively when people learn more about them – in one poll, only 18% were happy to pay even £30 for a card.

This mirrors the experience of Australia, where public opinion turned against ID cards. Plans for ID cards were dropped.

9. Big Brother

The government wants to record every time we use an ID card to get public services – and talks of us also being tracked when we use commercial services (e.g. banks).

ID cards are to be linked to a vast ‘population register’ – a computer potentially holding masses of ‘private’ information. Government computers are worryingly known for holding inaccurate information

10. Inconvenience.

The experience of a country like Spain is that ID cards are a bureaucratic inconvenience to the law-abiding majority.

Would you be happy, as a law-abiding person, to queue up at a police station to have your eyes scanned, and fingerprints taken like a criminal? Is there a better use of precious police time – like tackling drink-drivers or burglars?

Would you be happy to be fined £1,000 for forgetting to tell the authorities about every small change of personal details?

The above has been “lifted” from the website of New Alliance. I haven’t asked, but the site owner – Brian Mooney – is a stirling chap and I am sure he would only be too happy providing I gave a link to his site. Which I have beowl.

Andrew

The Boat Show

Today is the Press and Serious Buyers day at the London Boat Show so yours truly went along with his trusty camera and here is a brief description on what he saw.

The 2005 Boat Show – photo by Andrew Taylor

Yes, there were boats there! I was wandering around enjoying all those lovely slim trim crafts and I spied a bunch of press photographers a-leaping up and down with flashguns going off as if it were a November the 5th, or New Years Eve fireworks display.

It seems that a model, who is, or was, Miss England at some time, was draping herself all over a boat. Naturally I had to join in and after I finished I wandered off, only shortly to return. I mentioned to one of the press photographers that I had forgotten to photograph the boat which he found very amusing!

I had to write an article on the larger Gin Palaces and I must admit, my favourite was one of the top of the range Fairline models, The Fairline Squadron 74. The first thing on entering is the sumptious lounge then, as you walk through, a neat dining area and kitchenette.

Then there is the “drivers” position and, next to it, the Navigators position. Looking at the controls, this is definitely a “two man” job. Every bit if electronic gear imaginable was there, and the Navigatior had an extra set of panels on the side with between 40 and 60 switches.

Just past the cockpit were stairs going down. Immediately to the front you see the luxurious double bed suite with shower, toilet, bidet (for washing your…) dressing table for Milady and plenty of space for your clothing and evening dresses.

Then there are two very small cabins (each with two single berths in them) for the nippers, all four of them sharing a washroom with shower. Then the “piece de resistance”, the “Master Stateroom”. Much larger than the guests double bedroom and a bedroom I could get used to living in, let alone sleeping in.

On the upper deck, many of the controls were there in the pilots cockpit. and all over the entire top deck were sunbeds, settees, tables drinks areas and even a barbeque!

At the stern (back) was a small entrance that lead to the huge engine room, and leading off were a double berth room and a single berth room and a shower and toilet room for the crew.

The overal cost of the boat is two million pounds. Running costs per year would be in the region of forty thou’ or so – and this wouldn’t include the crew’s wages, food, laundry and all the “top of stairs” costs.

Nice work if you can get it. But it would be cruel to leave you without a photograph of the boat in action “borrowed” from the Fairline website…

Fairline Squadron 74

There will be communal dreaming sessions every Saturday in West Finchley – all my readers are welcome to join.

Andrew

Transferring old cassettes to a CD

Wow, this certainly wasn’t – for me – as easy as it looked. I have a lot of tapes which I wanted to make into MP3s and then transfer back to Music CDs.

I set up a spare tape Deck near my computer and connected up the output sockets at the back of the tapedeck to the line-in socket of my SoundBlaster sound card.

I then played a tape from my tape deck to the computers loudspeakers and all performed as it should. So that part of the operation was successful.

I then downloaded the excellent freeware program called AutoGrabber. And whilst on the site, downloaded a couple of recommended add-ons with links from this site.

This is where my problems began. I picked my first tape which was “Neil Diamond” Album called “The Jazz Singer”. I tried, and tried, and tried but could not get much of a sound at all, and certainly not a decent recording. so, being a member of Cix, I asked for help. I received four replies as follows:

[1] I suspect that you don’t have the RECORDING source set correctly; Open your Mixer control, if its the normal Windows one, then it first displays by default the Playback path connected to the Speakers, now select Options, select Recording (rather than Playback) now click OK, you will have the Mixer desk for the Recording path selected now you can unmute / select / turnup the Line In path and you will be able to record.

OK, I did that…

[2] Open ‘Sounds and Audio Devices’ in Control Panel. Click on the Audio tab and then on the Volume button in the recording section. Make sure that Line In is Selected.

… and that.

[3] You need to say what operating system and sound card you are using, behaviour varies. In W98 this could be because your recording settings are on mute. To find them open the volume control, the full panel, not just the master slider. You will see you have no control for microphone or line input. Go to options and select recording to see the input control and check that mutes are not ticked and that the sliders are set to a reasonable level.

OK, I use Windows XP but this helped me, by experimentation, to sort out the advice given.

[4] Have you clicked on the Mixer button on the line in sample page and made sure that line in is the selected audio source i.e. has a tick in the box. Also that the level is up high enough to register?

Yup, OK – thanks fellows – let’s see what happens!

Success, I got a perfect recording of the recorded track. Tested it on playback and loked at the wave forms in the appropriate program. Everything looked fine.

But when I tried using the auto-split-tracks bit, I started to have problems. I played with the altering of sensitivity but as all tapes were different I decided not to use the auto-split device, but rather the manual device.

This means I record the whole tape as one track. (My tapedeck will record the entire cassette, both sides, in one go) and Autograbber will work this way as well.

I then put the resulting MP3 into a Wave Editor and copied and pasted each track into a different file. I will try to persevere with the auto-splitter but at least I can achieve my immediate requirements without too much extra work.

I cursed AudioGrabber for making things so difficult but now I can see their point. Microsoftkeep changing the goalposts so AutoGrabber have decided to try and teach the user how to do this sort of dubbing so they will know what to do with whatever operating system comes next.

Later I will try, in a few words, to explain what the Cix Community is all about.

Andrew

My Psion Netbook

No, this isn’t like the smaller Psion 5, it has a decent size keyboard, a colour screen but is a lot smaller and lighter than your average Notebook.

Battery life can be as high as 30 days. The reason for this is that you can set it to turn off after a minute of inactivity. Or any other timing you choose from “never down” to a second!

Is this a problem? Read on and make your own mind up. But, before you do, here is what it looks like:

The Psion Netbook

When you turn on the computer, it loads up the EPOC operating system in a minute fraction of a second. It has a built in Browser, E-Mail Client, Word program, Spreadsheet, Diary, Contact database, calculator, jotter, time zone management, to name but a few. There are hundreds of freeware and shareware programs on the Internet as well.

In addition to this, you can have more than one datafile loaded into memory at the same time. For example I have about five word data files and six spreadsheet tables loaded into memory always.

I currently have about eight programs and eleven datafiles loaded at any time and if the Netbook turns off, I can turn it back on by tapping one button and it immediately comes to life with the cursor exactly where I left off. With all my programs still loaded.

Whereas all the programs are not as bad as Windows programs, you can export the data to the desktop in Windows data formats of your choice.

I have just this minute received an e-mail from Psion’s PR people assuring me that the Windows CE version can do this as well. Which must mean they have Windows CE in ROM. So if you are windows orientated, or have those Windows killer applications that you cannot do without, there is now something for you as well. I will stick with my EPOC version, it hasn’t crashed since I bought it. (Yes, Keith B, I know you are MAC fixated).

The EPOC machine comes with 32MB or 64MB memory built in and on the left is a slot where you can put a CF Card up to 8GB. On the right hand slot is a PCMCIA slot where you can but a modem, Network card, larger hard disk, Bluetooth or WiFi.

Data is handled differently on the Psion and a datafile is a fraction of the size of a Windows data file. I only have a 128MB CF card and store everything on that, plus a backup of the main memory. In addition I have a couple of dozen freeware and shareware programs on it as well. And it is nowhere near full!

There are speakers at the bottom for telephone use. Let me explain. If you press the button to dial a call and hold your Netbook over the telephone mouthpiece, your number (tone dialing only) will be dialed. You can change the timings and length of each tone if you need to.

If you enter all your phone numbers in the Contact database with the country code, whenever you change your location the number for dialing out to the international system changes automatically.

For example, take a number, 020-8123 4567. You would enter it as +44-20-8123 4567. When you dial out from the UK, it would know, by your dial location, and dial 020-8123 4567. If you travelled to France and dialed that number, and you had set your location to France, it would dial 00-44-20-8123 4567. And if you were in the USA and had changed your location to there, it would dial 011-44-8123 4567. And, whilst over there, if you had an American contact listed, it would dial their more localised number.

I have had my EPOC Netbook for a two or three years now and must admit, when I go to press events, it’s nice to type out my story on the tube coming home. I would hate to sit with a huge Notebook on my lap!

When I go on holiday, it goes with me, and I write up a diary as it happens so I can then withdraw information for various articles as needs be.

But, at a thousand pounds, although not cheap, it is worth every penny of the price. Well the EPOC version is anyway!

Andrew

What about a tip, then, Guv?"

I have just heard, on BBC Television News, for London, that Taxi Drivers are going to refuse to give a receipt if you don’t give them a tip.

Well, that’s OK with me. Next time I get a taxi I will pay just the money on the clock, and when (not if) the taxi driver moans, “What about a tip, Guv?” I will say simply, with a waving of my arms…

“It’s OK, I don’t want a receipt!”

So what’s good for the goose is good for the gander!!!

Added the following day:

The next day, on BBC’s “written version” – the story reads slightly different. It seems they are refusing to use the machines as they feel they won’t get any tips if they do.

Andrew

Freedom of Information Act

The UK’s Freedom of Information Act came into force on Saturday 1st January 2005.

The link below shows all the governmental and local authority bodies which are covered, and who will have an obligation to supply, information to enquirers:

Andrew.

Compact Flash Cards

I have acquired some information through using these cards in three different cameras, and other gadgets – including my Psion Netbook computer.

First of all, as you already know, they come in different capacities up to, at the present time 8GB. They also come allowing the host equipment to access at different speeds.

When I owned a Minolta 7Hi I learned that the write speed as extremely slow and that I wouldn’t gain anything by buying any card faster that that running at the slowest speed. However now that I have learned a little lesson from this I have changed my way of thinking.

If you are going to stick with the equipment you are using the card in for the whole of its usable life – the above may be a really good philosophy. However if, like me, you are forever buying the next “new boy on the block” then you might get the fastest you can buy at the time so that it will still be relevent when you update your “gear”.

I have just purchased the Minolta SLR digital camera (the D7) and will be using this far more than I ever did the 7Hi. So I decided I needed enough capacity to cover me for my holiday next April – for three weeks – in South Africa. I thought along the lines of seven or eight Gigabytes. I tend to take RAW format photographs and only get just over 100 on a 1Gig card.

But this was going to be expensive, so like “Edward de Bono” (Lateral Thinking), I thought around the problem. This was when I decided to buy one 80x WA enabled card ( you can read the White Paper on WA here) and one 80GB Flashtrax. Why the 80GB model I hear you mutter – well, OK it was because these were on special offer and only a few pounds more than the 40Gig models!

On one charge of the Flashtrax battery, I could empty my one gig card five to six times. Which gives me 500-600 shots in a day. If I take the charger with me and the restaurant at lunchtime allows me to plug it in then these figures could be greatly extended.

Also I can take all my music with me – At present I have about 5 gig of MP3s of my collection.

The Minolta D7 is not WA enabled so the 80x speed reduces to 40x. However as WA becomes more widely used (the Kodak pro cameras and some Nikons use it now) then it will be a blessing to everyone. My Lexar 80x card writes now at half speed at 6MB/s but if Minolta update the firmware, it will write at 12MB/s.

When I test the camera on motordrive with the 1MB/s old card and the 6MB/s new card the difference is really noticeable. To such an extent that if I were doing a lot of rapid shooting I would bin the old card. As I don’t I shall keep it for an emergency. If my Lexar fails I have a backup until I can get to a camera shop.

I hope you will get something out of this article as it can be costly to make mistakes and you are always welcome to learn from mine.

A good place to start checking Lexar WA cards is at Clove Technology. And remember, although the Lexar WA card is classed at 80x, you will still get a dazzling fast 40x if your gear is not WA enabled. Another point though, 80x WA only starts at 1GB – although the white paper link above mentions 256MB and 512MB these were the older slower cards…

Have fun in 2005

Andrew

Supermarket [lack of] knowledge

Do you sometimes go into your local supermarket to shop and, at the green-grocery counters see a lot of ethnic fruit and vegetables that you wish you could try, but are not only unsure what they are, but also of how to cook it, if indeed you do cook it.

If you click on the link below, you will come to an American food company site. Along the top row of links is one called “knowledge” which is very informative, and one called “Glossary”. This page is awesome! There are the 26 letters of the alphabet along the top, and if you click on most them you will get screen pages of fruit and vegetable names. Click on one of these and all will be revealed.

The site is a little slow owing to its size but it is worth persevering if you want to increase the types of food you eat. “Yes, Michael F, I know you aren’t very adventurous and only eat “English” food” but, as the years go by, these will become “English” food!”

Today I have learned that Sharon Fruit is from the tomato family, but what is more, I have learned how to tell when it is ripe, and how to prepare it for eating. And what to eat it with.

Here is what the site says about it…

Sharon Fruit

A seedless variety of the Fuyu persimmon that was first grown in Israel and now is being raised throughout the world. Persimmons are very similar to a tomato, requiring that they ripen to become less firm, more pulpy and soft. Further, the persimmon can taste very sour especially when not ripe, and the skin is inedable.

The Sharon fruit, unlike the Hachiya persimmon, can be eaten while firm, the outer skin does not need to be peeled and discarded, there are no seeds in the crisp flesh, and it is less astringent or sour tasting than the Hachiya. This fruit can be added to salads, much like tomatoes, or used to complement other vegetable dishes. Sharon fruit can be found at certain times of the year in some markets, depending upon growing seasons and availability to food distributors in world markets.

When selecting, look for smooth, brightly colored, shiny skins and select those that are plump and firm, not too soft or mushy. The Sharon should be quite firm to the touch. Unripe fruit can be stored at room temperature to further ripen. Ripe fruit can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. Also referred to as kaki fruit.

I had never eaten this before as I never knew what it was, what it would taste like and how to tell when it was ready for eating. But I know now!

So next time you go shopping, don’t buy any of the items you are not sure of at this stage. Make a note of their names and then look them up on the site when you get back. Next time you visit your favourite supermarket you can then buy some of these items.

If you like cooking, and eating, as much as I do, I am sure you will find all this very exciting. Another new years resolution is to try one new item each week until I have tried them all!

Andrew.

Rambling in the woods

I resigned from the Ramblers Association about eight years ago. I was on the local committee and also on the area regional committee when I attended a conference held at some University over a weekend one summer.

It was just before the last general election, but one, when a director of the association told all of us to vote labour and to tell the rest of the membership to do so.

This was the point when I stormed out of the conference, returned to London and resigned from the regional committee, the local committee and the Association itself.

It wasn’t because I wasn’t a socialist. Most of you know I am UKIP and was then. But I would have done the same even if everyone was told to vote for my own party. I mean – it wasn’t British – and I was extremely offended.

Anyway, eight years later I contacted the CEO of the association and said I wanted to rejoin but wanted his assurance that this wouldn’t happen again. Now please listen to his words carefully!

He said, “You must be mistaken, nothing like that has never happened. And I assure you, nothing like that would ever happen again!”

Anyway I rejoined and, today, Pam and I went for our first walk with our local group. We were told to meet at Putney Bridge Station. We got good connections from Finchley and as we were early, got off the train at Fulham Broadway and had breakfast at the Wetherspoons pub (called Lloyds bar) above the station.

We had sausage, egg and bacon, with hash browns, tomatoes and baked beans for £1.99, washed down by an excellent italian style coffee for 89p. The portions were huge! How on earth do they do it?

We then went on to Putney Bridge where we joined 29 ramblers and went along the river, going to Richmond. As we were not used to walking, we didn’t want to start off walking 10 miles so left them half way and returned by bus to a South African pub called Zulu for a drink or two on Fulham Palace Road. I am rather partial to South African brandy so was a happy bunny. We then caught a bus to Brompton Tube and then went to Bayswater where we downed an excellent Chinese meal.

Altogether a good day. We’ll go with them for a ramble next sunday.

Andrew

A New Year’s resolution

To write down my goals and to try and gear my life – or the rest of it anyway – towards achieving them.

But before I go further, let me wish all my readers a successful new year for 2005. All the best to you, and all of yours.

The following story seems to be an Urban Myth but I will retell it as a lot of it could actually happen. For example the figure of 3% of students with written goals is probably a little high, as is the same 3% having ten times more money than the remaining 97%!

But it is a story, and it makes a point. – The Urban Myth part of my message is between the rules.

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There was once a Harvard study conducted between 1979 and 1989. In 1979, the graduates of the MBA program were given a questionnaire to fill in upon their MBA graduation. The college was only interested in one of the question/answers. The question was *Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?*

Only 3 percent of the graduates had written goals and plans. Thirteen percent had goals, but not in writing. And 84 percent had no specific goals at all. The students were asked to keep in touch with the college.

Ten years later, in 1989, the ex-students were asked, once again, to fill in a questionnaire. And once again, the college was only interested in one question/answer. The question was “How much wealth have you amassed since taken your degree?”.

The college researchers found that the 13 percent who had goals that were not in writing were earning twice as much as the 84 percent of students who had no goals at all.

But most surprisingly, they found that the 3 percent of graduates who had clear, written goals when they left Harvard were earning, on average, 10 times as much as the other 97 percent of graduates all together!

The only difference between the groups was the “clarity” of the goals they had for themselves when they graduated.

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There are so many ways of writing your goals, and there are quite a few books on the subject.

My way is a simplified method which I put together in my younger days when I worked for Mullards Electronics. I had not found books on goals when I was at that age although I am sure they existed.

I used this method for my job of estimating future supplies and turned it around into a system of writing up my goals. I also took some information from other sources.

So this is what I did.

First of all, I wrote up where I wanted to be on retirement, using my wildest imagination rather than looking for where I was at the present.

Then I build down from that date, in ten goal year stages, where I had to get to in order to fulfil my dream.

At the bottom of the ladder I had future ‘four month’, ‘one year’ and ‘four year’ goal plans.

The four month plan was upgraded every month, and each four months, the one year plan and four year plan were upgraded. Then each year, all the other stages were upgraded as was the final goal.

At first, my goals were “Micky Mouse” goals, founded in dreamland. But after a couple of years of gradually tweaking them, each goal started to become more realistic and by the fifth year I knew exactly what I could expect out of life.

Yes, I agree that ten minutes work every month, ten minutes extra each four months, and twenty minutes work every year does seem awfully difficult. Especially with so much on TV and at the local pub. But then, if that is all you want out of life, perhaps it would be a waste of time?

It’s like going for a long drive without a map or an idea of where you really wanted to go. If you had planned your visit and route in advance, and kept your map handy for reference, you would probably have got to where you were going very much faster.

Andrew