Archive for July 2005

Dangers of DIY

Sunday, 31 July 2005

Bloody dangerous places are DIY stores, like the B&Q; superstore I visited this morning. (That’s an aerial view of the place on the left, by which you can tell that I’m still enjoying playing with Google Earth. Click on it for a larger version, if you’re interested.)

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Mindless

Sunday, 31 July 2005

My heart sinks when I read stories like this. A complete waste of a promising life, cut short by mindless cretins that we could all do without. Pity the bastards can’t swing for what they’ve done. What a depressing start to Sunday.

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Spam, the Final Solution

Thursday, 28 July 2005

As the Birdman observes, this is what you call a spam filter: A BOSS who bombarded Russian citizens daily with millions of unwanted emails advertising his firm, has been found dead.Vardan Kushnir was discovered in his Moscow flat on Sunday. He had suffered repeated blows to the head. The 35-year-old, who was head of three English learning centres, had angered Russians with his aggressive internet advertising policy.

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Have I Got News For You

Wednesday, 27 July 2005

Well I haven’t really, only in the sense of the telly programme of the same name. Like this decree by the Advertising Standards Authority that says only ugly blokes can appear in drinks ads. I can feel a career change coming on. Picture this:

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Into the Long Grass

Tuesday, 26 July 2005

What a day, my first spent trying to evaluate the jobs of some of my colleagues to decide what pay they should get for what they do. Agenda for Change they call it. Agenda to Lose the Will to Live say I.

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Reasons to be Cheerful

Monday, 25 July 2005

Apologies. One of those apropos nothing posting, I’m afraid, but I do like blackbirds. They have lots of qualities. To start, there is their song, so sweet and varied and a gift in spring and early summer. Next, their bravery, particularly Mrs Blackbird again. When she is feeding her young, she isn’t afraid to go digging for worms and grubs only feet from your feet.

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Elf and Safety

Sunday, 24 July 2005

Some people can’t take a joke can they? Over in Wrexham, someone has complained about a wolf-whistling gnome on a butcher’s market stall. As a result, council officials turned up to arrest the gnome. The butcher stuck to his guns and wouldn’t hand him over, but the gnome was the subject of a gagging order by having a paper bag placed over his head, no doubt issued by the Gnome Secretary. Oh, and wise words again from Jeremy Clarkson on the myth of multiculturism. (Thanks to the Sunday Times This [...]

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Planet Earth

Sunday, 24 July 2005

Amazing thing that Google Earth. Left is an aerial view of Piccadilly Station in Manchester (click to enlarge) from an altitude of 897 feet. The satellite photo must have been taken relatively recently because it shows the new station building completed in 2002. It’s a pity not everywhere is covered by satellite photos. I quite liked the idea of zooming in from space to hover over our house, but we’re just outside the area covered.

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High vs Low Technology

Saturday, 23 July 2005

Parrot Minor brought home his school magazine on Friday, having finished to put his feet up for six weeks over the summer. One page focused on a Young Enterprise company programme that a group of year 10s had set up with ten lads (no lasses I note) giving themselves the titles of managing director, company secretary, finance director and even ‘public relations’ who obviously directs no-one.

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